12 weeks in Japan

Hi, I am planning a holiday for 2018 from the last week in September to mid December (not fixed). I have already been to Japan twice and am going once again before then so am an experienced Japan-goer. I am a mid-30's English man travelling alone and particularly like Japanese gardens, natural scenery, historical places, quaint places such as 'old town' areas and onsen. I will be visiting the following areas:
Kyushu (throughout), south Chugoku, Kyoto area and south Kansai (Ise Shima and Kumano), Chubu (throughout), Tokyo area, Nikko and south Tohoku
Does anyone have any suggestions of places I might like to visit within or near these areas that are not on this website?
Many, many thanks.

I'm a big fan of Kamakura (http://voyapon.com/tag/kamakura/). Just an our south of Tokyo and full of nature walks, temples, shrines, cafes, beaches and plenty of other sightseeing spots. There's a lot of history in that area as well. Definitely worth checking out!

Kyushu is full of unlisted waterfalls. I wont list them all, but I found them once using google. There is many in the Oita prefecture alone.

I think Japan can be divided into two or three parts. If you divide it into two, there are Okinawa and other part of Japan. If you divide into three, there are Okinawa, Hokkaido, and other part of Japan. Therefore, Okinawa and Hokkaido are special places for most of Japanese so they are always popular tourist destinations for Japanese. Since you are from England, Okinawa might be more interesting since it is sub-tropical place.

Besides Okinawa and Hokkaido, remote islands are my favorites. Rishiri-Rebun near Hokkaido, Oki in Shimane prefecture, Koshikijima and Tanegashima in Kagoshima prefecture are very scenic in my personal experience.

I know you're not going anywhere near Hokkaido but I second what was said about Rebun and Rishiri as well as Hokkaido in general. It is incredibly beautiful, vast, wild and a true experience for nature lovers.

Anyway, looking at your profile I see that some of your trip doubles up where you've been before. I would actually suggest that you focus on extensive touring of Kyushu, Shikoku, southern Chugoku, Kyoto, southern Kansai. I would save Tohoku as a whole for another trip, also including Hokkaido if time allows. The reason I suggest this is because Shikoku is often overlooked but is actually very special.

Also, I would suggest visiting the Kumano area in December as the Kawayu Onsen (in the river) is only open in winter. Yunomine Onsen is highly recommended also. It has the only UNESCO listed onsen.

Thank you for all your posts so far. In reply:
Kamakura is in my itinerary;
I have 12 days in Kyushu, I am considering adding another week there during the trip. I know Kyushu and Shikoku are special and I do intend another trip with 8 days in each region.
I have discounted Hokkaido for this trip as I want to see it in every season but primarily in Winter. I think it is unique in Japan as one region that I can have a 2-3 week snow holiday so I intend to go in February to include the snow festivals.
I have also discounted Okinawa for this trip because I want to break up my holidays between beach holidays and other trips. I plan on two trips to Okinawa, Yaeyama area and Naha area which I can separate with a trip to Hokkaido or Tohoku.
I have only three days in Tohoku in this trip to see Yamadera and Urabandai as a side trip from Nikko. This is because it is an opportunity to see them during the koyo period.
I think I will try to alter my itinerary to see Kumano in December.
I have included Kyoto and Tokyo even though I have been before because I had 3 days in Kyoto last November and loved the temple gardens so I feel the need to go back and see the rest in Autumn. I went to Tokyo in 2008 and I'm desperate to go back and it'll be 10 years by the time I go in 2018.
Please keep the posts coming.
Thanks, Richard

Hmmmmm.......

If your after something a little bit different - then the art islands in the Seto Sea are quite nice. Naoshima & Inujima were my favourite but others will have more ideas.

There are some areas in Japan which are not heavily covered by JG (Ibaraki) but it's worth a visit. Mito has a good garden and it's also near Fukuroda No Taki - a pretty waterfall out in the middle of no-where (but accessible by train)

Most of the main sites in the Kii Peninsula are on this website. I would go through more locations but most of the places I know are already on my profile (click on my name at the bottom of this post). I've recently visited Shikoku, North Western Kyushu along with visiting many of the locations you have mentioned on Honshu.

12 weeks in Japan, how wonderful. Since you appreciate Japanese gardens, may I suggest Sanpo-in Temple Garden in Fushimi. This garden was at the request of Hideyoshi and is quite unusual. If you haven't already visited it is worth seeing in my opinion. My first garden visit in Japan many years ago.

I'll be leaving for Japan in a few weeks and for the first time will be visiting Wakuza Valley in rural Kyoto. Much of Japan's green tea is grown in this beautiful valley and each year they hold a tea festival in early November. Obubu Farms Tea Plantation offers tours, I've already signed up for mine.

If I think of any thing else, I'll post again. Wishing you the best of experiences.

Correction to my last thread, the tea valley in Kyoto is Wazuka not Wakaza. Have to be careful with the typing!

Thanks mfedley and guest.
I'm aware of your profile mfedley, I enjoyed your posts about Kyoto temples away from the madding crowd and have a day planned just for wandering around quiet parts of Kyoto looking for temple gardens.
guest, I have planned to go the the Daigo-ji area and see all the gardens there including sanbo-in.
Wazuka does look interesting and I might try to fit that into my plans.
Thanks to you both. Richard

Hi, I've heard of a place called Koyasan where you can stay in a temple and watch Buddhist ceremonies in the morning. I don't think there are many places you can so this in Japan so it might be a good opportunity when you are in Kansai.
Dan