To do
- Onsen (hot spring)
- Artsy villages
- Maybe extreme snow
- Watch kabuki
- Watch sumo
- Buy plates
Ideas of places to go
1) Here is a list of winter festivals in Japan during the time we will be there including:
- Hachinohe Enburi folk festival and dance (Aomori February 17-20)
- A whole series of drift ice festivals in Hokkaido
- Yuki doro snow lantern festival (February 8-11)
- Namahage Sedo child scaring festival (Akita Feburary 7-9)
- Akita Inukko snow dog sculpture festival (Akita Feburary 8-9)
- Wave Artists at the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum (Tokyo February 19-March 7)
- Amakusa Festival of Food (Amakusa February 15-16)
- 8th Tenmatenjin Umeshu Convention (Osaka February 15-23)
- Tokamachi Snow Festival (Niigata February 14-16) including "giant snow sculptures and stage performances; and the Nakasato Setsugen Carnival, in which a local ski resort is covered in candles to create a surreal, beautiful scene; and the Muko-nage Festival, where young men who have married during the past year are thrown into snowdrifts."
- Kite-flying contest at Tsuda no Matsubara (Kagawa February 9)
- Uesugi Snow Lantern Festival (Yamagata February 7-9)
2) Gods and monsters:
- Yokai town in Sakaiminato, Tottori prefecture, Chugoku region : http://www.sakaiminato.net
- God's conference town in Izumo, Shimane prefecture, Chugoku region
- https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Izumo
- The conference is in October, so gods won't be around when we go.
- Shibu onsen kanaguya: A model inn for Spirited Away. http://travel.rakuten.co.jp/HOTEL/32044/32044.html
3) Industrial places
- Ashio Kozan in Tochigi, Kanto region(famous for pollution in the past): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashio_Copper_Mine
- Syutoken gaikaku housuiro in Saitama, Kanto region: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Area_Outer_Underground_Discharge_Channel
- Shimano Bicycle Museum in Osaka.
4) Nature
- Takachiho in Miyazaki, Kyusyu region: https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Takachiho
- Yakushima (World heritage site) in Kagoshima, Kyusyu region: https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Yakushima
5) Craftwork
6) Alcohol
- Suntory Yamazaki Distillery in Osaka サントリー山崎蒸留所 http://www.suntory.co.jp/factory/yamazaki/
- Suntory Shirasu Distillery in Yamanashi サントリー白州蒸溜所
- Kirin Karuizawa (wine and whisky) in Nagano
- Asahi Beer factory in many places, including Hakata in Fukuoka and Nagoya in Aichi.
- Many Syochu distilleries in Kyusyu.
7) Food
- Kikkoman Syochu factory tour in Hyogo (http://www.kikkoman.co.jp/enjoys/factory)
- Natto factory in many places including Chiba and Akita.
Note: The government of Japan maintains this list of important intangible folk cultural properties. Several refer to events that occur during our window:
- Rokugō Kamakura (六郷のカマクラ行事) in Akita on February 11-15.
- the Mona Satoimo Festival (茂名の里芋祭) which is a kind of potato festival in Chiba on February 19-22.
- if you like oni, there is the Oni Festival of Toyohashi Shinmei Shrine (豊橋神明社の鬼祭) on February 10-11
- the Spring Hoe Festival of Higoshi Shinmei Shrine (樋越神明宮の春鍬祭) on February 11.
Suggested routes
- It takes about 6 hours to get to Fukuoka (northernmost prefecture in Kyusyu) from Tokyo in Kanto area.
Idea 1 (Mika: a bit ambitious) South to North
- Day 1: Kagoshima/Yakushima
- Day 2: Nagasaki
- Day 3: Beppu or Fukuoka
- Day 4: Sanuki or Izumo
- Day 5: Akita
- Day 6: Hokkaido (floating ice tour)
- Day 7: Back to Tokyo
Idea 2 (Mika) Mid to South to Mid
- Day 1: Nagoya
- Day 2: Naoshima
- Day 3: Shikoku or Izumo/Sakaiminato
- Day 4: Kyusyuu 1
- Day 5: Kyusyuu 2
- Day 6: Izumo/Sakaiminato or Hida
- Day 7: Tokyo
Idea 3 (Mika) Mid to South to North
- Day 1: Naoshima
- Day 2: Kyusyu 1 (short udon stop in Takamatsu and okonomiyaki stop in Hiroshima)
- Day 3: Kyusyu 2
- Day 4: Kyusyu 3
- Day 5: Osaka
- Day 6: Akita
- Day 7: Tokyo
Idea 4 (Mika) Mid to South to North
- Day 1: Naoshima
- Day 2: Kyusyu 1: Kurokawa onsen (short udon stop in Takamatsu and okonomiyaki stop in Hiroshima)
- Day 3: Kyusyu 2
- Day 4: Osaka
- Day 5: Tokamachi (Vaughn to Tokyo)
- Day 6: Akita
- Day 7: Tokyo
Idea 5 (Mako)
- 2/11 Day 1: Travel: Tokyo → Kurokawa onsen (8-9h); Day: Stop for food/activity on the way; Evening: Onsen and stay in Kurokawa
- 2/12 Day 2: Travel: Kurokawa onsen → Tsuyazaki (3-4h); Day: Open; Evening: Stay in Tsuyazaki
- 2/13 Day 3: Travel: Tsuyazaki → Naoshima (5h); Day: In Tsuyazaki w/ Shochu tour; Night: Hostel on Naoshima and I <3 Yu
- 2/14 Day 4: Travel: Boat trip to Takamatsu (1-2h); Day: Exploring Naoshima; Evening: Udon and Staying in Takamatsu
- 2/15 Day 5: Travel: Takamatsu → Tokamachi (7h); Day: Stop in Osaka for Umeshu Convention; Evening: Snow festival in Tokamachi
- 2/16 Day 6: Travel: Tokamachi → Yokote, Akita (8h) (Vaughn to Tokyo); Day: Early day in Tokamachi for snow festival; Evening: Kamakura festival
- 2/17 Day 7: Travel: Yokote → Tokyo; Day: Snow festival in Yokote
Idea 5-1 (Mako)
- 2/11 Day 1: Travel: Tokyo → Kurokawa onsen (8-9h); Day: Stop for food/activity on the way; Evening: Onsen and stay in Kurokawa
- 2/12 Day 2: Travel: Kurokawa onsen → Tsuyazaki (3-4h); Day: Open; Evening: Stay in Tsuyazaki
- 2/13 Day 3: Travel: Tsuyazaki → Naoshima (5h); Day: In Tsuyazaki w/ Shochu tour; Night: Hostel on Naoshima and I <3 Yu
- 2/14 Day 4: Travel: Boat trip to Takamatsu (1-2h); Day: Exploring Naoshima; Evening: Udon and Staying in Takamatsu
- 2/15 Day 5: Travel: Takamatsu → Hakone? (5h); Day: Stop in Osaka for Umeshu Convention; Evening: Onsen in Hakone
- 2/16 Day 6: Travel: Hakone → Yokote, Akita (5-6h) (Vaughn to Tokyo); Day: Early day: Visit to a Wine Onsen? Evening: Kamakura festival in Akita!
- 2/17 Day 7: Travel: Yokote → Tokyo; Day: Snow festival in Yokote
