Chugoku/Shikoku mid August Itinerary

Hi all ( ^__^)/
After doing some research on past questions on itineraries, i have some how drafter mine.
I will be in Jp on 14th starting from Tokyo, and midnight 16th i will move down to Okayama/Izumo.. It will be my 7th solo travel.

listed below will be my planned trip city in sequence. I would like proposal on what additional stuff to check out on city that i plan to stop.
Im into scenery/garden, nature, minimal hiking/walking is ok, culture, buildings/shrines, some onsen, village, close to local. Not really into museums as i cant read esp the history notes.
Im aware that i missed the obon matsuri boat. But if you happen to know any fastival that falls into my stops, do let me know

Im open to food recommendations, especially seafood (no meat pls) Mentaiko etc.

I will get myself a 14day JRpass eventhough it is possible that i may not be able to cover my trip expenses (depending if i can get SunriseIzumo/Seto). It is also more flexi vs Okayama pass, Sanin pass, and Shikoku pass combined (too many passes www).
Transport method will be trains and foot. Bicycle rental is ok depending on fee and weather


17-19 Aug: Izumo, Matsue, Tottori
Izumo taisha
Matsue Castle
Tottori sanddunes
Kawahara castle(/)
Mt Daisen hike(depends on weather)
*need recommendations here
**will try luck to get Sunrise Izumo/Izumo91 (for 16th Augdeparture) booking on 14thAug, the day i land. if none available, will consider night bus Tokyo-Okayama, then hop Sunrise Izumo to Izumoshi


20-21Aug: Kurashiki, Okayama
Kurashiki Canal area
Bitchu-Matsuyama Castle
Okayama Garden
Okayama Castle
Iwakuni (on 21st evening enroute to Kokura via Shinkansen)


22: Kokura
**meet friend here, city leisure walks
Karato market
Wisteria garden
Kokura castle
Moji Port
AruAru City


23: Shimonoseki, Hagi
Walk Kitakyushu-shimonoseki tunnel.
Misuzu Shosai train thru Nagato , normal train to Hagi
The Tori gates
Attractions near Hagi thats easily accessible(need recommendations here)


24: Hagi, Yamaguchi
**meet another friend here, most likely o plan attractions that is not easily accessible w/ public transport (he has car)
Akiyoshidai
~
*Night in Hiroshima, near port. No sightseeing in Hiroshima as i have been there.


25-26: Matsuyama
Hiroshima-Matsuyama ferry
Matsuyama castle
*i dont think i have enough time to travel to Ozu/Uwajima, but i can always cut short on Tokushima

27-28: Tokushima, Naruto
Tokushima City
Naruto
*28th night take SunriseSeto/nightbus to Tokyo

As a first note, Shimonoseki to Hagi will take time. You'll need to finish in Shimonoseki EARLY in order to make it worthwhile to go to Hagi.

For example, checking Hyperdia right now suggests that if you leave Shimonoseki at 10:21am. you can arrive at Hagi Station at HigashiHagi at 1:25pm.

If you leave any later, it won't even be worth going, because you won't have time to see anything.

You can walk to the main castle town sites and the castle ruins, but the best way to see Hagi is by renting a bike at HigashiHagi Station.

Thanks for the reply Rabbit-san

Theres only 1 MisuzuShosai train for the day so i had to take that. Thanks for highlighting about Shimonoseki. For Kanmon tunnel on Shimonoseki side, i will need to take a JR bus to Shimonoseki Stn. My plan is to start the 23Aug as early as 7 so i will have 1+hrs in shimonoseki city prior to the train (just breakfast i guess). Any worthwhile attractions in Shimonoseki, like fish market for fresh morning localty foods?

And considering i'll be stopping at Motonosumi Inari shrine (Nagato-Furuichi stn)), arrival to Hagi may be further later evening. I will consider your tips of bike rental, and maybe wonder around town thru sunset. Or i'll consider doing that on 24th morning.

I will still need to go to Hagi as I'm meeting a friend there(local) for next day lunch, and Akiyoshidai..

