Even though I swore that I would not go to Japan again this year as I went twice last year for over two weeks each time (Cherry Blossom Season and Fall Colors), I could not pass up a 450 nonstop RT fare as its one of favorite places that I have ever been to ^. In order to take advantage of company holiday, I'm going for a week at the end of March.

I've seen most of the major sights that there are to see, some more than once, so I'm looking to see something different this time. Furthest that I've made it south has been Hiroshima and Miyajima Island (by far the highlight of my trip last November) and was thinking about going and exploring further South (West?) this time. It was raining super hard last time when I was at Miyajima (as it seems to always be in Japan ) so I was hoping to go again and this time have it not rain so much. It will be super crowded (and expensive) I'm sure but that is something I hope to see again. I've also never had the opportunity to walk through the entire Fushimi Inari Shrine so perhaps I'll set aside a day for that as well. Can anyone chime in on if Beppu is worth the time to visit?

Or perhaps go to Hokkaido this time, but I've heard that's more of a summer thing. I see enough snow in Michigan as it is.

Essentially I'm looking for something that is a bit more different that the standard fare of Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, etc. I like gardens and nature, good food, shopping, quirky things, and art. Dislike museums. I wouldn't necessarily mind seeing some of the major tourist things again, but it's just better to see something else. I also kinda hope that things will be cheaper if done this way, since i'm looking last minute and its peak season.

I also don't think a Rail Pass is going to be worth it this time. I've got some United miles and Chase points that I can get to and from Fukuoka or Sapporo. Planning on travelling kinda light but I tend to collect souvenirs so that might factor into what places are actually possible to go.

Let me suggest another alternative. Shikoku. Fly into Kansai International (KIX) and train from there via Shin-Osaka and Okayama.

Takamatsu has one of the 3 most highly regarded Japanese gardens in Ritsurin Koen and the nearby ropeway takes you to a wonderful viewpoint out over the Inland Sea. Matsuyama has the famous Dogo Onsen hot spring which was the inspiration for the onsen setting in the Academy Award winning "Spirited Away" animated feature by Hayao Miyazaki, although it has gotten a bit dumpy and I wouldn't recommend actually using it. And Kochi, located in a near sub-tropical setting on the Pacific Coast (the climate reminds me a bit of San Diego) has an historic castle and monuments and museums dedicated to major historical figures instrumental in the early shogunate and the later fight for restoration of the emperor and overthrow of the shogunate 265 years later. Several of the famous temples on the also-famous 88-temple Shikoku pilgrimage are easily reachable from the major cities without actually hiking any of the pilgrimage. The train ride down to Kochi from Okayama, Takamatsu or Matsuyama is a spectacular trip through a rugged mountain gorge that is worth the trip by itself.

If you have a day or two left at the end, stop over in Okayama on the way back to visit the second of the three "best" gardens in Japan, Kora-kuen, and the nearby "Black Crow" feudal era castle. Depending on what time your flight home leaves, you can easily leave from Okayama on the day of return home. I did it the last time I was there as my flight was in late afternoon.

Shikoku in late March will be glorious as will Kora-kuen.

I toured Shikoku in June 2012 and loved it.

Takamatsu and the Ritsurin garden, Kotohira and the mountaintop shrine, Kochi and its castle, Matsuyama and Dogo Onsen were all worth seeing, and as abmj-jr said, the scenery between Takamatsu and Kochi is spectacular.

You will see very few other Westerners.

And still to be mentioned is the food.
Takamatsu and the area around it has to be one of the cheapest (and most satisfying) places in Japan to embark on a gastronomic tour.
The grand speciality is sanuki udon.

There's a movie based in the area that does for udon what Tampopo does for ramen.
it's called Udon - from 2006. It's in numerous formats over the web
(Edited due to warning given below ^)

You can pick up an udon map for free at the Takamatsu Tourist Information centre.

Wow! Google Chrome pops up a red, high threat warning on that page as soon as the link is clicked. I can get around it but the host "creative.ad123m.com" seems to be a high threat environment.

Cherry blossom viewing season is at the end of March. Rooms were scarce in Kyoto when we started booking several months ago. Check for availability of hotel rooms.

If you're considering visiting several cities on Shikoku, as others have suggested, a JR rail pass might be cost effective. The one-way fare from KIX to Takamatsu is around 9000 yen.

This is one of those instances where getting a bus might be more cost effective.
From Osaka the journey is under 3.5 hours and costs about 3,500yen.

Or get to Kobe (about 25 minutes and just over 400yen from Osaka) and the bus journey to Takamatsu will cost about the same but only take 2.5 hours (about 25 minutes more than the 8,000 yen rail ride)
http://lazuli.voyage/busride.php?od=12445kobe.takamatsu

As a bonus you'll be able to say you saw Awaji Island.

Yeah I'm quite aware. Last year I booked about 2 months out and it was difficult to find a room then. Seems every western chain hotel is booked completely solid.

Thanks for the suggestion, I'm looking into it. Unfortunately my flight out of Narita is in the morning at 8:30 so I would have to be back in Tokyo at least the night before, better even to actually be near the airport. The end result is more or less 7 nights and 6 actual days to do things. Arrive in Tokyo late and then about a week and leave early in the morning.

I've heard that Naoshima is quirky and unique, perhaps worth a day trip.

Was thinking something like this

Day 0: ORD-NRT Arrive late, NEX into Tokyo and spend the night.
Day 1: Recover and do some mandatory walking around in my favorite Metropolitan city and eat the amazing cakes that I crave. Visit the Robot Restaurant which some how I've never managed to get to.
Day 2: Haneda to Takamatsu in the morning. Visit the Ritsurin Kouen and eat tons of Udon.
Day 3: Naoshima
Day 4: Head to Matsuyama, see Dogo onsen and take the afternoon ferry to Hiroshima.
Day 5: Head to Okayama and Kora-Kouen, then head to Osaka and eat at Dotonbori street and overnight.
Day 6: Do some shopping before flying into Narita airport and spend the night.
Day 7: Depart in the morning.

