5 days in Winter- what to do?

Hi,

Sorry in advance for the long post.

I am travelling to Japan in January (Jan 4th) for about 7 days before skiing in Niseko.
I would like to get some advice on good places to go in Winter in Japan, apart from skiing.
I thought I might spend a couple of days in Tokyo (day trip to Nikko) and then thought to head south. Essentially, I need to be in Tokyo on Jan 12th, so have about five days to sightsee.

Some background so that you know the sort of things I like:
I have been to Japan in Summer, spending time in and around Kyoto, Matsumoto, Takayama and Kamikochi.
Kyoto and surrounds were particularly interesting, with my favourite day of my holiday spent walking around Uji and Inari.
I found Matsumoto a bit less interesting, although I thought the castle was spectacular.
Takayama was picturesque and I enjoyed my day at the Shriakawa-go
Kamakochi was excellent, although it rained.

I like visiting temples, parks, museums and like walking.

Given that I only have 5 days outside of Tokyo I would prefer to stay in one location or at most two locations and take day trips, etc.

I thought to spend time in Shikoku or perhaps even Kyushu. Beppu spunds pretty good as does the thought of taking in some of the 88 temples on Shikoku, although, I suspect the temples are not as well maintained as those around Kyoto.
The onsen area of Matsuyama is also appealing, especially given the time of year.

of course, Kyoto is still an option as I felt that four days was not enough on my last holiday.

Lastly, I wouuld also like to go somewhere that has some nightlife, like a jazz or blues venue.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

cheers,
DJDD

Sapporo has direct flights into most parts of Japan, including Kagoshima on Kysuhu and Kochi on Shikoku, making it feasible to visit basically any region of Japan. I would recommend to use an air pass:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2364.html

And possible destinations:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e623a.html

thanks for the info.
I will be flying to Sapporo from tokyo.

I appreciate the link tot he regions in Japan-guide. Somehow I missed that page.

regards,
DJDD