Okinawa worth visiting in January?

Hi, I am a first-time poster currently constructing an itinerary for my family's trip to Japan from Dec 26 to Jan 14. A total of 19 days. My family includes me and my wife (both 44) and our three young boys ages 4, 7, and 10. It is my third time to Japan but their first. I want to show them a varied Japan that includes bustling metropolitan, historical ancient, mountains, laid-back rural, and beachy, chill side of Japan.

First, I would love feedback on whether my itinerary reflects that goal, and second, whether Okinawa is worth dedicating four days of our trip to. My main interest in Okinawa is the beach life and the opportunity to snorkel and have my family see coral and interesting fish, I have read that even in January it is possible to enjoy swimming and beach life, We are Canadian and I think we are pretty hardy! However, I want honest feedback on whether I am being too optimistic.

Our itinerary:
Dec 26 arrive late afternoon Hanada, eat traditional japanese cuisine, relax
Dec 27 relax, explore one or two neighnours.
Dec 28 Yamanouchi monkey park near Nagano, stay one night in ryokan
Dec 29 Arrive Kyoto (Spending 1 week at AirBnB home with extended family)
Dec 30 Kyoto (undetermined sightseeing)
Dec 31 Kyoto (undetermined sightseeing)
Jan 1 (day trip Nara)
Jan 2 Kyoto (undetermined sightseeing)
Jan 3 (day trip Hiroshima)
Jan 4 Kyoto ((undetermined sightseeing)
Jan 5 Matsuyama, Shikoku (main attraction Dogo Onsen)
Jan 6 Matsuyama, Day trip explore Iya Valley
Jan 7 Koyasan, stay overnight in Temple, explore Okunoin Cemetery
Jan 8 Arrive Toyko, explore one or two neighbours
Jan 9 Tsukiji fish market, in evening eat in omoide yokocho district
Jan 10 Flight to Naha, Okinawa, rent car and explore
Jan 11 Beach #1 (snorkeling)
Jan 12 Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium
Jan 13 Beach #2 (snorkeling)
Jan 14 Tokyo Hanada Airport, return to Canada

All opinions / comments welcome! Main question, however, is whether 4 days Okinawa is a good investment of time for beach-loving family. Thanks for any thoughts!

Okinawa is fantastic to visit in January, but I would not visit the main island for snorkeling during this time and you'll probably have to travel to one of the outlying islands to achieve this.

For your trip, it looks fine but I don't think that a day trip to the Iya Valley will work due to it's remoteness. How are you going to get here, how are you going to get around and what are you going to do? What will you do if the roads are iced over? These are questions I needed to ask myself when I visited in February a couple of years ago and I was driving.

Another option would be to visit Koyasan before you visit Matsuyama as this is just travelling backwards and forwards.

Another option might be to visit the Yaeyama Islands flying from Osaka. Ishigaki, Iriomote and Taketomi were some of my highlights. Check out the JR and ANA passes which can significantly reduce costs of travelling around Japan.

Go to my username and most of the places you are visiting I've written travel guides for (this includes Amami and Okinawa which I visited 3 months ago....)

Thanks mfedley, your feedback is so great! I also enjoyed some of your travel posts on other regions like you suggested.

To answer your question, I was thinking we would rent a car and explore Iya valley for the day. In my post, I suggested staying in Matsuyama for two nights but since Dogo Onsen is our only real purpose for being there, I thought maybe we may just stay in Matsuyama one night and move on to Iya Valley, rent a car and poke around the valley. I have no hard agenda other than to get a glimpse into the remote side of Japan. I read Alex Kerr's book, Lost Japan, which extolled the virtues of Shikoku and it's remoteness, so driving around for one day with no specific agenda is all I want to do. I actually have a reservation at a place called Yoko's Guest House deep in the valley (as option if we move on from Matsuyama after one day).

What do you think, still unrealistic? Please let me know your thoughts.

Regarding Okinawa, are you saying there are no snorkeling options off the main island? I have looked into some of the more outlying islands but for budget reasons, I don't want to take more than one flight from Tokyo (or Osaka) to Okinawan islands as each flight seems will cost me about $1000 CAD for my family of 5. Are there any snorkeling opportunities within a ferry's distance from main island? I have considered only going to one the more southern islands like Ishigaki, but want the biggest bang for our buck, is it spectacular enough to go there instead of the main island, Naha, etc?

Snorkeling and exposing my kids to new sea life is main goal so would be happy to pick a more southern island to make swimming and snorkeling the focal point, but I was hoping to also see big aquarium on the main island. However, I did read in one of your posts that you thought in some ways the Osaka aquarium was just as good, as we could go to the Osaka aquarium instead, just so we can go to Ishigaki and not feel we missed out on our aquarium experience. What do you think? Thanks for taking the time reading all this!

