One Month in Japan

Hi,
Myself and 3 friends are heading to Japan from the end of June to the start of August. With around 35 days in the country, I was wondering what more offbeat places are worth visiting.

The basic plan at the moment is around 5 days in Tokyo at the beginning, and a few days in Kyoto for Gion Matsuri. We also intend on visiting Sado Island, Hiroshima and Ogimachi Village (we'll have a JRail pass). However, we'd also like to get off Honshu island for a few days if at all possible (hopefully Kyushu).

Its a long trip, and as it is kind of a dream holiday for us we want to make the most out of it, so any advise would be welcome. We hope to have a budget of around 350,000 - 450,000 each (with flights / Jrail paid for).

Thanks for the help :)

Miyajima is beautiful! There are ferries that go there in about 10-15 minutes from Hiroshima. You can use your JR pass on one of the ferries, just be careful which one you pick because not all the ferries accept it. On Miyajima, you can go up the mountain and ride the cable car to the top-you will have the most awesome view of Japan ever, not to mention the monkeys. Do that first as the bus/cable car close kind of early. Then check out the giant "floating torii" and Itsukushima shrine. There are tons of wild deer wandering about that won't mind if you want to take a photo with them (just be careful what you carry because they WILL eat it and not ask first) and a lot of neat shops and food places. It's worth a day trip--http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3401.html

Sounds great (monkeys!) alright. Have heard Miyajima mentioned in a few places before (mainly JRail literature) and will definitely add it to the list!