November, March, June... Japan?

Old Jul 19th, 2017, 04:04 AM
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 9,326
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
November, March, June... Japan?

Am considering booking my next trip to Japan...

Earliest we could go this year would be November, so if we did that, we'd likely focus on Southern half of Japan. We did Kyushu in late October / early November back in 2012.

Anyone have any thoughts on this as a good time of year for Chugoku / Shikoku?

Alternatively, we could look at March or June... I'm deliberately excluding April since that's the high season / sakura and having enjoyed that last year, I'm happy to avoid the higher hotel prices and crowds for the next trip.

For March, would it be reasonably warm, dry, sunny in Chugoku / Shikoku? Or do we need to be farther south?

For June, would be it nice weather in Northern Japan, say Tohoku or Hokkaido?

Any thoughts?

(I've been ruling out December, January, February as I am not looking for a winter / snow visit but actually, what's Okinawa like in December, January?)
Kavey is offline  
Old Jul 19th, 2017, 04:46 AM
  #2  
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 1,420
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
In my experience, anywhere on Honshu in June is going to be rainy/misty and getting extremely hot and humid.
SambaChula is offline  
Old Jul 19th, 2017, 06:12 AM
  #3  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 20,049
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
>>good time of year for Chugoku / Shikoku?
Yes, November would be very good, imo, anywhere Tokyo and south. I've made a couple of Chugoku visits and my only stop on Shikoku - Matsuyama, in Nov and loved it. Miyajima would be busy at some point in Nov.

>>the higher hotel prices and crowds
That's early April in Kyoto, for sure, but it is not like that everywhere all month. At some point in April there won't be any more sakura south of Osaka.

You could also consider the San'in coast: Matsue & Izumo, Kinosaki Onsen, and Hagi.
mrwunrfl is offline  
Old Jul 19th, 2017, 06:34 AM
  #4  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 9,326
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Wonderful, thank you!

We have two options in mind right now, both somewhat dependent on finding out if my contract will extend past September (likely) and if so, what the key dates for the extension period would be in terms of not taking time off.

We have two options on the table, one is Japan (for which I'm looking at small chance in November, bigger likelihood of early spring 2018)...

The other is 2-3 weeks in Thailand, in December, January or early February. We've not seen much of Thailand at all, so this also appeals though mentally I'm finding it hard to look past Japan, as is my usual state of mind these last few years!!!!!
Kavey is offline  
Old Jul 20th, 2017, 11:38 AM
  #5  
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 374
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
In the far north of Honshu, June is not steamy and muggy like the rest of the island. In fact somewhere like Aomori would be excellent - walking the Oirase Stream is a surreal dream.
https://goo.gl/ok11m7
It's also free of the tourist hordes.

March is not a bad time either, although there is a lot less green than the rest of the year. April is the same but a bit less so. You *can* enjoy the cherry blossoms and avoid the crowds - just go to where the crowds don't. Again, farther north is great - Hirosaki, Kitakami, Kakunodate, Fukushima, etc in mid-late April.

But November is best for stable weather, blue skies, less humidity and the autumn colors - and then the Chugoku Region is very appealing.
Okayama is not far and it is famous for its castle, plus Korakuen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zAI3_N7NEM
Garden which is one of Japan's Top 3, and also the Handayama Garden is beautiful:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGQ8o7k9GbA
The half day hike up to Konpirasan in Kotohira, Kagawa
is stunning.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ley9rVIewoQ

Going to Takamatsu in Kagawa, Shikoku is also nice - it has one of Japan's finest gardens also, called Ritsurin.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afx-Ju52FiY

Hiroshima also has a number of good places with Miyajima being the most famous. Everyone goes to see the Itsukushima Shrine with the 'floating torii', but it really doesn't take long and the real gem is the Daishoin Temple - a place you will find unforgettable.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...KGUB-HPKNxP10Q
And aside from Hiroshima City itself, Onomichi with its temple tour and Kosanji Temple is spectacular.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97Q5EjEOXI8

Just beyond Miyajima also lies Iwakuni with its historical bridge and mountaintop castle.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0COOZXi66mM
And if you really want something mind blowing, go see the Akiyoshido Limestone Cave in Yamaguchi - a 300 million year old marvel with an underground river going through.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqIKC9S8TFQ

Don't forget about Kyushu as well...Fukuoka, Nagasaki, Kagoshima, etc.
For Fukuoka, there are many open parks, shopping, seaside historical areas, and urban neon. See this site as a detailed guide:http://www.thejapanfaq.com/fukpic.html

Don't miss the Nanzoin Temple which is one of Japan's finest yet almost totally unknown to the outside world and completely *FREE*!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lT4VQFmHFyM
Adastra2200 is offline  
Old Jul 20th, 2017, 11:24 PM
  #6  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 9,326
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I should probably explain where we've covered so far on previous trips...

