japan: itinerary help: 14days, late mar-apr

[eunsei]

Hi there, I am going to Japan in late March to the beginning of April and I would like some advice for a 14 day trip. I am currently living in Seoul, so it may be cheaper to take a boat to Osaka/Fukokua (it's an option, at least).

I think I want to see the cherry blossoms, historical cities like Kyoto, modern marvels for a few days, quiet coastal/countryside/village, and some mountain viewing. Does the Kansai area offer all this? What about getting away from the throngs of people and tourists? Kyushu is recommendable? I think I stay away from Hokkaido since it's too cold. Is this too much for 14 days? I'm thinking it might be.

Your advice would be much appreciated. Cheers,

[godwine]

Originally Posted by eunsei

Hi there, I am going to Japan in late March to the beginning of April and I would like some advice for a 14 day trip. I am currently living in Seoul, so it may be cheaper to take a boat to Osaka/Fukokua (it's an option, at least).

I think I want to see the cherry blossoms, historical cities like Kyoto, modern marvels for a few days, quiet coastal/countryside/village, and some mountain viewing. Does the Kansai area offer all this? What about getting away from the throngs of people and tourists? Kyushu is recommendable? I think I stay away from Hokkaido since it's too cold. Is this too much for 14 days? I'm thinking it might be.

Your advice would be much appreciated. Cheers,

14 days will be enough yes. And kensai does offer everything you ask for. Kyushu is a good place to start, you can probably track east from Kyshu, make stops at Miyajima, Himeji then Osaka/Kyoto/Nara.

It will be hard to "get away from the tourist", but since you are not traveling during golden week, you avoided the crowd already.

If you stay in Kensai for all 14 days, it will be a really relaxed trip. You can probably drop by Tokyo area for a few days too, definitely, don't miss Yokohama.

I am not familiar with Kyushu myself, as far as I know, there isn't much to see, lot of food and nice onsen though...

[Colin]

I'd definitely recommend that boat option.

I mean, I've never actually taken a boat trip from Korea to Japan but it just sounds interesting lol

[uktokyoite]

I agree with Godwine - Kansai has all of these things if you don't want to spend all your time traveling. Unfortunately, I haven't been to Kyushu either so I have no idea about that area.

If you like the mountains and nature they you should try going to the Mount Takao area to the NE of Tokyo. Takao is usually pretty busy as it is now well established on the tourist trail both for Japanese and non-Japanese but it is surrounded by other mountains that are equally beautiful.

[godwine]

Originally Posted by uktokyoite

I agree with Godwine - Kansai has all of these things if you don't want to spend all your time traveling. Unfortunately, I haven't been to Kyushu either so I have no idea about that area.

If you like the mountains and nature they you should try going to the Mount Takao area to the NE of Tokyo. Takao is usually pretty busy as it is now well established on the tourist trail both for Japanese and non-Japanese but it is surrounded by other mountains that are equally beautiful.

My research seems to suggest that Hakata and the food stall is like the only thing to see in Kyushu, but of course, this is subjective.....

If I have 2 weeks and I am to start from Kyushu, this is what I will do:

Day 1 - Hakata
Day 2 - Miyajima/Hiroshima
Day 3 - Kobe, Himeji
Day 4-6 - Osaka, Sakai
Day 7-9 -Nara, Kyoto
Day 10 - Hakone and Mount Fuji
Day 11 - Yokohama
Day 12 - 13 - Tokyo
Day 14 - Back to Kyushu
Day 15 - Goodbye Japan

Of course, as you can see, this include Tokyo ward as well, and this itinerary is highly RUSH and TOURIST centric.

Hakone and Yokohama is nice, so its something you may want to consider. As mentioned earlier, Osaka almost have everything that Tokyo has to offer, with the exception of the Cosplay culture around Akiba/Harajuku, so if you are into that, then you best make a stop in Tokyo. Maybe you can cut Osaka to 2 days and skip Sakai. Cut Kyoto and Nara to 2 days to buy yourself more time in Tokyo

Good luck

[arky]

Nice to meet you. The beginning of April is just a season of the cherry tree in Kansai from the end in March.
However, the season of the flower becomes early by the climate of the year and becomes late.
The noted place of a famous cherry tree has "Yoshino" in Kansai. The mountain whole is covered with a cherry tree. When it was come, you should have been able to watch a good cherry tree. Himeji-jo Castle of the season of the cherry tree more will be splendid, too. And the decoy of Osaka-jo Castle does not lose, too. You can stop at A-Bomb Dome of Hiroshima and Itsukushima-jinja Shrine of Miya-jima on the way if you come to Kansai via Kyushu from Seoul.
Oh, it is ... in what do not understand what you are interested in.
In Hiroshima, an oyster is famous for the food of this season. Hiroshima yaki is famous, too.
Takoyaki / okonomiyaki is famous in Osaka. If like ramen more, is Kyushu; Hakata ramen. Hiroshima is Onomichi ramen. The name in particular is not pounding Osaka and Kyoto either, but there are many ramen shops.
Please forgive the place that is hard to read because I use an interpreter.

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