In 2005 we have made a trip through Japan and we came back seriously enthusiastic about this country. Back then, we have mainly covered central and western Honshu, norhtern Kyushu, Shikoku and the Japanese Alps (Tokyo - Kyoto - Himeji - Tottori - Matsue - Beppu - Mt. Aso -
Matsuyama - Kochi - Takamatsu - Kyoto - Nagoya - Takayama - Tokyo). We did most of this trip with a rental car (the Kyoto - Kyoto part) and we mostly stayed in Ryokans, both of which we enjoyed very much.
Now we would like to explore northern Honshu and Hokkaido. Also, we want to hike a lot. For now, the plan is to make a four to five weeks trip. I've found a website of a New Zealander who organizes guided hiking treks in Hokkaido. We do not have a lot of experience with hiking treks, so this seems a good start! The two most interesting hikes, are both in August and last about two weeks. Unfortunately, August is not the best period for visiting other areas in Japan (hot, humid, crowded during Obon), but we'll probably have to adapt to that. When we decide to do the first hike, we will go the last two weeks of July and the first two weeks of August. When we decide to join the second hike, we will go the second half of August and the first half of September.
The current plan leaves us with about two weeks to visit northern Honshu. Destinations that are high on our list at the moment are Nikko, Bansai National Park (climb Bansai-san), Dewa Sanzan (pilgrimage hike to three sacred peaks), Morioka, Kakunadate, Towada Hachimantai National Park (hiking again) and Aomori. The idea is to rent a car in Nikko and to drop it off in Aomori (or the other way around, depending on the hiking trek we'll decide to do).
That's all for now... Suggestions for the itinerary, accomodation, etc as well as experiences with destinations we plan to include are more than welcome!
Karin
