New places to visit in Japan

Last Friday I listed some places that I’d like to return to Japan and Korea. Today I thought I’d list some new places in Japan that I’d be interested in seeing. Don’t worry South Korea, I’ll get to brainstorming new places for you soon enough. For today, however, I’m just thinking about Japan. Below are some new places I’d like to go to, along with quick descriptions of what they are.

Kagoshima
I originally planned on visiting Kagoshima during my visit last year but I changed up the schedule to visit Nagasaki instead. Kagoshima is near the southwestern corner of mainland Japan, and has a very active volcano across the harbor from it.

Okinawa/nearby islands
Another locale that got substituted from last year’s journey, Okinawa and the other islands near it might be inconvenient to reach, but there are some really nice beaches there along with interesting historical sites. If my friend who’s in the Marines is still stationed there I could pay him a visit too.

Shikoku Island
I was able to visit three of Japan’s four main islands last year, but I had to skip past Shikoku. From what I’ve read, Shikoku gets the least amount of tourism out of Japan’s main islands and has some great natural scenery.

Northern Hokkaido
Sapporo and Otaru marked the northernmost part of Hokkaido that I reached before turning back. I’d probably need a car to better explore Japan’s northern frontier, but like Shikoku it has a lot of wilderness that hasn’t yet been spoiled.

Hakone
I really meant to get to Hakone as a day trip from Tokyo last year but I ran out of time. Hakone has a very scenic lake with a good view of Mt Fuji, and is also famous for its many spas and traditional Japanese inns.

Mt Koya
This would probably be done as a day trip from Osaka. There’s a cool looking temple on the mountain and it looks like the hike up to it is scenic.

Nagoya
I’m actually only somewhat interested in Nagoya—a large city in central Japan—but it’s conveniently located on the rail line between Tokyo and Kyoto, so I might end up stopping there for a night just to check it out. Alternatively, Nagoya might make a good base for day trips into smaller towns nearby.