First trip to Japan in July 2020

Dear all,

My boyfriend and I are planning a trip to Japan next year in July and would like to get some feedback about the itinerary below: Is it not too hectic doing it by train? (JR Rail pass)
We love old architecture, hiking and discovering traditional rural areas/villages, do you have anything in particular to recommend?
Is weather in Kyushu right for sightseeing in July?

1 Osaka - Travel to Kyosan
2 Nara
3 Kyoto
4 Kyoto
5 Kyoto
6 Himeji castle/Mt sosha + Miyajima
7 Nagasaki
8 Nagasaki/Arita
9 Fukuoka (Hakata Gion Yamakasa, 12th July)
10 Fukuoka (Hakata Gion Yamakasa, 13th July )
11 Aso Kuju Nationalpark or Kirishima national park or Sakurajima
12 Aso Kuju Nationalpark or Kirishima national park or Sakurajima
13 Travel Kagoshima - Yakushima
14 Yakushima
15 Yakushima
16 Yakushima
17 Travel from Yakushima to Fuji area by ferry + train
18 Fuji - five lakes area
19 Fuji trail
20 Fuji sunrise - descent - Onsen
21 Tokyo

Many thanks!

Looks like an epic trip.

Some travel between places are quite ambitious. The trains are fast, but a day on trains is still tiring. Try using Google or hyperdia to get a feel for travel times. Some trains and ferrys are not so frequent.

July can be incredibly hot and humid, esp if you are not accustomed to it.

I usually allow for some rest days, and a chance to explore places that that appeal once you get there. You might travel differently though.

Looks like you�fll arrive in Tokyo during the Olympics, in which case accommodation will be scarce and expensive.

Thank you very much for your input, we directly booked the hotel in Tokyo after reading your message, Walkingfool :)
You are right ktb42, it's nice to keep some time for discoveries, I just have the feeling that it will be difficult to find cheap accomodation once we are there and that we need to book all of them before travelling, what do you think?
Do you have any recommendation for more rural areas (like little villages along the coast or in the inland), which are not too touristic and pretty?
I read that the weather during that season is more bearable in Kyushu (and Hokkaido) than in Shikoku and Konshu... do you agree with that?

Looks like a great trip (Kyushu to Fuji Five Lakes in a day a little ambitious, maybe, but doable). Yes, it will probably be very hot and humid in July but be aware that it will be freezing on top of Mount Fuji until the sun comes up so go prepared (speaking from experience).

Maybe higher altitudes in Kyushu are tolerable in July. My memory of Fukuoka in July is of a furnace.

Rural stays are hard to suggest, what I like might be a rundown hole to you guys. Also, they are typically hard to get to using public transport.

Japan has a lot of coastline and a heck of a lot of seaside villages. One of my favorite stays was on Miyajima in the Suginoura area, easy to get to but that may be too touristy for some. More remote is Osakikamojima, difficult without a car, but great place and stunning onsen.