27 days japan, any visits besides the usual

i have a 27 day trip to japan from march 20-april 16... I already have tokyo, kyoto, nara, osaka, hiroshima and yokohama on the list. Are there any other hidden gems or suggested places i should check out? I have an interests in everything from history, to culture to entertainment. nothings is off limits. I am trying to create an itinerary, but before i proceed, i want to make sure i have all the places i should check out first. thanks!

So many. Your current itinerary only covers and 20% of the country. Browse this website.

Agree with Hakata14. You only have a few places. Look more in detail through this webpage or your guidebook of choice. There are more than 100 other interesting places to visit.

Enjoy planning your trip to Japan!

West coast, northern Honshu, central alps area, and so so so much more.
The places you listed are the generic spots 95% tourists stick to because they are easy (and most of them are quite good).
With 27 days, you have two weeks to do something else.

I heard Tohoku is lovely. Haven't been there but it does seem quaint with a lot of interesting places to check out.

Well of course I have tourist my spots because I am a tourist 🤣.. but I don’t wanna over load with too many cities then I feel like I will be rushing thru them just to check them off the list and will not get the full enjoyment. If that makes sense. However, I’ve added Takayama Nikko and Kamakura to the list.. I’ve considered Fukuoka but I’m not sure if it’s worth it?

I’ve decided that this may be a good itinerary?
Osaka 5nights
Kyoto/Nara 4nights
Hiroshima/Miyajima 2nights
Fukuoka 2 nights
Takayama 3 nights
Tokyo 7 nights
Nikko 1 nights
Yokohama/Kamakura 3 nights

While I agree that 9 days in Kansai is a good timing, I wonder why 5 of them in Osaka. I am traveling for work relatively often to Osaka but still need to discover what is attractive about it. It’s an ok base for Kobe and Himeji though. Just consider your interest if it makes sense to stay in Osaka.

On your list you also don’t seem to have an onsen experience. If you aren’t into onsening that is fine, but it is definitely one of the best experiences in Japan. Eg you could stay a night or two in Hirayu onsen, close to Takayama. But there are also other spots on your route where you could add it.

Enjoy planning your trip to Japan!

There's a page on this site with suggested itineraries. Use the pull-down menus to choose your starting point (NRT/KIX) and the length of the journey:

https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2400.html

The longest template available is for 21 days, but it's a good starting point for developing your own itinerary:

https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2400_tokyo_19.html

With 27 days, you'll be able to insert a few more stops in between some of the suggested cities, or pad out the recommend periods of stay in certain places to explore those areas more thoroughly.

Cheers.

Actually there IS a longer suggested itinerary, the so-called "Great Traverse" - but it's 30 days long. And as the itinerary's closing note states, it's rather zippy and might not suit those who'd prefer to travel at a more relaxed pace.

https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2400_traverse.html

Personally, I'd take one of the shorter itineraries and work my way up from them to fit your 27 days, than try to whittle down the Great Traverse.

Cheers.

I wouldn't limit yourself just to Fukuoka if traveling to Kyushu.

Northern Kyushu and some Chubu locations like Takayama make sense. There is no need for 3 days at Takayama. One full day is enough. Or an overnight if traveling a long way from elsewhere.

Try thinking outside the box.

The entire country is wide open for you. Besides taking the train, you can fly on dirt cheap airfares to nearly anywhere in the country on Jet Star, Peach, ANA's Experience Japan Fare, etc.
http://www.jetstar.com/jp/en/home
http://www.flypeach.com/pc/en
http://ana.ms/20Xtf8t

You could fly down to Okinawa, Nagasaki, Kagoshima, Hokkaido, Tohoku etc and be there in just a few hours.

I think you would struggle to fill five days in Osaka, while four days in Kyoto would be relatively easy. Similarly, ten days in Tokyo/Yokohama might be a bit of over-kill, but it depends what you like doing.

I ran a 30 day trip for guests last year and covered a lot more variety without rushing too much, and this June we did a 35-day trip - the extra week allowed us to add in a few extra places, but even then there were many things we had to chop out. Having done two of these longer style trips in the last year there were some refinements and changes we made to the schedule, but it depends what you are after.
If you needed some inspiration, I have two possible schedules one the web you can look at:
https://japancustomtours.co.nz/sep2017.htm
https://japancustomtours.co.nz/sep2018.htm

I wouldn't spend 7 days just for Tokyo as there are so much to see outside Tokyo, unless u are making day trip to Hakone, Mount Fuji etc

check out:
Shirakawago, Tateyama Alphine Route, Narai-Juku (or Kiso Valley), Nagano, Karuizawa ….

Thank you everyone! Maybe I could shave a few days off of Tokyo and Osaka.. I will try and look for places nearby

Hi!

I would not consider the Tateyama-Kurobe Alpine Route (or if anyone throws it out there Kamikochi.) Both don't open until mid-April and both are far enough away from Tokyo you don't want to have to try to catch a flight from them the following day.

I would definitely look at Nagano and Matsumoto though. I'd also look at Kanazawa. You should be able to catch sakura at some of those destinations depending on timing. I personally wouldn't be looking at Hokkaido or anywhere north of Hiraizumi unless you are trying to see snow. There are still many road closures for Winter in northern Tohoku and in '09 I got caught in a blizzard on a newly opened road near Lake Towada.

I guess I'd also think about Takamatsu, the garden at Ritsuin is one of my favorites.

Good luck and enjoy your trip!