Japan Trip in early Sept

Hello!
I need help to decide where to visit during a trip on 7-15 Sept, arrive and depart from Narita. I know it may be too early to see koyo and the weather could be hot, but we could not change the dates.
My interests are seeing lakes, mountain, trying out onsen, staying at ryokans with a view and some shopping.

I have listed some destinations but not sure which one to choose (preferably those places which will still look stunning in early sept):
- Kawaguchiko (if Mt Fuji is not visible, then what to do in this area?)
- Yamanakako
- Nikko
- Kamakura
- Matsumoto castle
- Kamikochi (will this be beautiful in early September?)
- Kanazawa
- Takayama
- Shirakawago
- Kyoto : Fushimi Inari, Gion, Arashiyama
- Osaka
- Tokyo (is shibuya recommended for shopping? looking for Muji, Uniqlo and skincare shops like lush etc)

please let me know if there is any other places I have not mentioned that is worth a visit (with cooler temperature).

Thank you for your help!

They are all worth a visit. But there is too many for 13 days.

I'd stick with Tokyo and Kyoto, then one one other location in between.

Yes indeed they are too many and I only have 9 Days there. Hence from that list I am trying to decide what are the top 5 destinations. Can you please suggest which one to choose?

Thanks!

9 days...
Tokyo and Kyoto only with side trips.

With only 9 days, it can be either 1#. Tokyo (4 days with one day trip) and Kyoto (5 days with 2 day trips), or 2#. Only Tokyo with several day trips around the area, or 3#. Only Kyoto with several day trips nearby.
The 1# option better have a JR pass if you are doing a round trip to/from Tokyo. But options 2# and 3# might just need specific passes or regional ones.

Hi!

Nowhere in Japan except maybe somewhere in Northern Hokkaido is going to have fall foliage that early. The one time I was in Japan in early September it was quite warm.

However, depending on what you define as beautiful scenery, there are a lot of places with beautiful scenery in early September.

In terms of shopping, there are a ton of Mujis, Uniqlos and Lushes in Japan. I believe only certain branches of Lush carry some specific products (I want to say some of the perfumes are only available at specific branches) but outside of a few limited products you don't need to go to Shibuya just to shop at any of those stores. (Now if you have other reasons to go to Shibuya, that is completely different.) We went to the Muji in Nagano and bought an umbrella, the Ginza area has a huge Uniqlo open until 21:00 and I returned our Whoosh from Osaka which had a cracked container for a new one in Kanazawa.

If the only appeal Tokyo has for you is shopping, you don't need to spend 3-4 days there unless you are using it as a base for day trips.

Kamikochi will be green in September so it depends on if you find forests and rivers and mountains attractive. If you do a search for the Kamikochi webpage of for Kamikochi September, you can probably see some pictures.

Good luck!

hakata14 and catiasmteixeira
Thank you for your input :) Yes, i will travel to tokyo again as I'm flying out from Narita, so I guess it is a good deal to buy JR Pass then.

rkold
Thank you so much for your explanation! Then I won't visit Shibuya just for shopping and try to find other destination :)
You said that many places in Japan are beautiful in early Sept, which ones do you suggest? I see that Kamikochi in September is not so attractive but not sure if it would be worth it going to Hokkaido.
How about kawaguchiko?

Thanks!

Hi!

I said that it depends on what *you* find attractive scenery. I can't say what *you* find attractive. I think Kamikochi is attractive in September, so we probably have different taste. I know I have diametrically opposed tastes to several people on this forum. Does that make my opinion right? No, it's opinion and we all like and seek different things.

You are not going to find a lot of leaf changing in early September anywhere in Japan unless it has a particularly cold year. You can flip through Japan Guide's past Autumn Color Reports if you want to get some idea about when leaf viewing is possible. If you can only go during that specific time period, you need to decide what you want to do and work under the assumption all the leaves will be green. If you don't like green leaves, then you might not be as interested in scenery.

The Fuji Five Lakes area is the only area on your list I've never been. We might go next trip if I can figure out if it's worth a trip to Fuji Q Highlands. Otherwise, I don't expect to go to the area until we are ready to actually climb Mt. Fuji.