50 days of Japan

We're currently planning our first trip to Japan and already did a lot of research. At this stage we mostly know which cities we want to see and have a rough outline. Of course our goal is to have more like a unique/authentic experience of Japan, rather than to run through a list of tourist traps - even though, a few typical sights will be on our list. Nevertheless, we're unsure about a few things and would be very thankful for advice and insights of more experienced Japan travelers.

Short brief:

Travelers: Two people, married couple of 35
Japanese: Currently on road to N3
Budget: around 15k $/€
Time: End September - Mid. November (09/22 - 11/11 for now) 2024 = 50 days
Means of transport: Trains, busses, taxis, plane (arrival in Sapporo, departure from Fukuoka)
Accomodations: Mostly down to earth Airbnbs, maybe a few ryukans or hotels
Preparations: We already have Suica cards. We will get SIM cards and rail passes (if feasable) next.
Luggage: One piece of hand luggage per person, small sling bags for everyday

Current rough outline - starting from north:

Place Days Day trips
Sapporo 8
Yamagata 12 Ginzan Onsen
Tokyo 9 Kawaguchiko
Kyoto 9 Osaka, Nara
Fukuoka 12 Nagasaki, Beppu

What we're concerned/unsure about and general questions:

Typhoon season: We read different views on the topic, either it's not a problem at all or "AVOID!" so we're pretty unsure. Typhoon season is said to be from May through October, more in the south than the north. What's your experience traveling through Japan in September/October/November on that matter? Is it really something we should be concerned about? Do you think there will be too many days of rain? We try to keep our schedule flexible, so a few days of wind and rain are expected.

Best way to get from Sapporo to Yamagata: The Hokkaido Shinkansen line between Sapporo and Shin Hakodate Hokuto is currently under construction, there are only "slower" trains for this connection. This means going by train from Sapporo to Yamagata is pretty lengthy, including Non-Shinkansen from Sapporo to Shin Hakodate, Shinkansen to around Sendai, maybe another train to Yamagata or a bus. This might be not feasable. We're currently debating trains or taking a flight. We're really looking forward to train rides, Shinkansen trains etc. but wasting 12 hours to get from Sapporo to Yamagata we do not. What do you think is the best way?

Airbnb: Is there something special we need to be concerned about using Airbnbs in Japan? How is your experience with Airbnb in Japan?

JR Rail Pass: Price increases aside, do you think it makes sense to buy Rail Passes (i.e. 2 x 21 days) in our case? We're willing to pay a little extra to get some complexity out of our traveling. What could be the best way for us to handle train travel in your point of view?

What do you think about our schedule? Is the time we planned for each place reasonable? Do you have any other general tips for us as first time Japan travelers or do you see any problems taking your "brief" into account?

Overall I think you should add some more stops. (Thatfs a first I am saying this. Normally I always vote for removing stops). Having a few home bases and doing daytrips is fine. But i think with 50 days you should be a bit more ambitious. Eg 12 days in Yamagata seems to be way too much. Maybe 2 days and use the other 10 (or less) to slowly travel down from Hokkaido.
However if there is really nothing you are interested between Sapporo and Yamagata, yes, then flying is a good idea.
Also 8 days in Sapporo to me seems to long. Maybe 2-3 days and the rest elsewhere in Hokkaido.
Be a bit more ambitious to include places away from the most popular places. Eg Tohoku, Tottori, Shimane , Shikoku, Yamaguchic

JRP extremely unlikely to pay off unless you stay with your home bars and gave a lot of far flung day trips. Even then a regional pass would be better. Plus JRP has the big disadvantage that you canft take Nozomi trains at its regular price but need to pay extra. So Ifd definitely go with individual tickets, some flights and potentially some regional passes.

Regarding typhoons, yes, there are typhoons in Japan, but it isnft like you canft be outside from May to November else blown away by a random typhoon.

I did a 2 months cycling trip through Japan some years ago from Sep to Nov and had to sit down for 1 day waiting for a typhoon to pass. I was sitting in an onsen ryokan in the mountains so soaking all day in hot water and very happy about it.

My other advise for such a long trip would be to NOT reserve that many hotels upfront. Maybe reserve the first week (or less) , but then take it from there. Look at the weather forecast, your list of places you want to go and reserve only a few days (or even in the same day) for a new hotel. Just be aware of some public holidays during your travel time to avoid during those too famous spots.
Thatfs what I did on my bicycle trip. I normally reserved in the evening due the next day.

