Advice on Itinerary

I've been doing lots of research for my summer trip through Hokkaido and Tohoku and have come up with this itinerary. I'm using the Seichun Juhachi ticket and the Hokkaido Higashinihon ticket, which gives me 10 days on local trains, and on a couple of days I'll be renting a car. Anyway, any comments or suggestions would be appreciated:

Day one: Fly from Haneda to Memanbetsu. Get the bus to Shiretoko National Park. We'll be staying at Iwaobetsu youth hostel. Does anyone know if this is in walking distance to the nature center?

Day 2: Get the first bus to Kamuiwakka Falls. On the way back from Kamuiwakka, stop at the Five Lakes.

Day 3: Get the first bus to Utoro and try to get one of the sightseeing boats up the peninsula. Get the bus to Shiretokoshari station and take the train to Abashiri. From Abashiri, get the Limited Express to Asahikawa. (We'll have to fork out the extra money for the Limited Express). Spend the night in Asahikawa.

Day 4: Rent a car in Asahikawa and drive down the Biei. Does anyone know how long the drive is? See Panorama Road and Patchwork road. We'll camp for the night in Nakafurano.

Day 5: Early in the morning, do a hot air balloon ride. After that, see Farm Tomita if we didn't get a chance to do it the day before. Drive back to Asahikawa to return the car and get the train to Sapporo. Stay overnight in Sapporo.

Day 6: Spend the day in Sapporo. Does anyone know when the beer festival is on? Get the Hamanasu that night.

Day 7: Arrive in Aomori and get the next set of trains to Miyako. Spend the afternoon at Jodogahama and stay the night in Miyako.

Day 8: In the morning, get the train to Hiraizumi and spend the day seeing temples. Spend the night in Ichinoseki.

Day 9: Do Geibikei and Gembikei gorges and stay a second night in Ichinoseki.

Day 10: Get the train to Matsushimakaigan and see Matsushima Bay. Stay the night in Sendai.

Day 11: Rent a car in Sendai and drive to Zao-san. Spend the day there and come back to Sendai for the night.

Day 12: Get a bunch of trains back to Tokyo.

A very well thought-out itinerary. Here are just a few additional thoughts:

Shiretoko Iwaobetsu Youth Hostel is within walking distance to the Shiretoko Nature Centre
http://www.jyh.or.jp/english/hokaido/shiretok/index.htm...

For the Kamuiwakka Falls, you have to hike up 20-30 min on a slippery trail. You can rent a pair of straw slippers for an easier climb.

42 min drive from Asahikawa to Biei:
http://time-n-rd.jp/info/result.php?dep=01204&arr=01832...

Balloon ride in Furano is a fixed ride, i.e. it is tied to a rope on the ground. 2100 yen for a 5 min ride
http://www.alpn.co.jp/english/s-menu/index.html

Sapporo Beer Garden festival was held July 21- August 20 last year. Most probably this year it will be around the same period.
http://www.sweb.co.jp/kanko/natsu/

In Hiraizumi, if you are going to Chuson-ji and Motsu-ji, it is a good idea to take the town loop bus and get a 300 yen day-pass from the driver.

For Geibikei Gorge, do not miss the fun ride on a flat bottomed boat with a singing boatman and a stop on a shingle beach to throw stones into a hole in the gorge cliff for luck, wealth, health and love. Also you can buy food to feed carps.

Any particular reason for the special self-driven daytrip to Zao-san!?

Thanks for the feedback.

I had gotten the impression that public transportation to and around the Zao area wouldn't be very good, and because we only have a day there, I figured our own set of wheels would be best. Also, I haven't yet decided whether to do it as a day trip or to stay the night.

But I'm more than open to any thoughts about whether or not a car would be necessary.

As far as public transport to Zao Onsen from Sendai, there is a direct 90 min bus in winter, but I am not sure whether it runs during summer times.
http://www.kankou.yamagata.yamagata.jp/system/news/news...

Slightly longer is 80 min JR from Sendai to Yamagata followed by a 40 min bus connection.

The reason I ask is I doubt whether it is worth going to Zao in the summer. I went in winter to see the Juhyo snow monsters. My friend went during fall for the autumn foliage on the mt. slope up the cableway and the beautiful Okama Lake. If you are after an onsen experience, there are other more attractive places in Tohoku, some closer to Sendai than Zao.

Hmmm, maybe I'll try to save Zao for another time.

Do you have any recommendations for what to replace Zao with if we decide not to do it? Mostly, I'm interested in hot springs and camping.

Thanks a lot for your input.

I am not into camping, so can't help you there.

To fill a daytrip from Sendai, in the morning go to Yama-dera. Perched on the mt. slope, the place is beautiful, and the panoramic view from the top is spectacular. Yama-dera is just 50 min direct JR from Sendai.
http://www4.dewa.or.jp/yamadera/index.htm

In the afternoon take a 50 min direct bus from Sendai to Akiu Onsen for a relaxing dip. Better still if you can spend the night there. Nearby is the lovely Akiu Otaki Waterfalls.
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/regional/miyagi/akiu...

If you don't mind changing your itinerary a bit, coming down from Aomori before going to Jodogahama Beach, consider spending a night in Nyuto Onsen or Tazawa-ko. Tsurunoyu Onsen has long been on top of the list of onsens in Japan.
http://www.nyuto-onsenkyo.com/english/index.html
http://www.tsurunoyu.com