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[AndyH]

Eastern Hokkaido (not much for traditional culture, but great natural beauty!), Kiso Valley (southern Nagano Prefecture), Takayama (Gifu Prefecture).

Otaru, Hokkaido is nice too, and I recommend it.

[AndyH]

I also really came to love Tokyo, and if you haven't spent any significant time there, I gotta recommend it.
I spent a lot of weekends in the Shitimachi area-Yanaka/Nippori/Ueno/Asakusa, and it is very down to earth, despite the large number of tourists in Asakusa (at least they aren't the obnoxious gaijin you'll find in Roppongi!), and traditional.
I also liked walking up Yasukune-dori, from Akihabara through Ochanomizu and Jimbockcho, to the area where the shrine is located.

Another great place in Kanto, despite all the tourists, is Kamakura. Especially on the weekdays when the crowds aren't likely to be thick.

[Mapleblondie]

If you get a chance, DEFINITELY go to the Takarazuka musical! They have 4 different shows each year and it is the equivalent to Japan's broadway. The costumes are absolutely beautiful and the performers are amazing! They train almost their entire lives to prepare for doing the show, and it really pays off in their skilled movements. It really is a pleasure to watch and was one of the best things I experienced in all my time in Japan.

[Cole]

Aso National Park in Kyushu. Stunning natural beauty and a volcano too.

[texastmblwd69]

[Hoser]

Wow this thread makes me feel guilty or something. I've been living here for over three years now and I have been to Kyoto and Kumamoto and Nikko (which is barely outside of Japan). I guess I am just not interested in traveling around Japan.

[stillnosheep]

Don't forget to head up to the Iya valley on your way down to Kochi, and to head out along the southern coast of Shikoku once you make it down there.

[Tiger Beer]

[amphivera]

I did an all-around Japan trip on a 3 week Japan Rail Pass once (which, by the way is totally worth the hefty price tag, in my opinion) so I think I can contribute.

I was very familiar with the Kyoto/Kansai and Tokyo/Kanto region due to living in those places for some amount of time. Hence the goal of my trip was to see more of Tohoku, Chugo-ku, Shikoku, and Kyushu. Mind you, I made the trip in March and was working on a tight schedule so I gave up on Hokkaido, as much as I'd have liked to check that place out.

Highlights:

- I really liked Kyushu in general. Good people, good food. 80% of the motivation for me doing this trip was to sample all kind of local delicacies and being a ramen fiend, the food in Kyushu put me on cloud nine.

There isn't much to do sight-seeing wise in Fukuoka, but I got to try about 3 ramen places there, all excellent and none of which had any branches elsewhere so that was good.

I also liked Nagaski, whose culinary highlights included the buta-man from the Chuka-gai, Chanpon and fresh Castella. I found the peace museum to be as moving as the one in Hiroshima. All in all a small, manageable city with a cute street rail system and the view from Inasayama at night was really stunning. I, however, wouldn't allocate more than two days here.

The other prefectures were kind of a blur. In Oita I stayed in the Beppu onsen area which had a beautiful coastline. Other than that the place seemed kind of dead though. I didn't get to explore much of Kumamoto nor any of Miyazaki. In Kagoshima I liked the tiny town of Ibuski, famous for it's "sand baths." Again, beatiful coastline (the local train lines around Kagoshima city offer great views of Sakurajima). Ibusuki, though, is pretty much all sand baths and when I went it was definitely the slow season so the town felt empty.

Moving onto the Chugo-ku region, Hiroshima/Miyajima was a biiiig highlight for me. Especially Miyajima. Really, one of the most beautiful places in Japan and a must-see. Make sure you also check out one of the okonomi-yaki places in the city because the Hiroshima-style ones are delicious.

Another highlight was the Adachi Museum of art in Yasugi, Shimane prefecture. I bit of a pain to reach by train but the museum's gardens are really something.

I rushed Shikoku so I'm not really in a position to evaluate it's merits but I will say I loved Dogo Onsen in Matsuyama, Ehime. Again, you probably won't be so hot-spring happy in the summer, but the famous Dogo onsen bathhouse is the coolest building ever and reminds me of all those scenes from Miyazaki's Spirited Away. What's also awesome is that all the locals go there too, so it's kind of an interesting blend of tourists and your neighborhood granny just taking a bath.

Kagawa was all about the Sanuki udon. I did a lot of udon-hopping there. Also, Kotohira-gu shrine on Konpira-san in the western part of the prefecture near the Seto Ohashi is pretty cool. You have to climb a lot of steps to get to the top but it's a cool experience.

