Fifth Trip ... Need Ideas

Hello all!

First off, want to thank this site, as it has been helping me plan trips since 2010!

This will be mine and my husband's fifth trip to Japan this late March/early April.

It is two of our friends second trips.

And it is my good girl friends first trip!

I am trying to figure out how to hit the most memorable places in Japan, but also new places, and also work in a couple absolutes -

Wednesday, March 27 - Ghibli Park in Aichi
Universal Studios Japan (my husband and I probably won't do this one though)
Nijigen-no-Mori on Awaji
Overnight at Iwamotoro in Enoshima (already booked for March 28-29)

We've done sumo, but my friends are open to it ... I feel like my girl friend HAS to see Kyoto, but I know it will be swamped during sakura season.

We also have some tattoos, so not really looking for public onsen.

We're really into weird, offbeat places to go. We like things like ruins, castles, hikes (but not like full blown hiking, lol).

I'm also trying to be mindful of the new, terrible changes to the JR Pass pricing (i.e., not worth it).

I don't expect anyone to draw up a full itinerary, but I literally stay up all day and night trying to figure this out. I'm not my 20 something self anymore and my brain hurts, LOL!

Thank you all for any input!

That sounds horrible. 5x visitors, 2x visitors and a first timer. Everyone will want something different.

I would back out if you haven't already committed to it. If you have, you need ro sit down with all parties involved and ask them what they want.

Their answers will be better than anything that we type here for you.

Yes, if you don't have any ideas yourself, one of the other three people will probably have a list of things they want to see. From the short list you wrote, it makes sense to visit Wakayama (https://www.japan-guide.com/list/e1229.html) or Mie (https://www.japan-guide.com/list/e1225.html) prefectures which are lesser known and close-by. Or Izu Peninsula (https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6310.html)

I suggest not sticking together the whole time. Having traveled with a first timer on my 4th trip, I was glad I did not have to revisit the must-see spots in Kyoto or Tokyo.

Iwamotoro is fantastic - Enoshima is one of my fave places.

So I take it you have to get down to Osaka for Universal Studios, and you are going to go to Kyoto as well. Look, I'd go to Nara for 2 - 3 nights. Nara is the best place to chill, it never gets old full of forests, parks, and history. I would look to stay around the Wakakusayama area, there are some cheap places around there. It is absolutely beautiful there, the hill with deer on one side, the forest with deer on the other, some nice walks/hikes around. Shortish walk into town, there are some fantastic restaurants there including the best pizza I have eaten.

Also how about the Kiso Valley? We stayed at Kiso Fukushima a few nights early 2023, there are some fantastic ryokans there, and used it as a base to do some legs of the Nakasendo Way choofing up and down the Chuo line. I'd do it again, I am really keen on the Tsumago to Magome walk (which I found disappointing the first time but excellent the second, I think it is better on a weekend). if you were only going to do the Tsumago to Magome walk I'd probably stay at Nakatsugawa which is closer.

And Hikone is essentially on the way. Great castle, quietish town, last time we went (November) we stayed at Kamenoi Hotel which is an onsen hotel, rooms are pretty reasonably priced and fantastic, it is a bit of a walk to the castle but fine once you know the way, food was great. The setup is a bit odd in the japanese onsen hotel kind of way, and I think the onsens are chlorinated, but really good, and on the lake.

Fifth timer here also, traveling to Japan this summer with a first timer.

My friend doesn't really care what to see, he trusts me to show him the essential, going to stay for 25 days so we have plenty of time to see his basics and see the stuff I want.

Here are some ideas, we arrive to Osaka and visit Koyasan the second day (surprisingly never been there in my previous 4 trips) , obviously first one is to rest. Afterwards Miyajima and Hiroshima for 2 days to chill a bit.

Then we go to Shikoku to see festivals since it will be in August, Kochi, Matsuyama, Takamatsu and Tokushima are our main destinations.

And also going to Kumano Kodo in Wakayama prefectures, I mean those are the side trips besides Kyoto, Tokyo, Nikko or Kamakura and Nara which I suppose you had been before.

Other options which I did in previous trips for example Kyushuu area has nice places, specially Nagasaki was one of the highlights among my previous trips, in Western Japan I did enjoy a lot my stay in Shimane Prefecture, especially Matsue and Tamatsukuri Onsen which is pretty close to Matsue. Tottori also deserves a short stop if you are around there to see the Sand Dunes and the Museum.

In Kansai area I remember I stayed in Mie Prefecture, I saw the Ise Shrine which is considered the most sacred one, it was a nice shrine with the forests and saw the sunrise in Meoto Iwa, consider that trains are not so frequent in that area.

