Thoughts on Hokkaido (and my itinerary in general)
Greetings
I'm in the midst of planning a trip to Japan for next year (October). Currently (and I'm thinking this is close to being 'final'), I have the following. In total, a 15 night trip:
Arrive HND 5pm
3 nights Tokyo
1 night at Hakone area Ryokan
3 nights Osaka
3 nights Kyoto
3 nights Kanazawa
KMQ-CTS
2 nights Hokkaido
CTS-NRT
I've been to Japan once before and followed a similar track (replacing Fukuoka with Kanazawa), and stayed mostly in the cities.
My questions are this:
1. I've been to Sapporo and enjoyed it immensely. I'd like to stay in Niseko this time at the Park Hyatt. It will be October (and I don't ski anyway). Is this a good idea for generally exploring both the immediate Niseko area and possibly further out? Hikes, etc? Or would this be better spent in Sapporo proper? Or somewhere else?
2. Any red flags on the itinerary as presented? Other thoughts? I'd like to do more suburban things this time but also stay in the cities listed. Make more excursions during the day outside the cities and return for dinner, for example.