A months plan...
 

Hi!
I'm sorry if this seems like a millionth topic on this, but I've searched as many as i can and no one seems to be doing the same thing as I plan to.

Basically I plan to visit Japan, with 1 friend (both 22), for about 3-4 weeks. We'll take only a large backpack each probably, as we plan to travel as much as possible. Mostly we want the sights and the culture, but seeing as much as possible is obviously perfectly fine (including any nice clubs and such for fun).

The raw plan is to travel from north to south (or vice-verse) stopping at each of the best places for a day or more depending on how much there is to see. (possibly up to 4-5 days in Tokyo if thats needed?)

Can anyone suggest the best places to see? Hiroshima, Kyoto, Okinawa and Tokyo seem the most popular/best.

Or would it be better to hit Tokyo first, and spread out from there?

It looks as if we'll be getting JR passes (dam they're expensive though)
Or we could rent a car if that works out better/cheaper/more convenient?

Money isn't really an issue, we are willing to spend quite a bit if necessary. I understand it will probably cost at least £5000 (note the GBP)?
A mix of Ryokan for the traditional experience, and cheapish accommodation for the rest would be good. But ill deal with that after i work out where we'll go. Unless you have some awesome suggestions.

Could really use the help on this one. Japan is my dream, I've just not looked into specifics until now.
Why is there no website for all this planning? :P

How about visiting as many world heritages in Japan as you can? In that case, it would be much easier to start from north. Because there are only a few world heritages in north which means you won't be confused where to go. And have much fun in Tokyo, Yokohama, and Nagoya. After that, go to Matsuzaka, and Kobe to eat one the best quality beef in the world. Then, Osaka, Kyoto, Himeji, Hiroshima, Kyusyuu, and Okinawa. How's that?

I would probably say that it would be easier to start in the Tokyo region. The international airport is in Tokyo (the other in Kyoto, I believe?), so if you're going to land in that region it would make more sense to me to start there rather than having to backtrack later on. Of course I've not travelled around Japan myself, so that logic might not work practically for whatever reasons, but it seems easier to begin where you land, rather than having to spend time travelling away only to travel back later on anyway.

Also, I could be wrong, but I do wonder if that will be enough money for an entire month? It can cost around £2000 for a week - a fortnight at a push - in the brochures I've looked at, but then again those are for hotels as opposed to hostels and places. Still, railways aren't cheap, and neither is food or toiletries or typical things you'll need if you are staying somewhere, the plane tickets alone cost around £700 if you're willing to travel in economy (for a return), and even then sometimes can go up to £1000 depending on what season it is. Maybe I'm just cynical, but I do wonder if it'll be enough to get by on.

It depends where you can fly into but I'd say

Hiroshima - Osaka -[Kyoto - may not need to stay here you can jus get daytrips from Osaka]- Nagoya - Tokyo - Sendai

is just about doable in a Month.
I am not sure if Hokkaido would fit in the end without cramping the rest up and also spending a lot of time and money travelling.

Do not miss doing a sidetrip to Miyajima from Hiroshima.

Other nice things off the top of my head are arashiyama from Kyoto/Osaka.
Maybe a trip to Kobe from Osaka region too.

I think there are a lot more places you can get to as side trips from Osaka than from Tokyo so I would book the longest part of your trip to stay there.

I didn't think much of Nagoya or Sendai but we didn't really plan what to do when we got there so that is probably why. We also went as far north as Niigata and again , didn't plan it well so found nothing of interest there.

Get your big plan down then you can start filling in the details of interesting places to see form each of the main bases.