35 days in Japan

Hey people,

Since this seems to be the place to get itineary suggestions, thought I might as well give it a shot.

Me and a friend are going to Japan in June. I ma going for 35 days then on to South East Asia, and my friend is going for 28 days. We are trying to decide roughly where to go. We can't decide whether to go to Hokkaido, or spend more time in the south.

The idea is we will travel for the 28 days, and then I will continue on for the remaining 7 days in the South of Japan.

Obviously we have all the obvious ones (Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka). In addition we were thinking (for the 28 days):
Nikko, Matsushima, Kanazawa, Takamatsu, Miyajima, Hiroshima.

We are also thinking of a couple of places, such as the Dewa Sanzan, Sado Island (how difficult is it to travel there?), Oboke & Koboke, Okayama. Are any of these places worth the visit, if not just even a stop over?

Can anyone recommend how long to stay in each of these places (as in, how long to do it resonable justice given my time frame), and anywhere else that is worth going to? Or is outstanding?

Finally, for myself, in the very south of Japan, what is worth visiting? I have a few ideas such as:
Kumamoto, Kagoshima, Yaksushima. Again any other suggestions would be great.

I know a few people have posted about most of these before, but it would be very helpful to get a more personalised response.

Thank you for your help!

You didn't mention the time of year, but you seem to be sticking to the south, maybe because it's warmer. The farthest north you get is Matsushima. If you have warm weather, you might venture further north to Lake Towada or into Hokkaido, which has many outdoor places and some interesting cultural stops.

Sado Island is easy to get to, but I've always used a car once there. If you use buses, stop in the info center at Ryotsu Port and get the bus schedules and some maps. I don't remember what info they had if you went into Ogi. There are several car-rental places in Ryotsu. I got a deal on Tocoo.com for the Nissan rental the last time there.

Yakushima is another place to have your own car, although bus service around the island has improved.

You can get good info on Sado and Yakushima as well as other places from the JNTO site
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/rtg/

Most of the places you mentioned were too general to answer a specific question or are covered in a travel book, such as Lonely Planet or Rough Guide and you can find answers there.

What you want to do and see will also determine the direction you go. If you want to drink lots of imported draft beers, head to Fukuoka in Kyushu and look up The Craic and the Porter, a small bar on Oyafuku-dori. If you want outdoor hiking, head to Kirishima in Kagoshima (or north to Hokkaido or south to Yakushima). If you want to soak in hot springs, check out Beppu, Yufuin, Kurokawa, or Ibusuki. If you like old castle walls, Kumamoto-jo is large, Oka-jo in Taketa City is isolated and on a mountaintop, and Obi-jo has good restored buildings as well as original structures. If you want some prehistoric sites, Kyushu also has a lot, such as Yoshinogari, a Yayoi site in northern Kyushu, Jomon-no-mori, a Jomon site on Kagoshima Bay, and Saito-baru kofun, with about 300 burial mounds from the 4th-6th C in Miyazaki. I think the friendliest snack bars are in Yatsushiro and the worst smelling shochu is in Kagoshima. You have a lot of choices and need to narrow them.

Chris: i lived in Japan for three years, and many moons ago. My wife and I traveled to sado island and it was wonderful and "remote". However it was a concerted effort to get there. The boat from Nigata itself seemed to be a long trip. With the research you have obviously done you can decide. Sado Island is beautiful but way out of the way. Matsushima however offers even more beautiful seascapes than Sado and is more "accessable". Dont miss Kamakura Mt Fuji and Kyoto. As for Tokyo.. depends what you like. Personally I would pass on it. Lots to do yes. but a huge city very modern urban hussle and bussle. Myself i perfer the countryside.

There are multiple ferrys to Sado from different parts of Japan. The fastest leave Nagaoka, Niigata and takes about an hour.

There are many places worth to visit, refer to http://www.kyushu-tourist.com

What I always tell people that ask for advice on an itinerary is, state more of your personal interests and goals in Japan. IE what you want to see, what is important and what is not. You have a lot of time here, so make sure you plan well, base it on where you're going to fly in from and fly out of. Miya Jima and Hiroshima are highly recommended spend 1 day at Miya Jima (make sure its a nice day, though you can't control the weather) Hiroshima can pretty much be summed up in 2 days no problem if you want some tips on places to go in Hiroshima let us know.
As for Kanazawa, yes I would recommend it also, a lot of older culture there and very calm place. Harder to reach but well worth it. Kamakura is another area that can't be missed. Mt. Fuji can be seen from the Shinkansen going to or from Kyoto and Tokyo. Though if you want to go to Hakone and take the lake cruise there it's pretty neat. If you're thinking about Shikoku island (where Takamatsu is) then you might want to look at Matsuyama in Ehime prefecture also. You can take a ferry from Hiroshima or a smaller city Yanai to Matsuyama. If you see all the stuff in the northern regions and make your way south you should hit up Okayama before going to Hiroshima, there is a lot there that can be found interesting. Spend maybe a day or 2 there, before making your way to Hiroshima, then to Miya Jima. With a day stop in Iwakuni to see the Kintai Bridge and castle. Making your way down to Yanai to go to Matsuyama. See the Dogo Onsen and places in Ehime along with Takamatsu. I would aslo visit Hagi a very nice castle town with Hagi-yaki (pottery). On your way south try to stop in Shimonoseki and get some Fugu (famous there) also called puffer fish. Working your way further south stop in Kitakyushu for a visit along with Fukuoka both for a day or so.

Kagoshima is pretty cool because of the volcano. Kumamoto has a pretty big castle and a nice garden. A lot of it is the same as the rest of Japan. That is why you need to pick out what you want to see (you might get worn out of the same temples, castles, gardens and shrines after a while). Hope some of this helped. When I travel, I like to use...

http://wikitravel.org/en/Main_Page

because it has a lot of information about how to get to the cities I want to go along with prices. Just type in a city or region and go from there! Anymore questions about what you find on that website can be answered here I'm sure. Good luck!

I made a mistake earlier. The 1hr ferry to Sado leaves from Niigata City. There is no ferry from Nagaoka, rather the 2.5hr ferry leaves from Naoetsu.

If you take advantage of the shinkansen (bullet train) you can see quite a bit in 35 days. It's hard to make specific recommendations without knowing your personal tastes, but I can make general recommendations:

Don't overlook other towns along the backside (the Niigata side) of Japan. These areas are some of the only places that weren't bombed during the war, and will tend to have more traditional structures. These are also areas, few foreigners go to.

You will have time to explore the islands south of Kyushu such as Yaku-shima, Amami, or even Okinawa and the other Ryukan islands.

Don't overlook natural areas in Japan (if you are interested). The Japanese countryside is seriously underrated. Also, don't assume remote areas of Japan are always boring. You will find interesting temples, museums, stores, restaurants everywhere, and some of the best in unheard of places.

Keep cultural differences, and sometimes vast dialect differences in mind while traveling through Japan. If you know or are learning standard Japanese, the dialect in Akita might seem unintelligible, for example. If you find Tokyo uptight and unfriendly, you might find Kyushu or Osaka friendly and outgoing.

Don't assume the capital, Tokyo, is the cultural center of Japan. It is more of a business center, and though it has interesting areas, much of it is the least interesting for tourists. Japan's cultural/historical center tends to be in the Inland Sea area. Don't skip Tokyo, you have the time. Tokyo is the world's largest city, and worth a glimpse, but you can eat up a lot of time in Tokyo, and find the same to see elsewhere.