kebosabi

I second at looking at this option. If you want to visit many places within Japan and Asia on a single itinerary, taking the OW award option is the best way to go as it has lots of flexibility and opens doors to a lot more opportunities in travel.

Be creative; you can even do SFO-HNL-HND-CTS-HIJ-HND-GMP-KIX-TPE-HKG-BKK-NRT-YVR whose total distance comes to 19,329 mi allowing you to hit Honolulu, all over Japan, Seoul, Taipei, Hong Kong, Bangkok, and finishing off your journey in Vancouver for only 130,000 miles in J; a steal considering how expensive intra-Japan air travels are. Then take the Amtrak Cascades + Amtrak Coast Starlight from Vancouver all the way back to the Bay Area and you'll have a trip to remember for years.

Consider options like getting a JR Rail Pass for your intercity travels within Japan as well. Shinkansen travels are expensive and is quite worth it when you have this puppy in your hands. While you're in Hiroshima, the JR Rail Pass allows you to ride the JR Ferry to the beautiful Itsukushima Shrine in Miyajima. You can then take a bullet train from Hiroshima to Fukuoka and Kyushu and see magnificent nature parks like Mt. Aso near Kumamoto, or take the Shinkansen to Kyoto. My personal favorite is making your way to Kanazawa and catching a bus to the UNESCO heritage site of Shirakawago

In your stay in Fukuoka, consider taking a day trip to Busan by taking the JR Beetle hydrofoil, though bear in mind that even though JR Kyushu runs this service the JR Pass not allowed on this hydrofoil. However, wait one month prior and your chances are high that you can get between Port of Hakata and Port of Busan for as cheap as 10,000 JPY roundtrip on the "Cho Beetle Special." Taking the KTX from Busan to Seoul and coming back to Japan is another option too; use your imagination!


The only problem is figuring out if you can fit all that in your vacation schedule