Originally Posted by hikouki

How about Kanazawa in January? I only heard about Kanazawa from the Starbucks collectible mug series. A few years back, I got into collecting some of these high-end Starbucks Japan cups/ mugs and Kanazawa was featured in one of them. LOL
Kanazawa is in a particularly snowy region. However, the crab at that time of the year is delicious, plus Kanazawa's main attraction, Kenrokuen (one of Japan's three most famous gardens), is something else.

I am based out of the Pacific Northwest - I like salmon, nature sceneries, and the occasional hike.
I love food and I have been watching a lot of these Youtube videos with omakase/ kaiseki set menus. They seem like over priced sometimes though. And I don't ear pork or duck anymore. LOL

I do like to cook. Any recommended cooking classes?

Also, isn't there a street in Tokyo where you could buy kitchen items?

The kitchenware area in Tokyo is Kappabashi.

onsen - I have an issue being naked/ semi-naked and in the company of strangers; I'd gladly dip in a private one though

Recently, I stayed at a hot springs resort in Nagano prefecture calles Tateshina Shinyu Onsen. Although it's best accessed by car, they have two daily shuttles from JR Chino station. Different menus of locally-sourced food every day, plus private baths that can be reserved daily for 30 minutes.

JR Chino is accessible by a limited-express train called Azusa, generally from Shinjuku, but I think it goes to Tokyo a couple of times a day, too. 2ish hours.Nagano prefecture is a good one for hiking, skiing, and "Shinshu salmon," a type of trout.