Maybe you can find some inspiring rural places on my blog: http://bicycletraveljapan.blogspot.com/?m=1

Or search out the blog post if @medfley on this website

Hello, I agree with LikeBike, 8 days in Sapporo, 12 days in Yamagata (and 12 days in Fukuoka) seems very long. I haven't stayed in Yamagata, only went through between Zao onsen and Ginzan onsen, but the city doesn't seem very big. Sendai might be more interesting as a base city. You also have enough time to split your stay.

Budget: I suppose the 15k€ budget is for both of you, excluding flights? Otherwise, for 1 person, that's more than enough that you don't have to worry about accommodations and transportation.

For 2, it should be sufficient to splurge on nice accommodations from time to time. In 2022, excluding flights and shopping, we spent around 250€/day for 2 people in Tokyo+Tohoku, with a mix of ryokans, minshukus, hotels. We used the "JR EAST PASS (Tohoku area)". The prices of hotels and rail passes have gone up since then, but the yen is weaker as well.

Sapporo->Yamagata: Although I haven't been there, Aomori/Hachinohe seem a good place to break up your trip between Sapporo and Yamagata. Morioka is convenient for day trips too (I did not stay there, just visited for a couple hours between two trains).

Fukuoka: not been there yet, but I finished planning my trip in northern Kyushu, and decided against using Fukuoka as a base city. I wanted to visit Imari/Okawachiyama, Yūtoku Inari-jinja and Kurokawa onsen, and they are about 2 or 3 hours (one way) from Fukuoka. It was less expensive and less time consuming, to move hotels and do a loop than doing day trips. But we travel with a backpack (no suitcase) and are used to switching hotels every 1 or 2 days.

Ginzan onsen: You mention you want to skip tourist traps... I would say that Ginzan onsen is a tourist trap, in the sense that it is a town that only exists for tourism. I don't recommend visiting as a day trip. There is basically only that one street that is pictured on all websites, and it takes time and money to get there. For a relaxing overnight in a ryokan though, it was awesome.

Typhoon: we got caught up in a typhoon 2 times (on 2 different trips that were 2-3 weeks long). We had to stay indoors 1 day in Osaka, and 1 day in Tokyo, and walked in the rain when it receded. Not too bad. The rain is not too much of an issue, but the wind is. Just pack a second pair of socks for the day :)

Airbnb: no general rules, it varies from place to place. I would say a 4.2 rating on Airbnb is equivalent to a 6.5~7/10 on Booking.

For the same price, if you are renting a whole flat instead of staying in a hotel:
- you get a bigger place, but the bedding is often less comfortable and it might not be as clean as a hotel room (thin/old futon or Ikea beds are common).
- I also feel that at the same price point, the noise and temperature insulation is worse in residential housings than hotels.
- trash management rules might be a bit complicated in some places.
- the host might ask you copies of your passport in advance, or you will need to schedule the check-in so they can register your IDs on-site.
- some flats/rooms don't have keys, but instead have a numpad at the door, so you can check-in whenever you want (easier than a hotel).

If you are only renting one room, and the living space is shared with the host, that varies a lot:
- some hosts will happily chat and have tea with you, or even taking you out for dinner (!)
- some will do their best to not be there at all during your stay
- it is less comfortable than staying at a hotel, because you have to worry about not getting home too late. Nowadays I don't rent out single rooms unless the price is really attractive, but that's not specific to Japan

Transportation: there are a lot of regional passes in addition to the national JR pass. Their prices have also increased, but most of them are still a very good value. You should have a look before locking in your accommodations. It is easier to build a trip around a pass than trying to find a pass (or multiple ones) that fits your itinerary.

Yes, I'd definitely plan on having more bases.

For example, with the 12 nights you've planned for Fukuoka you could split that between 4 (or more) locations, see a lot more of Kyushu, and still not be packing your bag and moving on to a new hotel each day. If you were planning to do day trips from Fukuoka over a 12 day spell, you've got to remember that for a lot of destinations you'd be spending at least a third of your daylight hours travelling there and back to Fukuoka. IMO, that's a lot of wasted time and I'd rather do a circle than backtracking all the time.