The Chugoku region is crammed full of little known tourist gems that most people overlook and never see. A couple of impressions came up from your plans though.
First, for Aug 20-21, I presume you mean Korakuen?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zAI3_N7NEM
Don't pass up Handayama which is not far away either - very beautiful and wide layout.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGQ8o7k9GbA
For Iwakuni, the bridge is truly an iconic image of Japan, but not close to the stations - hopefully you will give yourself enough time to see the park and go up to the mountaintop castle. Great views and really nice.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0COOZXi66mM
For Aug. 22, the Kawachi Fujien is a real pain to get to - but are you aware that the wisteria season is late April through the first part of May? If you expect to see the tunnel of wisteria you may be in for a shock. Autumn colours there are very nice too, but August is way too early for that.
Seeing Sarakurayama would also be a great addition - one of the best night views over the city you can see in Japan, and almost totally unknown to most people and the tourist book "experts".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hl1pCW9Ibbk
The Kanmon tunnel is more interesting for its uniqueness than anything. See if you can get your photos taken in the middle with one foot in each prefecture.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6y4K6erVyvA
Hagi is really a hidden gem of a place - the business hotel right next to where the bus from Akiyoshido stopped was actually very nice (it also amazingly had the fastest net speed I've ever seen in a Japanese hotel - I clocked it on speedtest.net at 60mb/s in the morning). Hagi does take a lot of time to get to, as was said, and more time to get around the city. The castle remains and park were very nice and relaxing though.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjw577xBinI
The Akiyoshido tunnel will be one of the most unforgettable experiences you ever have in Japan - but save some time to walk through the karst plateau area as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqIKC9S8TFQ
For Shikoku, I found Tokushima City to be the most disappointing. The view from Mt. Bizan was good, and the prefecture has some very nice areas for natural scenery, but I'd say skip the place unless you are going to see the Awa-Odori - and it looks like you will be too late for that. Takamatsu on the other hand was much more interesting. The Ritsurin Garden is just one of many nice places to see there.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afx-Ju52FiY
For going back to Tokyo, instead of a cramped bus, why not take a Jet Star flight from Takamatsu? Very cheap, very fast, and you still arrive sane.

Hi Ken-san
Thank you for the response and tips/advice.. Theyre awesome and really fit my plans

From Yonago to Okayama, I would guess i'll start my day in Okayama by noon. That may give me only able to do Bitchu-Matsuyama Castle.
I then need to arrive at Kurashiki by 5.30+pm for sunset sunset to night at canal area. I wont be doing museum visits. Just some street night photography. and dinner would be ok for me here.
My hostel will be in Okayama, so on 21st Morning, i will be doing Korakuen and Okayama castle. Depends on my pace, i will consider Handayama.
I also watched the Iwakuni clip, very nice because its with blossomed Sakura. Im planning to stop at Iwakuni at 5+pm so i can get evening sky. I will need to search the info on ropeway if they run till sunset.

[*Kawachi Fujien, no wisteria in summer]
Oh crap. I forgot to consider the flower type season www. I guess i will need to skip this.
I guess i will just wonder around in Kokura city, Mojiko port.
I will consider Sarakurayama as it seems this is a better place as observation deck vs Mojiko observation deck.
I plan to walk across theKanmon tunnel to Shimonoseki next morning 7am as i will take my train from there(10am) to Hagi. I will need to find alternative as the JR afrom Kokura only stops at Mojiko Station. The Mojiko Retro train only start service at 10am

In Hagi, since i arrive in the evening, i guess i will rent bicycle and cycle around Hagi town on a Sunday.
The next morning i will try to do the castle ruin area before my friend comes for lunch and Akiyoshiday and cave. Looking forward to this.

Anything after Hagi, im very flexible as i still have no fixed plan. I will take your advice to allocate longer time in Matsuyama instead and reduce my Tokushima stay (i have not do any reservations yet haha).

In the event if i did not able to take sunrise Izumo, i would like to experience SunriseSeto night train. Plane is faster, but the departure time is too few to select, and i'll waste my daytime at airport