16d itinerary ideas in September (1st visit)

Hello all!

We are planning a 16-day trip to Japan in the beggining of September 2024 and since it is our first time in the country any idea-recommendation would be helpful.

Beside visiting larger cities, we would also like to include in our trip some countryside, less touristy towns. Hokkaido and Gifu prefecture look pretty appealing to us but any other thought will be welcomed.
Which is an ideal itinerary for you if you consider that our trip is going to start from Osaka and end up in Tokyo?

Can you/Do you want to drive? Or just public transportation?

Itinerary depends on what you like.

But if it is you first trip. I'd stay 5 full days for both Kyoto and Tokyo each. Then use your other 6 days for other locations.

Best would be if you come up with an initial itnary or at least a list of towns/areas and then have it reviewed. These kind of open questions don�ft generally yield the best replies.

Thank you for the answers. Yes, probably i should posted places i already had in mind for a better discussion.

My initial plan looks as follows:

5 days Kyoto
4 days Kanasawa - Takayama - Shirakawago
4 days Tokyo
and maybe 4 days Hokkaido by plane from Tokyo?

Is a flight to Hokkaido really realistic or you think that i include too many places in my trip?
I just love what i have seen about Hokkaido regions and i am willing to take off a few days from Tokyo in order to see Hokkaido too.

My plan is to use public transport. Maybe i could drive in Hokkaido regions but i am not sure if i really want to.

well it looks like i posted an extra day in my initial plan. Maybe, it could be 1 less day in Hokkaido or in Tokyo in order to have a 16-day schedule...

Hokkaido is rather inconvenient if you don�ft drive. So I recommend you to go Kanazawa-Shirakawago-Takayama-Kamikochi-Matsumoto-Tokyo route.

Day 1-5 Kyoto
Day 6 Kyoto to Kanazawa by train.
Day 7 Kanazawa to Shirakawago to Takayama by bus.
Day 8 Takayama to Hirayu onsen to Kamikochi by bus.
Day 9 Kamikochi.
Day 10 Kamikochi to Matsumoto by bus/train.
Day 11 Matsumoto.
Day 12 Matsumoto to Tokyo (Shinjuku) by train or bus.
Day 13-16 Tokyo.

16 days is not that much, especially if you plan to start in Osaka and end in Tokyo. Hokkaido is bit out of the way, in my opinion you would lose too much time just traveling there and then back to Tokyo. I would recommend visiting places near Osaka / Kyoto (Hiroshima, Himeji, Nara, Uji etc.) and then perhaps some trips from Tokyo (Nikko, Kamakura, Hakone).