Center Japan I don't know if you did that before but Takayama and Shirakawa-go are a must, I suppose you did that but it is always nice to stay in one of the gassho zukuri, otherwise you can do the Nakasendo trail which is also so cool.

In Tohoku there are also lots of nice places, like Matsushima island close to Sendai or Hiraizumi in Iwate prefecture. In Akita there's a nice preserved samurai district in Kakunodate, I went in summer but during cherry blossom season I've seen very nice pictures.

Finally Hokkaido, there are plenty of places there.

Thank you so much, everyone!

H, aww, luckily, all my friends are pretty chill, which has its ups and downs. On one hand, they pretty much trust me (within reason) to plan the trip. On the other hand, I am a people pleaser as well, so I don't want to let anyone down. They tell me they're good with anything, as long as we hit the spots I mentioned!


Mellye, I have been wanting to go to Wakayama for so long. Do you suggest Wakayama as the city itself, or down in the Kii Peninsula? Three of us have been to Mount Koya, but that's as far down as we've gone. I would love to see Nachi Taisha. My husband is a bit put off if I want to put us in a new lodging every night, but ... I really want to go there, so I might see if I can make it work. Thank you!!

Lazy Pious, thank you so much for confirming Iwamotoro! We have never been to Enoshima (or Kamakura for that matter), so I am very excited for it.

Nara seems like a great base. That was actually our very first day trip on our very first trip back in 2010, but I don't think we covered nearly enough of the town. Plus, it was 14 years ago at this point.

I did check out the Kiso Valley, considering we will be somewhat near with Nagoya - Nakatsugawa isn't really far off from where we will be going to Ghibli Park, so I was trying to figure out something there. I may look into that more. Also have been wanting to do the Nakasendo walk for years! It's one of those things that had never been convenient before. I am also going to look into Hikone - thank you so much!

Peter, you've given me a lot of great ideas! That's where we're at; my friends generally trust my input, which is really nice.

I bet you're going to have the best time on your trip; especially Shikoku and the festivals!!

Strangely, I've been to Nagasaki, Hiroshima, Miyajima, and Koyasan, but not some of the more usual places such as Nikko and Kamakura. We're doing Kamakura on this trip, but I'm not sure if we will make it to Nikko ... I might wait for our next autumn trip! We tend to alternate spring and autumn.

I would love to do Tottori ... I could perhaps try to work that in with Kinosaki Onsen since I've heard it's completely tattoo friendly.

Thank you all for the fantastic input!!

Woops sorry, I meant the Wakayama prefecture.
I actually have only been in Yunomine Onsen (after a day walk on Kumano Kodo) and Tanabe city (my stay accidentally coincided with the Benkei matsuri, which was a nice surprise). I really wanted to see the Nachi falls, but didn't have time! I am saving it for my next, next trip (hopefully in 2025 :D) along with Ise jingu.

In terms of enjoyment, I prefered Kinosaki Onsen (done on a day trip), then Kumano Kodo, and then Nikkō. I loved Matsue but it is a bit too far since your must-see spots are around Osaka and Tokyo. I haven't been to Kamakura or Kiso valley. Looking at the pictures, the Nakasendo looks like a nice mix of old houses/towns and nature, so if your time is limited, there might be more to see and do compared to Kumano Kodo.

Ifve spent a week or so in Wakayama prefecture.
Standouts for me were:
- shirahama onsen. Amazing bath by the sea
- visiting soy sauce and miso makers (and having soy and miso ice cream - I donft even have a sweet tooth!)
- walking a couple of short bits of the Kumamo Kodo
- yunomine onsen
- nachi falls and the temples nearby
- the crazy island/peninsula (quite tacky, but with EXCELLENT range of baths) big hotel where you arrive there in a boat shaped like a turtle and theyfve got a cave bath looking out onto the sea
- the tiny town where therefs a train station with Ni Tama, the cat who is the honorary stationmaster
- staying in the hotel opposite Wakayama castle where you have breakfast looking over the castle park
- very good crab meal in walking distance of hotel above. Ditto the seafood restaurant opposite the crab place
- seafood market/place with lots of fish restaurants just outside Wakayama town where they have a whole time cutting demo and you can eat the freshly cut tuna as they cut it
You can have a lot of fun in Wakayama without travelling too far. Youfd ideally need a car though. We combined that trip with a week in Shikoku, amd travelled over to Wakayama on the ferry.
It was the antidote to a typical ggo everywhere- travel huge distancesh typical trip to Japan, but it was great.