Eastern or Western Japan Next?
 

Hi Guys

I recently came back from a 10 day trip to Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Yokohama and Hakone/Shizouka area. It was an absolute gorgeous trip filled with food, culture, sights and new experiences. It was our Honeymoon and we both love it... We just regret not eating more and buying more.... :)

Anyhow, we are now discussing about a potential future Japan trip in 2 to 3 years from now. We wish to explore the other areas of Japan but we not not sure which direction to head too.

It will most likely happen in the fall again (Late October, Early November) and hopefully we will have a small toddler (2 to 3 years) old with us.

So I would like to seek out some ideas/suggestions... Eastern or Western Japan!

Thank you very much in advance!

I can't help with things to keep a toddler occupied but for fall, my favorite area is Tohoku - the area north of Tokyo. Sendai, Matsushima, the mountains in the central part of the country. All will be ablaze in fall colors and the pace is slower and less frenetic than Tokyo or Osaka.

For a real trip out of the ordinary, consider Hokkaido. Hakodate is one of my favorite places to visit and Sapporo is one of the classics.

Matsushima in fall.

https://photos.smugmug.com/Travel/Ja...GP1000_B-M.jpg

Hakodate morning market.

https://photos.smugmug.com/Travel/Ja.../DSC1545-M.jpg

Kushiro harbor, Hokkaido.

https://photos.smugmug.com/Travel/Ja.../DSC2388-M.jpg

Congratulations on getting married!

Really, possibilities are endless as far as where else to go in Jpn. There's lots to see in both Hokkaido and Kyushu. I'm sure you've only scratched the surface in Tokyo and Osaka.

Honestly, though, I think it's probably difficult to imagine what would interest your whole family 2-3 yrs from now when you have a 2-3yo child. Everything changes when you have a child. Everything starts to revolve around kids. Your trip planning, what to see/do, where to go eat, what channel you turn on on hotel TV, everything becomes centered around the child. Before my kids were born, we'd do long hikes, watersports, intimate restaurants, hit up bars and izakayas, be out for 14hrs at a time, change hotels daily. With kids, each vacation day is much shorter, there's the stroller, we're doing Kido-kido (indoor play facilities in Jpn), Anpanman Museum, Kidzania, parks and trying to select hotels/ryokans with buffets (cuz that's what works best with our kids).

So I'm probably not helping you much, but I think it may be premature for you to be able to start doing any definitive trip planning. I realize this doesn't apply to all married couples, but I know it applied to us and to probably majority of parents. But for us, three things that remained constant in terms of our travel themes before and after kids were: beach, food, onsen.

Shikoku or Kyushu.

Would love to hear what parts of your honeymoon you enjoyed and would replicate again without hesitation. Personally, I would probably fly into Tokyo and then go west to Fukuoka, stopping along the way in Kyoto, Nara, etc.