Tohoku or Kyushu for the winter?

Wanted to get the opinion of some of the more experienced JP travelers here...

This will be my 4th trip to Japan this December, and I speak enough Japanese to get around (2 years of study in college)..I've traveled to kanazawa, takayama, kyoto, hiroshima, etc multiple times already. Also visited the Shirikawago region already, and don't really like to ski, so Hokkaido is probably out.

My current plan is:
Day 1 arrive in tokyo
Day 2 tokyo--kagoshima--kurokawa onsen
Day 3-kurokawa onsen/see mt aso
Day 4 takachiho gorge --kirishima
Day 5 krishima hiking during day…kumamoto @ night
Day 6 kumamoto----kyoto
Day 7 kyoto
Day 8 uji
Day 9 kyoto
Day 10 SHIRIKAWAGO
Day 11 shirikawago--tokyo
Day 12 toyko
Day 13 tokyo-flyout


Any experience with Tohoku in the winter? I'm considering the potential cost savings of not having to fly down and back from Kyushu... Is Kyushu pleasant in December, or is it one of those ''awkward seasons''. What would you suggest I do? I really prefer the ''real Japan''...driving to smaller cities and less touristy areas where I can immerse in the culture a bit more than say Tokyo.

Cheers!

The sequence is very inefficient. I recommend the following order

Tokyo - Kagoshima - Kirishima - Takachiho - Aso - Kurokawa - Kumamoto - Kyoto

A rental car is recommended, especially between Takachiho and Kurokawa.

Is Kyushu pleasant in December

For the cities the month of the year does not really matter. For the countryside and mountains, it is not the ideal month, but it can be enjoyable, nevertheless.

There is a risk of snow in the higher elevations of the Kirishima mountains that could conflict with hiking plans. Also, most of the foliage will have fallen, which leaves some of the landscape scenery rather barren. But the temperatures should be nice for hot spring bathing.

Thanks for your response!

I'm really an outdoorsy guy, and enjoy taking landscape photography.. If you had to go on a trip in December and wanted to do outdoors stuff, where would you go? I'm completely flexible in my planning.

Also, is there any way to avoid the ~$130 fee for dropping the rental car off at a different airport? This would help as I'm traveling alone.. If not I may end up doing the JR Pass/Sunrise seto combo again..its a long ride from Tokyo-Kumamoto! *shudders*

The mountains of Kyushu sound like a good destination, if you keep in mind the eventual snow. As for transportation, I would recommend to consider domestic flights:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2364.html