Living doc for the trip. The spirit: first international trip in a year, possibly our last long one as a couple without responsibilities for a while. No tourist-checklist rush — we've both spent lots of time in Japan. Lean into slow living, good food, revisiting favorites, and a few new places.
| Flight | Depart | Arrive |
|---|---|---|
| AA 475 | Jul 5, 6:30 AM — JFK | Jul 5, 9:29 AM — DFW |
| AA 61 | Jul 5, 11:55 AM — DFW | Jul 6, 3:00 PM — NRT (Narita) |
| Flight | Depart | Arrive |
|---|---|---|
| DL 0294 | Aug 12, 3:15 PM — Haneda T3 | Aug 12, 3:05 PM — Atlanta (Intl term.) |
| DL 2378 | Aug 12, 4:59 PM — Atlanta | Aug 12, 7:52 PM — JFK T4 |
Transfer from international to domestic terminal in Atlanta between flights.
Land east, jump to the top, flow downhill back to Tokyo. Pins: Sawara start, Tokyo/Haneda finish, and Tohoku in early August. Festivals are a target, not a hard anchor — we'll aim for Aug 1–7 but stay free to flex. Hokkaido gets the lion's share (~2 weeks).
| When | Where | Vibe |
|---|---|---|
| Jul 6 – 9 | Sawara | Catch our breath |
| Jul 9 – ~22 | Hokkaido (~2 wks) | Road trip, host family (Otaru), lavender, uni/crab |
| ~Jul 22 – 24 | Hakodate → Aomori | Shinkansen through the tunnel |
| ~Jul 24 – Aug 7 | Tohoku (slow amble) | Hirosaki, Akita, Morioka, Niigata sake → festivals (optional) |
| ~Aug 7 – 10 | Japan Alps | Descent via Nagano: Matsumoto, Kamikochi |
| ~Aug 10 – 12 | Tokyo | Wind-down → Haneda |
Of all the Tohoku festivals, Nebuta is the one genuinely special, do-it-once experience — two-story illuminated warrior floats paraded at night to taiko, and you can rent a haneto costume and dance in the parade. Akita Kantō (giant balanced lantern-poles) is a worthy pair. The rest (Sendai Tanabata, Yamagata, Morioka) are pretty but skippable. Don't chain all six — that wrecks the slow descent. Target Nebuta (+ maybe Kantō), let the rest go.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| 2026 dates | Aug 2–7 (fixed every year). Peak nights Aug 4–6 (full large-float lineup). Aug 6 = award floats; Aug 7 = daytime parade + evening sea parade with ~11,000 fireworks. |
| Reserved seats | On sale June 28 (covers Aug 2–6), ~¥3,500 + ¥1,000 fee. Optional — free standing viewing works too. |
| Lodging ⚠️ | Central Aomori sells out months ahead (much reserved for package tours). Book ASAP or go refundable. Fallback: stay Hirosaki (~40 min) or Hachinohe (~25 min Shinkansen) and ride back after the evening parade. |
Because this is the one hard-to-book, date-locked piece, it's the exception to our "under-book and stay flexible" rule — secure a refundable Aomori-area room now even though the rest stays loose.
Three coherent shapes for the ~36 nights (Jul 6 → Aug 12). All start with Sawara and end in Tokyo→Haneda. The core tension: the wishlist spans all of Japan + Korea, so depth vs. breadth is the real choice. Two facts that tilt things: (1) summer heat is brutal in the southwest, pleasant in the north; (2) Tohoku festivals are fixed Aug 1–7, so the north must come late, right before Tokyo.
Centerpiece = the new stuff: Hokkaido + Tohoku festivals (cooler, host family, uni/crab, lavender). Keep one relaxed Kansai base for nostalgia; drop Kochi/Fukuoka this trip (you've been; they're hot in summer; save for a spring/autumn trip).
| Dates | Where | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Jul 6–9 | Sawara | Gentle landing |
| Jul 9–11 | Mt. Fuji | Climb early (near Tokyo; avoids Aug festival clash) |
| Jul 11–18 | Kansai slow base (Kyoto or Osaka) | Apartment, café mornings, cook; day trips (Nara, Kobe/Nada sake, Himeji) |
| Jul 18–26 | Hokkaido road trip | Fly KIX→Sapporo. Otaru (host family), Furano/Biei lavender, coast/uni |
| Jul 26–Aug 6 | Tohoku festival circuit | Aomori Nebuta (Aug 2–7), Akita Kantō, Morioka; + Niigata sake |
| Aug 6–12 | Tokyo | Wind-down → Haneda |
Pros: mostly cool, lots new, festivals as climax, two genuinely slow stretches (Kansai base + Tokyo). Cons: skips Kochi/Fukuoka/Seoul; Hokkaido+Tohoku still involves real movement.