1) Tokyo, Takayama, Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, Koya-san, Hiroshima, Miyajima
2) Tokyo, Kyoto, Fukuoka, Kumamoto, Mt Aso, Karakawa Onsen, Yufuin, Beppu
3) Yokohama, Kamakura, Hakone, Hikone, Miyama, Kyoto, Kanazawa, Noto Peninsula, Kanazawa, Nikko, Utsunomiya, Tokyo

Adastra, fabulous response, thank you. We've been to some of your suggestions, including Dashoin and Nanzoin, and agree, they were wonderful.
Kavey is offline  
Old Jul 21st, 2017, 09:30 PM
  #7  
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 374
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Thanks for adding that info.
I think a lot depends on what season you travel in. Since you've already spent some considerable time in Kansai, and likely will be returning to Japan more in the future, you can be fairly flexible and not need to barnstorm the country.

BTW I've been to Okinawa in winter and while it's a lot nicer than the rest of the country for temperatures, it's not Hawaii either. But if you wanted to see the cherry blossoms in Okinawa, January is the time to see them. I'd prefer another time though, like spring or fall.

There are still many places you can see. If June, I'd say go to Tohoku or Hokkaido. Other times, Chugoku, Shikoku (especially Kagawa) and the San-in area. Nagano is great too.
Adastra2200 is offline  
Old Jul 23rd, 2017, 06:04 AM
  #8  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 9,326
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Thanks Adastra, good to know, particularly on Okinawa.

I'm hoping I'll get a feel soon for likelihood of extension for my current work contract, and how long any such extension might be... and that will feed into the decision on when we travel.

I'm starting to lean towards either January for Thailand or spring somewhere else, Japan or otherwise...

I said after our last Japan trip (4 weeks late March to late April) that we'd return to autumn scheduling for our future trips, so perhaps I should stick to that and push Japan trip 4 to autumn 2018...
Kavey is offline  
Old Jul 23rd, 2017, 07:21 AM
  #9  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 20,049
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I've traveled to Thailand twice and enjoyed some time in Japan both times. One was a stopover and the other a connection.

I flew to Bangkok and left a bag with winter clothes at the airport. Loved Thailand; Ayuthaya was hot. Picked up that bag and flew to Tokyo. Left the bag with warm-weather clothing at NRT and visited Japan for a week or so (via Seoul) in January.

The one thing I did not like was the late night arrival at BKK. The IAD-NRT-BKK flights were in first class (FF award) but still kinda rough (long) and I hate arriving at night.

A connection for an international flight can be up to 24 hours. I took advantage of this on the second first class award trip. I spent a night at the Narita Hilton and took the loop bus into town to hit an onsen and have Japanese food. Next morning I flew to BKK (Thai first class was fab) arriving with enough time to connect to HKT and then be driven to my Phuket lodging before dark.

I'm one to generally advise not making breaking up a long trip with an overnight stop enroute, but it worked for me for LAX-NRT-BKK-HKT. It was necessary, though, to spend a night enroute - the only other option was to arrive late night at BKK and then fly next morning to Phuket.
mrwunrfl is offline  
Old Aug 11th, 2017, 10:58 PM
  #10  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 9,326
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
To update, we've decided on 3 weeks in Thailand and I booked flights into and out of Bangkok. I'm now working on our itinerary, if anyone would be interested in sharing some thoughts, it's here: http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...ice-sought.cfm

Thank you ALL. x
Kavey is offline  
Old Aug 31st, 2017, 03:06 AM
  #11  
 
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 9
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Here's some information to help you in your decision:

The best months for good weather in Shikoku are April, May, September, October and November
On average, the warmest months are July, August and September
January is the coldest month of the year
The rainiest months are June and July
jensaito is offline  
Old Aug 31st, 2017, 06:45 AM
  #12  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 9,326
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Thanks Jen, I did make a decision in the end, we went for Thailand in Dec/Jan and will hold Japan trip 4 for next year or year after.
Kavey is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
heiwa2007
Asia
15
Mar 17th, 2017 06:09 PM
janisj
Asia
37
Nov 3rd, 2015 12:39 PM
BigRuss
Asia
11
Oct 19th, 2015 03:37 PM
ga9497
Asia
8
Oct 13th, 2008 04:09 PM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are On


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information -