November 2023 - second visit

Hi everyone,

I donft know what to do or where to go?

I know you have heard this all before but the JR Pass price increase has confused things even more.

We are:
- 40 years old British couple. Just us two!
- This will be our 2nd visit (first visit was April 2014)
- Will hopefully not leave it as long for our 3rd visit (we were even considering visiting in Nov and early/mid Dec this year - so two separate trips).

Dates of travel:
- 2 Nov 2023 - 20 Nov 2023 (from UK). So roughly 2 weeks, once flights knocked off

Interests:
- Food, drink, hiking, photography, art, gardens, music, sport

Transport:
- Flights not yet booked (from UK). Flights are expensive. Makes little difference where we fly in/out of in terms of cost (i.e. we donft mind flying into one Japanese airport and out of a different one)
- Cost wise, Ifm more concerned by travel costs whilst there (would prefer not to have to buy JR pass)
- Car - have driven all over the world and have valid international permit. Only worry is availability of parking.

Language:
- Last time I learned about 100 basic words and phrases and will do so again
- We canft read kanji other than a few very basic food characters
- Will try our best, particularly in pursuit of food and drink!

Budget:
- Ifm from Northern England so Ifm tight
- Donft mind ploughing money into food, drink and experiences instead of accommodation. Bland business hotels did the job last time.

Previous visit:
- April 2014 - 3 weeks
- Osaka, Fukuoka (& Dazaifu & Nagasaki & Gunkanjima), Hiroshima (& Miyajima), Kyoto (& Nara & Koya), Takayama, Tokyo (& Fuji).
- Absolutely loved it butc

eMistakesf last time:
- Chasing Michelin Stars (and often failing to get reservations anyway) rather than realising that itfs almost impossible to eat poorly in Japan
- Being too intimidated to visit Izakaya until late in the trip
- Not discovering Japanese curry until late in the trip
- Going to bed at 3pm on arrival and then waking up at 1am with jet lag that didnft leave us for over a weekc
- cand then staying up all night near the end of the holiday just to go to Tsukiji tuna auction
- Having 5 nights in Tokyo at the end of the trip when we were tired and a little jadedcand then not getting our second wind until the final day

Highlights from last trip:
- Miyajima - oysters, deer - great day trip
- Takayama - weather was poor for the 2 days but the food and town were fantastic. Loved the Sake shops
- Kyoto
- Gunkanjima - the only western tourists on the tour. Somehow won both of the raffle prizes on the boat (50/1 chance of 1 win!). Everyone was so happy for us and wouldnft let us give the prizes away (in hindsight, that was presumably a cultural faux-pas to attempt to do so?!)

We donft have a particular interest in:
- Castles (unless the actual town/city is also worth visiting)
- Onsen. Wefre British! My wife and I undress with the lights off, so prudish is an understatement. Plus, we like to experience things together (apart from undressing or most forms of physical intimacy!!)


Possible options:
- Chugoku/Shikoku - Okayama, the art islands (Naoshima etc), Daisen, Takamatsu, Kibi (hire bikes), Shimanami Kaido (more bikes), Iya (worried about the weather in Nov?), Onomichi, TomonouracIfd like to go to Hagi too!; or

- South Kyushu (fascinated by Kagoshima); or

- Tohoku / Hokkaido - November probably not the best time


Conclusion:

- I would be grateful for your thoughts. Wefre not travelling to Japan in November for the weather but I donft want to be shivering in the rain for two weeks either

Thanks very much. Any help or advice gratefully received.

I very much like Okayama as a base, and would stay there for a couple of nights and do day trips. One of my favourites from there was Ritsurin Koen in Takamatsu.

We took a trip to Chugoku-Chiho in 2018-Matsue to Hagi-it's a lovely very quiet and out of the way. We picked up a car after a couple of days in Matsue, made our way down the coast via Tsuwano, then ultimately dropped the car in Yamaguchi.

I also like Kanazawa, would skip the castle.

We had several days in Kagoshima, it's a great little place, subtropical almost. And that volcano!

Thanks to the hospitality of friends (who organised things we could not have achieved on our own) we've had some wonderful kaiseki meals in Japan, but much as I enjoy the experience I'm with you-there's a lot of good food to enjoy. We've stayed in hotels with meal plans which I tend to find a bit overwhelming after a day or two.

I tend to stick to fairly basic accommodation, though as an onsen fan I do choose hotels with a bath. So we tend to mix it up a bit.

Not sure any of that adds up to an itinerary, but just a few ideas.

Have a wonderful time in Japan!

Hi! Given the duration of your visit, it'll be great to tie in some of the spots that are best for autumn foliage. Taking into account your previous travels, I'd like to suggest a couple of locations based on what I'd personally do in your shoes.

Based on the suggestion made by the previous poster to base yourself in Okayama, I'd suggest visiting the neighbouring prefectures – Okayama, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Hyogo, Kagawa, and Ehime Prefectures. Taking into account flight costs, your cheapest options would be flying to either Fukuoka or Osaka.

Based on what was discussed, you can consider a 7D JR West Setouchi Area Pass – for 22,000 ‰~, this pass is considerably cheaper than the 7D JR Pass and allows you to use Shinkansens and other limited express trains all the way from Fukuoka in the west to Osaka in the East.

You can also consider visiting some parts of Kansai for the autumn foliage – based on personal experience, I enjoyed the views offered at Minoo Falls in northern Osaka, and the Sagano scenic train just north of Kyoto city. Kurashiki Bikan Area and the Bitchu Matsuyama Area (not covered by aforementioned pass) in Okayama Prefecture also offers amazing views of autumn foliage.

As for Hokkaido, it'll be hard to get around by public transportation, but if you're game enough, you can explore some parts of Tohoku and the wider Tokyo area, including Nikko, Kawagoe, and Enoshima/Kamakura.

You've provided a lot of details and I may have unintentionally neglected some, so please feel free to reach out should you wish to clarify further.

Hope that helps :))

It seems you are interested in cycling. Have a look at my blog if something inspires you:

http://bicycletraveljapan.blogspot.com/?m=1

Otherwise in November Ifd probably stick to more of the Southern part.

Shikoku
Teshima
Naoshima
Inujima
Hagi
Okayama
Bitchu Takahashi
Kyoto
Lake Biwa ;Hikone, Omi Hachimanc)
c

You say that you donft do onsen and also say that a lot of things you only discovered late in your trip and found that an error. Maybe give an onsen a try. Maybe start with a private one just for the two of you. Specially after cycling a whole day soaking in an onsen is pure bliss.