One month in Japan - vaccine against JE?

I am a bit unsure about the vaccine for JE. My doctor says I could get it, but he doesn't recommend it.

We are travelling all of July starting with a Hokkaido roadtrip, Kanazawa, Takaywama (with day trips in the Alps) Kyoto, Tokyo, Hiroshima, Nara and in the end one week on Miyako.

I'm especially unsure about the risk in Chubu and Gifu region + the Okinawa Island.

Is the vaccine an overreaction or the sensible choice?
Thank you :)

Did your doctor mention why he didn't recommend it? You're traveling in summer, so peak heat and mosquito season. If the vaccine is easy to get and not too expensive, I would do it anyway just for peace of mind because, why not? But if your doctor has other concerns about it, then you can talk with him/her and make that decision based on that. Kids here get the vaccination as routine starting from 3 years old. That said, I came to Japan 10 years ago and don't think I ever got it, though I can't remember why not. But now that I've looked it up I think I will be asking my doctor about getting it, too... it certainly doesn't hurt to have it!

My doctor said that the risk would be very small and especially for the places I was going. It should be only rural areas, and even there the risk should be small. But I'm not 100% sure what can be considered a rural area? Is areas around Kanazawa and Takayama rural?

The price is around 36.000 yen, so its not cheap, but if it potentially is life threatening...

Had to google it as I had never heard of it. Judging by the answers on google. You don't have a requirement for it. No long exposure to JE etc etc.

I might have been lucky or ignorant, but I've lived in Japan for three years and have traveled back numerous times whilst never getting this immunization.

Yeah, that's a bit expensive. I wouldn't consider the areas you're in as "rural" for the most part. I think if you take precautions such as bug spray, and covering up or staying inside when mosquitos are most likely to be out (dawn and dusk are the worst times for them usually), you wont have any problems.

Thank you for all your answers!