I’m home from a solo three-week trip to Japan. As usual, I made it up as I went along based on research, past experience, and whim.
I visited three of Japan’s main islands: Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku. Hokkaido didn’t make the list this time because winter was setting in there and I didn’t want to carry winter clothes.
I generally used a hub and spoke system, staying in one place for a few days, then using a Japan Rail pass for day trips. With Japan’s Shinkansen (bullet train system, depicted by blue lines on the maps) a 400-mile round-trip for the day is no big deal. I chose hotels based on easy access to train stations, usually next to, or above, a main train station.
This post describes the itinerary. I’ve also created a page that includes a timeline for this journey.
1. Sendai
2. Nakayamadairaonsen
3. Matsushima
4. Lake Tazawa
5. Kakunodate
6. Miyato Island
I then took an evening flight from Sendai to Fukuoka.
7. Fukuoka
8. Nokonoshima
9. Nanzoin
10. Kumamoto
11. Aso
12. Kagoshima
13. Shimabara
14. Onomichi
15. Ikuchi and Innoshima Islands
16. Matsue
17. Daisen-Oki National Park
18. Izumo-taisha
19. San’inkaigan National Park
20. Okayama
21. Shikoku 88 Temples 80 and 81 hike
22. Osaka
23. Teshima Island
24. Kyoto
I also stayed one night in Tokyo at the beginning and end of the trip.
Over the years, I’ve visited much of Japan, going back to places and finding new places. I’ll be back again in a few months with my partner, a nephew and his dad.