Both loops + Seoul. Southwest first, then jump north and work back down to Tokyo.
| Dates | Where | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Jul 6–9 | Sawara | |
| Jul 9–11 | Mt. Fuji | Climb early |
| Jul 11–24 | Southwest: Kansai → Kochi → Fukuoka | + Seoul side trip off Fukuoka (~1 hr flight) if ICML aligns |
| Jul 24–Aug 1 | Hokkaido | Fly Fukuoka/Osaka → Sapporo; road trip + host family |
| Aug 1–7 | Tohoku festivals | + Niigata sake |
| Aug 7–12 | Tokyo | → Haneda |
Pros: hits everything, all sake pilgrimages (Kochi/Suigei, Hiroshima/Kamoizumi, Kobe/Hakushika). Cons: near-constant motion — the opposite of the "slow last trip" idea; lots of packing/transit; southwest is sweltering.
Skip Hokkaido/Tohoku; go deep on beloved cities and the sake home-turf. Save the north for a future summer.
| Dates | Where | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Jul 6–9 | Sawara | |
| Jul 9–11 | Mt. Fuji | Climb early |
| Jul 11–20 | Kansai slow base (Kyoto/Osaka) | Day trips: Kobe/Nada sake, Nara, Himeji, Hiroshima/Saijō sake street |
| Jul 20–25 | Kochi (Shikoku) | Tosa dry sake, coast, slow |
| Jul 25–31 | Fukuoka (Kyushu) | + Seoul side trip if ICML aligns |
| Jul 31–Aug 5 | Return base / Hiroshima / Setouchi | Flexible slow time |
| Aug 5–12 | Tokyo | Longer Tokyo finish → Haneda |
Pros: deeply relaxed, all favorites + every sake pilgrimage, fewer one-night stops. Cons: misses the new north + festivals + host family; very hot & humid all month.
Also possible — "Two Bases, Max Slow": Sawara → one northern base + one Kansai base, day trips only, catch festivals as a short sortie. Least coverage, most relaxation. Say the word and I'll sketch it.
Plan: ~3 nights to ease into Japan. Two shapes on the table:
From Narita Airport → train to Narita Station (~10 min) → transfer to JR Narita Line to Sawara. ~1 hour total. Trains ~hourly. Alt: day trip from Chiba (~59 min Chiba-Higashi → Sawara).
| Place | Where | Why / notes |
|---|---|---|
| ⭐ NIPPONIA Sawara | Sawara canal district (~11 min walk from station) | The atmospheric pick. 13 rooms across 3–4 restored Edo merchant houses; ✅ en-suite toilet + shower + in-room wooden tub. French-Japanese "fermentation" restaurant in a converted sake brewery. No onsen. |
| ART Hotel Narita | Narita town | The only natural hot-spring hotel in the Narita area; Western rooms so ✅ all en-suite; free airport shuttle; near Naritasan. Closest substitute for the Onyado Nono onsen comfort. |
| Ryokan Wakamatsu Honten | Narita, opposite Naritasan park | Traditional ryokan, very atmospheric. In-room shower unconfirmed — older ryokan often shared-bath only; verify. |
| Chōshi Onsen | Inubōsaki coast (Chōshi) | Coastal onsen ryokan — would pair with a Chōshi day trip, but it's a detour from Sawara. |
Adam: loves authentic Japanese sushi (could eat it every meal), other seafood (uni, grilled shellfish, crab), noodles, teppanyaki. No mammal meat (no pork or beef). Amy: generally only American-style spicy crunchy tuna rolls; doesn't drink.
Handy phrases: Butaniku to gyūniku wa taberaremasen ("I can't eat pork or beef"). Dashi ni butaniku ga haitte imasu ka? ("Is there pork in the broth?")
Adam's a fan; Amy doesn't drink. Goal: a little sake here and there, not a sake crawl. Lucky break — several favorites are made in places already on the love-list or the route, so "tasting" can just mean visiting a source.
| Sake | Made in | Trip tie-in |
|---|---|---|
| Kamoizumi "Three Dots" Junmai Ginjo (fav) | Saijō, Higashi-Hiroshima | One of Japan's 3 great sake towns; ~7 breweries on one walkable street. Visit if revisiting Hiroshima. |
| Suigei "Drunken Whale" (fav) | Kōchi | A favorite city! Famously fun sake culture (bekuhai games). |
| Hakushika Chokara (fav) | Nada, Kobe | Where Adam lived. Nada "Gogō" district — brewery museums + tastings. |
| Izumibashi "Black Dragonfly" Kimoto (want) | Ebina, Kanagawa | Easy day trip from Tokyo at the end of the trip — close the loop. |
| Kokuryū "Black Dragon" Icchōrai (want) | Fukui (Eiheiji area) | Geographic outlier; only if a leg swings through Hokuriku. |