In Tohoku, I have to echo the sentiment about Sendai being worth a visit. And I know this is cliched but Matsushima Bay in Miyagi very much deserves its reputation as one of the Nihon Sankei.

I'm missing a lot of places but those were what came to mind.

One special plug - if you're travelling in the summer you should definitely look into coordinating your trip around all the fun matsuris and special regional events (including firework festivals) that occur during this season. Kyoto has Gion masturi in July and the summer high school baseball tournament at Koshien is also a quintessentially Japanese experience if you happen to be in Kansai around August. And how can I not mention the Awa-Odori festival in Tokushima!! I suppose it's happening August 12th-15th this year. Check out this map of different festivals around Japan for more ideas: http://web-japan.org/atlas/festivals/festi_fr.html

Happy planning. I'm jealous!

- Edit -

I completely forgot to mention that Gifu prefecture has the World Heritage Shirakawa-go near Takayama. I went there when there was still tons of snow and it was beautiful although I felt a bit conflicted as to how the local villagers actually feel about bus loads of tourists invading their village and snapping photos, even though it was the off-season. Anyway, if you get the chance to check out Takayama, it wouldn't be huge detour to do the hour (?) busride up to Shirakawa-go.

[parrothead]

Towadako is nice, but if you are looking for a scenic crater lake, then I recommend Toyako in southern Hokkaido. What a beauty! Gum-drop-shaped islands sit in the middle of it, and a baby volcano, Showa Shin-zan, is nearby.

[Never Ceased To Be Amazed]

KABUKI-CHO!!!

[Tiger Beer]

[amphivera]

Re: Onsen-hopping during the summer.

Onsens in the summer are definitely not as great as onsens in the fall and winter. Hot, humid summer air especially detracts from the roten-buro experience and will make it harder to fall asleep at night because residual heat will inger in your body. If you don't watch out (and are not blessed with airconditioned lodging) you'll be sweating in your yukata all night long

That said, I do agree with you that the season shouldn't dictate whether you visit the top onsen spots because a) for some of these places the town/location itself is worth visiting b) you're still going to be taking baths no matter what so you might as well do it in places that have a bit of history (i.e. Dogo onsen). I just wouldn't make it the "theme" of your trip and/or go to out of the way remote places for the onsen only.

Yomiuri online has a feature on onsens in the summer. For what it's worth, they say that "simple alkaline springs" or "hydrogen carbonate (bicarbonate) springs" are water types that are especially appropriate for the summer months because they help break down body oils and allow the skin to "breathe" better, leading to a refreshing feeling.

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/tabi/domestic/kenkouhou/20060725tb04.htm

In general, I'd pacify your onsen cravings while in the north (Hokaido, Tohoku) and Shin-etsu/Nagano regions and/or else stake out some nice places in the shady, riverside or mountain spots of the south/west. I'll put in a recommendation for the Kurokawa Onsen-go in Kumamoto which has gained a lot of popularity recently. It's near Aso so it would be a nice stop if you're visiting Mount Aso (strongly recommended!) or traversing Kyushu (Beppu/Oita <-> Kumamoto/Kagoshima) on the Kyushu Oudan Tokkyu (a fun ride with great views).

That or make sure your onsen is near the beach

One last note, and then I'll shut up about the onsens. Not all onsens are hot! There are some "cold" (more like lukewarm) onsens out there. Yamanashi prefecture has a lot of these, and a good example is Shimobe Onsen http://www.yamanashi-kankou.jp/english/english024.html. I think the source temperature is about 30c (they add hot water in the winter) but in the summer the lukewarm water temperature is a great blessing. Plus it's convenient if you're doing the whole Mount Fuji thing.

ps. I hope you don't have any tattoos!

[amphivera]

Speaking of costs, this goes without saying but provided you take care of transportation costs with something like the Japan Rail Pass with a one time fee, the most expensive aspect of travelling all around Japan (for me) was lodging, especially because I was travelling alone and had to pay full price for all the places I stayed at. I did, however, get a lot of discounts by booking all my rooms through rakuten travel on my Docomo cellphone. The ability to search and find vacancies on my phone gave me the added bonus of being able to drift from place to place without having to be constrained by an itinerary. But the bottom line is, the more friends you find around Japan and the more couches you "reserve" in advance, the more you can spend on the other fun stuff, like great food and drinks.

[markle]