I don't want to take more than one flight from Tokyo (or Osaka) to Okinawan islands as each flight seems will cost me about $1000 CAD for my family of 5

As a foreign tourist, the absolute maximum you will ever pay on a domestic flight in Japan (except on some minor routes that do not concern us here) is 10,800 yen (about CAD 130) per person, but on many of your routes you would pay even less than that. See https://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/66905/

Namely, you could do Narita (Jetstar or Vanilla) or Kansai (Peach) to Naha, Naha to Ishigaki (Vanilla, ANA or JAL), and Ishigaki to Narita (Vanilla) or Kansai (Peach) for about 5,000 each.

Hi Firas,

Wow, those fares sound impressive. only 5000 yen is incredible. I did a flight search for Peach and although my search wasn't extensive, the fares I found from Kansai to Naha was in the $240 CAD range (for August) so don't find deals like you suggested, very easily. However, are you suggesting January fares would be cheaper?

My knowledge of snorkeling is not really strong enough to fully comment on the main island, but it did not really look snorkeling friendly when the weather is below 20C some days. Others will be more knowledgeable.

The comments on flights made above is correct. Often you can get cheap flights and check out this site on JG

https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2364.html

Traveling around the Iya Valley by car is an option, but I did not do this as I hate snow so I cannot directly comment on this.

Do you mind if I ask why you want to visit Matsuyama? The main building shown on the JG website is pretty cool but I did not think that much of Dogo onsen and the water quality is not that much to write home about. Do you want to visit here because of a Miyazaki movie?

I did enjoy the Osaka aquarium more, but this was mainly due to the smaller crowds. Basically everyone who visits Okinawa is basically obliged to visit the aquarium. There is plenty to do around the ocean park but I doubt that your boys will enjoy the topical land which is basically just flowers (giving you a heads up).

I've also noticed that you are visiting Hiroshima. Is there a reason you are visiting here and not Miyajima which I think is a bit more interesting. If your visiting the atomic bomb museum, then I understand. I personally did not enjoy Hiroshima that much but I think I'm in the minority with that view. Note that the atomic bomb museum might not be suitable for your younger one - others can confirm this as my memory is a bit hazy after visiting so many locations.

I did a flight search for Peach and although my search wasn't extensive, the fares I found from Kansai to Naha was in the $240 CAD range (for August)

You might not be aware that mid-August (o-bon) is one of the two huge holiday periods in Japan (the other being the New Year). Even early or late August is better than that (KIX to Naha on August 21, for example, is JPY 6,290). Januay of course will be even better if you keep an eye for special offers (for example by subscribing to the e-mail newsletter).

Thank you both again for replying. Yes, Atomic Bomb Memorial is main reason we are visiting Hiroshima. We are using Kyoto as a base from which to do day trips and there is still lots of flexibility in our itinerary. What was the big draw to Miyajima, in your opinion, that made it more attractive than Hiroshima?

Point taken about the Ocean Garden, flowers, flowers and more flowers will quickly outlive my boys' interest level. Hahaha!

Yes, Miyazaki's film, Spirited Away, is a reason for wanting to visit Matsuyama and Dogo Onsen, but I also want to experience Shikoku Island in general because it is off the beaten track and I thought for my family a good counterpoint to the metropolitan sprawl of the big cities of Japan. Plus, some of my Japanese relatives want to join us for one day at Dogo since it is one of the few places they haven't visited in their very extensive travels around Japan.

I don't mind snow, or driving in it. My goal in exploring Iya Valley is to stumble upon tiny villages where tourism isn't huge and we can experience a part of Japan a lot of people miss.

Regarding flights, yes, if I can find those kinds of deals, I think we may island hop in Okinawa!

Hiroshima city is pretty unremarkable except for the bomb stuff (and the food). The rest of Hiroshima prefecture, however, is gorgeous. If you're into Ghibli, Tomo-no-ura may also be of interest.

So you want to get off the beaten path??

Have you considered visited Inujima? It would be really slow in December and there is probably enough strangeness on the island to keep your boys interested...

https://www.japan-guide.com/community/mfedley/report-1410

Why Miyajima? I'll let the photos speak for themselves. You might be templed out after Kyoto though...

https://www.japan-guide.com/community/mfedley/report-1418

If you decide to visit the Yaeyama Islands in Okinawa, there are ANA 10,000 yen fares from Osaka KIX from memory. There may also be cheaper flights through Vanilla Air but I can't exactly remember. Ishigaki Island is a great gateway to Iriomote and Taketomi and has good snorkelling and smaller crowds.

Check out the JG info below and my last posts are from the Yaeyama Islands. They are some of the most beautiful places in Japan and are VERY DIFFERENT than the main islands.

https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e7200.html

I also understand your thoughts on Dogo Onsen. There is also a fantastic traditional thatched roofed house you can book in the Iya Valley. I've forgotten the name of it but some people may remember it's name.