Perhaps its a little too adventurous? I am traveling solo so I can go at my own pace. I would try and fly from Kochi airport, but I don't trust myself actually finding a my way to the airport with the limited Japanese skills I have.

What is the point of taking the afternoon ferry to Hiroshima if you are going to turn around the next morning and move to Okayama? There would be little time in Hiroshima if you are going immediately to Okayama and on to Osaka in one day. Seems better to take the train from Matsuyama back over the Inland Sea bridge to Okayama for the part-day there and then on to Osaka.

I have to say that you are really packing a lot in, with a lot of travel in between, with little time to see anything. I didn't realize you were locked in to NRT as your international gateway. Perhaps a complete change of plan would work better. From NRT/Tokyo, you could go to Kanazawa on the new shinkansen to see the third of the "3 Best" Japanese gardens, Kenro-kuen, along with the interesting city of Kanazawa and its castle. Maybe follow that with Nagano, Takeyama and Matsumoto, looping back to Tokyo before your flight home.

The itinerary you have sketched out gives me a headache. I wouldn't try to do it and I do speak functional, basic Japanese.

My apologies, I neglected to provide that information. Its too much time in transit for my liking. I felt like if I was going to Shikoku then you actually had to go and do more. The ferry...I don't know what I was thinking honestly.

I'll more into Kanazawa. I've been to Takayama already before but I liked it a lot.

What abmj-jr says.

Still, flying to and from Shikoku shouldn't be very different to getting the Shinkansen to Kanazawa. It's the crazy schedule you've set yourself, Shikoku and Okayama both benefit by being explored at a gentler pace. You've already seen many of the sights; give yourself some time to soak up the atmosphere.

And yes, Naoshima is wonderful.

I enjoyed the ferry ride from Hiroshima to Matsuyama, but it does make more sense for you to retrace your steps from Matsuyama to Takamatsu and cross the Seto Ohashi back to Okayama, as long as you're not going to southern Shikoku.

Another interesting place to see near Okayama is Kurashiki, which has a well-preserved Edo-period quarter along a canal.

Is it reasonable to visit Takamatsu from Okayama? Google says its about 1hr 20mins by train and that way it seems it might be reasonable to see Okayama, Naoshima, and Takamatsu without changing hotels as much. Its a bit longer than the train from Osaka/Kyoto to Nara. I'm thinking something like 2 days in Tokyo, 3 days in Okayama, and the last Day in Osaka since Okayama doesn't have nonstop service to NRT. Seems less hectic and accomplishes almost the same thing.

I'd say it was very reasonable to visit Takamatsu from Okayama. There's the JR Marine Liner which takes little over an hour, and if you want to mix up the return journey you can do it a little cheaper (albeit it taking a little longer) by getting a ferry from Takamatsu to Uno (1 hour boat ride - which was extremely enjoyable to me) and just under 1 hour from Uno to Okayama by rail. Budget on 4,000yen or so for the return journey. I am relying on memory for details of the Takamatsu-Uno-Okayama trip, I got a lot of help at the time from regulars in this forum (was time rich but cash strapped back then).

Most of the udon shops in Takamatsu don't open until 11am, and I found out that Saturday wasn't a great day to visit as many of them were closed then. Midweek will probably be much better for an udon tour.

Changing trains at Osaka to get to Narita is pretty painless. Staying there isn't a decision I'd make unless I really wanted to.

The Marine Liner is a nice, comfortable ride with nice views. I wouldn't have done it as a day trip as I wanted more than a day in Ritsurin-Koen for photography. I got a small book out of that trip. For a single visit, I think you could do it from Okayama. Just plan on 2-1/2 to 3 hours on the train round trip and a full day. In that case, I'd splurge on cabs to get from the station to the park and back. Not the cheapest way but definitely the fastest. Just know that the garden is huge and if you visit the handicrafts exhibit and some of the other displays, it will take up a good part of the day. The ticket booth at the entrance has maps of the park in many languages, including English. When I was there, I had to exchange what they gave me at first as it was in German. The volunteer couldn't tell the difference.

If you decide to base yourself in Okayama for three days, I'd suggest a day for the Takayama excursion, one for nearby Kurashiki with an evening back in Okayama and one day actually in Okayama, seeing Kora-Kuen garden and Okayama Castle (Black Crow) along with trying some of the nice restaurants. If you do Kora-Kuen in the morning there are several little local lunch spots just outside the river entrance for lunch on the way to the river bridge over to Okayama-jo. I am a soba addict and enjoyed what I found there a lot. Ramen, udon and other dishes are also available. Look out for the swan pedal-boats on the river below.

I'd still suggest just taking the train back to Tokyo the night before your flight home and do an overnight at one of the airport area hotels. Eat dinner in Tokyo on the way or a bento on the train, before going out to Narita. I would not take a domestic flight from Osaka (ITM or KIX) as neither is very convenient to the downtown area. Add in the bus or train to the airport to the early arrival for a flight and the train would be virtually as fast as flying but more comfortable than Y on a Japanese domestic carrier. That is my preferred method of travel and a nice eki-ben meal on the train is a favorite experience while in Japan.

If you follow my suggestions, then the 7-day Rail Pass would definitely make sense for you. If you insist on flying back to NRT or HND, then the Rail Pass would not pencil out and you would do better to just pay as you go.