So far I've been to Japan 3 times. And been as far south as Hiroshima and north as Kanazawa. Is it worth it to go south to Kyushu or north to Tohoku? What about Shikoku? Hokkaido would likely take too much time out of the trip but I'll plan to do that in the winter some year.

To complicate matters, I'm going with someone who hasn't been to Japan before. So I'll likely add the usual Tokyo and Kyoto to my itinerary. That'll take 5 days for Tokyo and 3-4 for Kyoto. And I'm sure I'll kick myself if I don't get out to Hiroshima for Miyajima again.

I'm thinking of spending a night in Koyasan. My friend went last year and was beaming about how cool it was.

I've got one place booked (Kanazawa for 3 days) for Cherry Blossom viewing so far. But looking for suggestions elsewise.

Here's a list of cities I've been to:

• Tokyo
• Toyama
• Matsumoto
• Kanazawa
• Shirakawago
• Takayama
• Osaka
• Nara
• Kyoto
• Hiroshima

Thanks for any input! It's hard to decide where to go as online location recommendations seem very heavily Kanto and Kansai centered.