My wife and I will be going to Japan for 11 days in the second half of March 2013 (18-29). It's my wife's first time in Japan, and I've only been to Tokyo. We have to end the trip in Tokyo for business. We want to see the countryside, stay in at least one ryokan, and hope to enjoy cherry blossoms (I know we're a little early). We're flying to Japan from Shanghai, so we can fly into either Fukuoka or Osaka.
Does it make sense to land in Fukuoka, and spend a couple days somewhere in Kyusho where the cherry blossoms come a few days earlier and then train to Kyoto? Or will that take too much time away from Kyoto, Nara, etc.
With the exception of a day or two of meetings in Tokyo, we're totally open and hoping some of you experienced Japanophiles can help with both the itinerary and suggestions for the best experiences.
Thanks in advance.

It does make sense to me as you are a bit early for cherry blossoms - but Fukuoka is a good place to start..
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2011.html Cherry Blossom Forecast.

You can also fly from Fukuoka to Kyoto/Osaka - you need to check out the prices to see if a JR Pass would work better for your dates. There are special fares for international visitors as well as discount airlines:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2364.html

We (wife and daughter) did a similar trip in 2005 during a similar time window. We did see sakura in Kagoshima, Fukuoka and Dazaifu and the weather was sunny but brisk, 50's /60's. You could do your ryokan stay at Yufuin or Kurokawa as a side trip from Fukuoka and the chance of nice weather might be better. We continued on to Kyoto where it was quite chilly that year to say the least, still a great time.

Just a side note , while sakura are the top draw don't discount the ume (plum) viewing opportunities. There is a strong tradition between Dazaifu and the Kitano shrine in Kyoto honoring the plum blossom season and its patron Tenjin with the famous "flying" plum tree.

On the 25th of each month there is a flea market at Kitano. we attended the one in March 2005 and the ume were still in full bloom.
A great okonomiyake stall as well.

Have a great time!

Hi, mrtaz -

First and foremost, I found japan-guide.com an extremely useful source of information about Japan. If you haven't already done so, check it out!

For information about ryokans, you might want to check japaneseguesthouses.com, which you can search by region. I didn't make it to Kyusho, but will look forward to hearing about your experience there.

When I traveled to Japan in 2006, my budget was quite limited, so I sought the most affordable ryokan experience I could find that fit within my travel plans. I ended up selecting Momiji-so on the island of Miyajima, near Hiroshima. That suited my needs very well, but might not work for everyone.

I visited the Peace Park and Peace Museum in Hiroshima during the afternoon. I found them extremely powerful and very moving. And I was very impressed with the way this very painful event was handled: There seemed to be a very genuine and sincere effort to use these venues to find ways to promote peace. I'm not saying that anything was sugar-coated -- quite the contrary! But the emphasis seemed to be on what we can learn from these horrendous events to avoid future nuclear conflict.

As I had anticipated, I was in a somber mood when I left these places. I found the beauty and serenity of Miyajima well suited for reflecting on what I had just seen and re-orienting to the joys of exploring Japan. I don't know whether others had a similar experience.

The ryokan at which I stayed - Momoiji-so - is, or at least was, relatively inexpensive. I don't think it has an onsen (it didn't when I was there) and is certainly not as luxurious as many ryokan. But I thought it lovely, the staff (especially mama-san) were wonderful, and the food was memorably delicious.

I'll be happy to say more if it would prove of use - just let me know!

You are going to love your time in Japan!

From Shanghai you could also fly to Komatsu or Toyama but Fukuoka makes more sense if you hope for cherry blossoms. If you have art interest, Benesse Art Site on Naoshima is worth a couple of nights at least.

Flying into Fukuoka is a great idea. It is easy, quick, inexpensive, to get from the airport to the city. You could easily spend a week in Kyushu.

Also, there are several interesting places to visit between Fukuoka and Kyoto/Osaka: Hiroshima, Miyajima, Okayama, Kurashiki, Shimonoseki, ... . Maybe a Sanyo Area Pass might be useful if you did that over a couple of days. Or, depending on how long you would spend between the day you left Kyushu and the day you get to Tokyo, you could use a 7-day JR Pass. But there is no reason to plan your trip around the conditions imposed by either pass - it won't be that much of a savings to use a pass.

There is another route, besides those places on the Sanyo line, more rural and maybe too rainy at that time. That would be via Hagi and Matsue on San-in coast.

Hakata (Fukuoka) to Kyoto is only 3 hours by shinkansen.

Momijiso has no onsen, but that's ok. It is nice, has private bathrooms, not expensive, and provides the traditional experience.

The Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka ends on March 24, so you would be able to go.

> there are several interesting places to visit between Fukuoka and Kyoto/Osaka: ... Okayama, Kurashiki....

I found the garden in Okayama (Korakuen) very pleasant and I thought Kurashiki interesting and charming and well worth seeing. That said, I'm not sure I'd give up time in Kyoto or Nara to see them.

