Worth going late nov?

Been thinking of going back to Japan for several years since the pandemic is due, but air fares have been way too high and flights doing long detours due to the war situation in Europe. I managed to find discounted fares in late nov, early dec.

Is it worth going to Japan that late in the year?

Late November is one of the best times to visit Japan with pleasant weather and the autumns at their peak in many major cities. The basics:
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2273.html

If you want to see fall foliage it is a great time to go, but be prepared for high hotel prices and big crowds if you go to places that have good foliage. Kyoto is particularly bad in both regards, and some hotels are already booked out for that time frame. But if you donft mind crowds and paying premium rates for accommodations, it is a lovely time to go. If youfre not particarly interested in the foliage stuff, then you can minimize both of those issues by going to places where the trees have already finished their show. There are plenty of other things to do in Japan, so it basically depends on what you are interested in. The weather is likely to be quite good most of the time, maybe a little cold in northern Japan.

Well I have seen fall foliage several times in Japan, as well as the current ongoing here, so it is no dealbreaker. Kyoto I have been to many times as well.

I guess hiking is out. But onsen is always interesting. I have quite a few places on my bucket list. Okinawa for instance. Rishiri Rebun is probably too late to visit in November. I will probably only be able to stay for 14-15 days at most.

I also heard the JR Pass had become too expensive for budget travelling, maybe domestic flight or bus? Unless those are already booked out due to fall foliage?

In that case, I would say that you will probably want to avoid Kyoto and other popular areas that will have good foliage displays at the time you are there. (It may be towards the tail end of the season in Kyoto but there will still be hordes of tourists there.) Or at least limit your time in such places. But I think it is definitely worth going to Japan at that time. (I have a trip planned for exactly that time frame myselfc)

I wouldnft say that hiking is out. You would just need to pick the locations carefully and be prepared to change your plans if you happen to get bad weather. You can forget about Mt. Fuji or the Japanese alps, but there are places where it rarely snows, especially that early in the season. Kumano Kodo comes to mind, although I havenft hiked there in December myself. But there are many other possibilities, especially for casual day hikes. Any place you go it will be off-season for hiking, so you have to be a self-sufficient sort, but many trails will be open.

As for the JR Pass, for most tourists the new pricing takes it out of consideration. But that doesnft limit you to planes and buses. Point-to-point rail tickets may be the best choice in many cases. Also, there many regional rail passes that havenft gone up nearly as much in price as the nationwide JR pass. Western Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku still have some very good options. Japan-Guide has a page that lists some of them:
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2357.html