I am reposting this from the travel ideas forum. They said I might get more insight if I posted my questions here as well.
Hello,
I know the topic is kind of vague, but let me explain. June 2015 will be my husband's and my 10 year anniversary. I want to do it up pretty big. 10 years is a long time!!

So, I had an idea to travel back to Japan. we went about 5 years ago and I fell in love. More than I already was.

But then, another plane went down. My husband is already scared of flying to begin with so, this just put more fear into him. Also, he stated he can only use some many PTO days. He only gets 10 days. So he said he can use about 8 ( not including weekends).

With all that said, I told him I would find some places I could/would go on a compromise. I came with California and Hawaii. California, because I heard Japantown is really nice and it would be like Japan but not really *tear* and Hawaii because.... not really sure. It's pretty. I've never really had the urge go to Hawaii.

My question to all of you is, are California or Hawaii worth the trip? Or should I just say, we're going to Japan and call it day? Adding this stuff in: - My husband doesn't like to swim and doesn't like seafood. I, love to swim and love seafood. We both like Technology and Asian inspired things.
Which trip would you take if you were me?

**** Let me add that I think my husband is more scared of the duration of the flight more than anything. We did previously travel to Japan and he did well for the 13 hours. I don't think he would like to sit that long again.

here is a link to the other thread to see what has already been suggested . . .

http://www.fodors.com/community/trav...-vs-hawaii.cfm

thank you

Japan is one of my favorite places to visit (been 5 times, 4 of them while we were living on the East Coast), and I empathize with your desire to go back. But it IS a long trip and you really seem to have only 8-9 days, plus the long travel days and the wicked jet lag. If you can afford to splurge for (expensive) business-class tickets, I think it's worth going, though. I think your husband would be comfortable on a flight if you were sitting in business class. Be sure to travel on an airline that has fully reclining seats, and you'll probably land in Japan fairly well rested.

I agree that Hawaii is almost as long a trip as Japan. But it's a magical place with quite a bit of Japanese influence (the first place I ever had sushi, decades ago before it became popular in every city). I would base on two islands--Kauai and the Big Island (Hawaii). Been there 6 times and will be going back again soon.

But for a much shorter flight that might make your husband less nervous (no flying over water, and the direct flights from the East Coast take only about 6 hours), California would be a good compromise. I now live in San Francisco and frequently go to Japantown. It's a multi-block neighborhood, with lots of low-key points of interest, but the main focus is the large Japan Center with its restaurants, shops, and outdoor plaza. http://sfjapantown.org/ You can take a free walking tour with SF City Guides http://www.sfcityguides.org/desc.html?tour=45 to learn about the history of the neighborhood.

There are two Japanese-influenced hotels in San Francisco, in Japantown: Hotel Kabuki and Hotel Tomo. I haven't stayed in either, but you can find them on the web.

SF also has the very lovely Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park, probably my favorite outdoor space in the city. You can take a free tour there too--http://www.sfcityguides.org/desc.html?tour=105. And there are tons of good Japanese restaurants in the city.

From San Francisco, you can rent a car (no need for one in SF) and do the drive down to Santa Barbara and LA along the coast on Hwy 1. Take at least 2 days to do it. Stop in San Simeon for a tour of the beautiful Hearst Castle, and visit the hundreds of sea lions nearby if they are at one of their beach hangouts. LA has a small Japantown too, as well as other things to see. Return your car at the airport at the end of your trip. (That is, get an open-jaws ticket, flying into SF and out of LA.)

Congrats on your ten years together, and I hope your trip planning goes well.

If he is nervous about flying, then Hawaii is not much better than Japan from most of the US. And if he doesn't like beaches, then it loses even more appeal. It does have some amazing scenery and the people are super nice, but I just don't see it fitting what you are talking about.

I've really grown to love California and you could certainly do a great trip to either Northern California - SF, wine country maybe, perhaps some outdoorsy stuff - or do LA and SF as a city-heavy trip. If you were inclined, LA and Vegas also make a good pairing. Frankly, you could do as short as a week so he doesn't have to take as much time off.

All that being said, Japan is my favorite place I have ever been. I absolutely love it. If you could convince him to go there, I'd jump at the chance.

I've been to Japan and Hawaii. Hawaii would probably be about a 6hr less time difference for you. Oahu has a lot of Asian influence. They have a beautiful Japanese temple, the Byodo-In. As well as some other east Asian temples in the city gardens, I'm sorry I forgot the names, but if you Google it, sure you can find it. There's also Doris Duke's home, Shangri-La, which is a beautiful place and has quite a collection of Islamic art. HNL has a Chinatown (small, but they have one). Your man isn't into the beach, which is too bad. Is he into hiking? All the islands have absolutely stunning hiking trails. What about other outdoor pursuits?

I would personally choose Japan over Hawaii, but if you have to "settle" for Hawaii, I think you'd find things to do that would appeal to both of you on Oahu (and on the other islands if you like outdoor pursuits).

i live in san francisco. i've been to Hawaii many times but have never been toJapan. If Japan is anything like Japantown, I'm not going.

Where are you coming from? I think that's an important question. You won't find anything like Japan in California's Japantowns but there are many amazing spots to go in California. PS...I live in the San Francisco area.

I will be coming from Columbus GA. East coast.
thank you for all your advice so far, everyone

Are you saying you have eight business days for this trip -- plus perhaps weekends on each end? How many days, total?

This is looks like enough time to stay on one or two Hawaiian islands. The Bay Area of California is also a great choice for a vacation.

However...if you can't stop trying to make everything into your experience in Japan, wait, and go there when you have more time. *I* would be looking for something new. Nothing is ever 'the same' the second time around. Why not open this up to many choices?

Have a happy anniversary. (We've just past Year 50.)

Eight business days with weekends on either side. so a total of 10 days. taking in consideration that we will lose 2 days for travel.

Japantown is not like Japan
Japan is so beautiful and the culture is something to be admired.

A direct flight from Atlanta to Honolulu would be something like 10 hours while Tokyo would be something like 14 hours so I do not see much difference in flying. California would be less than 5 hours direct. All three are very different destinations and Japantown is nothing like Japan. All three are worthwhile destinations. I live in California but am currently in Hawaii and was in Japan in April. I would probably pick between California and Japan given what you have written.

I would probably pick Japan, but if your husband really doesn't want to go there, I pass it for this anniversary.

It's a long flight from GA to Hawaii. You could split it up and fly to San Francisco for a day or two and then on to Hawaii. Sometimes the layover is free for one night if you book it right. Very often good fares can be found from CA to Hawaii so you could check both ways.

There's a lot of Asian influence on the west coast so if he doesn't want to fly over water, you could go to Seattle, Vancouver and/or Victoria on Vancouver Island.

Maybe you should wait on the "Japan" theme and find a new focus for this anniversary.