This year you won't be as early as you think for cherry blossoms in Fukuoka. The JG site is calling for peak at 3/29 in Fukuoka, I know someone calling it almost a full week earlier at 3/23......

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2011.html

Take a train, bus or rent a car to a ryokan stay in Kurokawa onsen. Beautiful sites along the way if you drive up from Kumamoto. You can take a train from Hakata to Kumamoto and drive from there returning car to Kumamoto to drop off and continue on your journey north-east via the train systems. Stay here in Kurokawa onsen....really nice atmosphere and food.

http://japaneseguesthouses.com/db/kurokawa/sanga.htm

I like mrwunrfl's San-in coast reco. Nice scenery along the way that side of Japan....you can drive while exploring there too, or train.

Aloha!

Thanks everyone for great input. My overall impressions:
1- 11 days isn't anywhere near enough time to do everything I'd like -- have to make hard choices this trip and return in the future.
2- I have to not obsess about Cherry Blossoms. We'll definitely miss peak viewing and be lucky if we see early blossoms.

Fukuoka looks like the best arrival airport. Flight from Shanghai arrives 1 pm.

hawaiiantraveler -- your descriptions of your trip from Kumamoto to Aso-san, Kurokawa (Sanga Ryokan) and Takachiho gorge were fantastic. It sounds like a trip we'd love. But doing that would force us to cut back from Hiroshima/Miyajima, Osaka/Kyoto/Nara, or Tokyo. What do you think?

mrwunrfl -- thanks for alerting me to the Sumo Tournament in Osaka! It looks like traveling the San-in coast would take much longer. Is that true?

kja -- Hiroshima with a Ryokan stay on Miyajima sounds great, depending on time and choices to make. Would you cut back a day in Kyoto or Tokyo to be able to stay overnight on Miyajima?

I mentioned the San-in coast just as another option among many that you have between Fukuoka and Kyoto. I also mentioned that you should expect it to be rainy. I think I shouldn't have mentioned it for you.

It is ok to obsess about cherry blossoms.

If ht is right about the blossoming times then you will have more opportunities NORTH of there - along the Sanyo line. The Sanyo side (think sunny side) would have better weather, I think, and is easier to travel - it has the shinkansen.

I don't recall seeing how long you plan to spend in Kyoto.

>> 11 days isn't anywhere near enough time to do everything I'd like -- have to make hard choices this trip and return in the future.<<

YES!! Know your options and make hard choices. When you make a plan to visit Japan it is well worth understanding what you are giving up when you make your decisions.

I have toyed with the idea of a San-in coast trip as well - it might be a plan for my 9th trip....lol....I do think there is an issue with infrequent train service - I don't know that I would go there on my first trip....

Yes, you will most probably return again - it seems Shanghai is a 90 minute flight from Fukuoka and about 2 hours to Osaka - I'd be there once a month....lol....my flight is 14 hours... ):

Put Hagi, Matsue, and the amazing Izumo Taisha on your 9th itin, Mara. You could start in Shimonoseki. I would like to tell you some stories about my visit there but don't have near enough time to type it. It is not really for a tourist to Japan. It is for a Japan traveler, like you.

What a lovely compliment, mrwunrfl! And I do have those places bookmarked already - Izumo Taisha is under construction but is to be finished this year according to japan-guide so maybe it all will work out for #9....i need to do #8 - Shikoku - this year, first...lol....

> Would you cut back a day in Kyoto or Tokyo to be able to stay overnight on Miyajima?

Tough question, as it depends on so many other things - including how much time you are allotting to Kyoto and Tokyo!

It was an easy choice for me because (a) I wanted to see Hiroshima, (b) I wanted to see the Itsukushima Shrine, and (c) I wanted to stay in a ryokan sometime during my 3 weeks in Japan, even though I was on a budget, and it turned that the most affordable ryokan I found near the places I planned to visit was Momiji-so in Miyajima.

"my visit there" i.e. Shimonoseki and San-in.

I wrote:
> ... more opportunities NORTH of there ..<

That is wrong. That would apply to fall colors, not cherry blossoms in spring which would travel south to north.

More opportunities for cb may be SOUTH of Fukuoka - in Kyushu. Like Kumamoto, which ht suggested.

I would easily swap a night in Kumamoto or Hiroshima/Miyajima for a night in Kyoto or Tokyo, especially because you are in the region.

Mara, Matsuyama is well worth a visit and the hydrofoil from there to Hiroshima at sunset is scenic.

mrwunrfl - Matsuyama is on my itinerary.... but I am going from there to Kochi....

I saw very nice sakura in Kumamoto this year and it was the last week of March....

oops, I guess that was last year....duh....time sure flies. ;-)

Someone above made a good point. I have missed the cherry blossoms on several trips, but once thought I was seeing them for days, only to find out they were Plum blossoms. They looked the same to me! Of course there were no people singing and drinking under the trees and no festivals, as the Japanese only do that for the Sakura.