Agree with kevincrumbs that you could really do both Hokkaido and Okinawa if you wanted.
Originally Posted by
Jay71
A few cities/towns we haven't been to that kind of stand out in terms of food destinations we're considering are Nagoya, Hakodate, Fukuoka, Matsumoto,and Okinawa.
TIA.
I'm going to Okinawa for the first time next year but, from what I've seen, it doesn't exactly seem like a culinary mecca. Not like Tokyo or Fukuoka or Hokkaido. If you're doing Hokkaido, you should wait until late spring when it's warmer. Hakodate is nice but a bit limited. For me, a couple days was enough. You can spend a week to explore the Hakodate-Onuma-Noboribetsu-Sapporo-Otaru corridor.
Originally Posted by
angra
* Hakone
* Himeji (castle renovations are done now, so you can go inside)
* Nakasendo trail
* Sapporo (though you do have Hakodate on your list of possibles)
* Sendai
* Kamakura
* Nikko
* Takayama
Yeah, I love Hakone. Takayama is nice. Kanazawa is not far from Takayama, is a nice town, and warrants more time than Takayama. Love Sapporo.
Originally Posted by
RichardInSF
Kyushu in general is worth a visit, probably could figure out how to do a really nice week there between the volcanoes, onsen, Nagasaki, and Fukuoka.
Totally. Great to spend 7-10days driving around northern Kyushu. Fukuoka, Nagasaki, Sasebo area, Shimabara/Unzen, Kumamoto/Aso (assuming it's back to normal).