I'd also think about:
- using business hotels as well as/instead of AbnBs. We've often taken the approach of a few nights in a cheap business hotel in towns and cities, and then splurging on a night in a nice ryokan somewhere rural.
- times when a day or two's car hire might be useful (e.g. definitely in parts of Kyushu if you want to get off the main track and visit some hot springs or pottery towns, for instance)

50 days is a lot for a first trip, but I expect you will have a fabulous time.

A few comments:

First, I sort of dislike the term gtourist traph used with regard to popular places in Japan. Places like theme parks are obviously easy to avoid. Other than that, with a few exceptions the most crowded places are generally very fine sites of great historical or cultural interest that have just gotten disproportionately popular. If you go to these places (I would tend to call them tourist magnets rather than traps) you can expect crowds, and sometimes oppressive ones. But there are many wonderful places that are under-rated and very lightly visited. If you want, you can skip ALL of the gtop-tenh sites and still have an amazing trip. But of course you are not going to do that. I just recommend not having a steady diet of places that are well-known (even if they are by no means trashy). The crowds detract from the experience, and they will quickly wear you out.

Second, donft overlook tourist information centers. Especially since you have relatively long stays in a small number of places, you can afford to take some time at the beginning of each stay in a new city to visit a TIC to pick up literature and maps and get personalized input from staff at the desk. They can help you pick places to go and things to do that match your interests and take into account anything special going on while you are there. The quality of the TICs in Japan, and the information you get from staff, will vary, but donft be put off if your first experience is less than brilliant. I have had some gunderwhelmingh experiences at TICs, but over the years have gained so much by visiting them, and the staff are often really wonderful to talk to (if they have any free time to actually visit with you; they often do because for some reason a lot of tourists donft bother going to tourist information centers!).

Finally, I would probably not spend the money to buy two 21-day nationwide rail passes for such a trip. I might possibly consider getting one and using it strategically. Or possibly two shorter passes at different points of the trip. I will continue to buy nationwide JR passes myself, although possibly not for every trip I take. But two three-week passes would be a bit of a luxury (not necessary foolish, but if youfre looking to keep your budget under control, spending that much money just on rail passes would not be a way to do it, plus there are downsides to the JR pass). However, I think it would be short-sighted to forego any of JRfs all-you-can-ride passes. Some of the regional ones are still of significant value in terms of cost, and even the various-length nationwide ones can be used to great advantage if you do so strategically. (I agree with Mellyefs comments on transportation.) I recently took a trip where I used a 21-day rail pass on a 30-day trip. It was an elaborate trip that took extensive planning and made great use of the pass, while giving me a lot of flexibility to change plans on the fly, and also plenty of days for local travel or down-time when I didnft use the pass. Getting the 21-day JR pass was absolutely the best choice for me for that trip. (But I pale at the thought of trying to organize a 50-day trip. Whew!) You should also incorporate various other transit passes into your planning. This is not just to save money, but because all-you-can-ride passes can inspire you to plan itineraries that take you to places you might not otherwise visit, and your trip can be much richer as a result. I think that the typical approach of making transit pass decisions based on whether they will save money for an already fixed itinerary is short-sighted. I try to plan my itineraries based on what I can do with various transit passes, and I not only save money but also discover many great sites that almost nobody else goes to.

Oh, and one more thing: I would be hesitant to lock yourself into a full set of accommodation reservations that you canft change on relatively short notice. I think it is scummy to cancel reservations at the last minute unless absolutely necessary, but for me it would feel like being in a strait-jacket if all of my reservations were locked in and unchangeable. Maybe some of them if you really want to stay at places that require it, but not the whole 50 days.

Thank you all so much for all of your extensive and detailed responses! We tried to respond to everyone individually but please feel free to add your thoughts on highlighted questions even when we directed it at another person.

@LikeBike
- We started to read through your bike travel blog. It's amazing and really inspiring! You really traveled a lot through Japan. What are your favorites so far? We will continue to read it for our planning.
- Can you recommend a smaller bike (4 - 6 hours) tour we could incorporate into our trip (renting bikes from a certain city)?
- We will definitely add more stops!


@Mellye:
- If you would pick one between Zao onsen or Ginzan onsen, which would it be? Ginzan onsen looks magical but it seems much harder to reach (from Sendai). How much time do you think makes sense to invest into such a small Onsen place? Just a night? Because both are not that easy to reach.
- Our planned budget is meant for two, including flights to and from Japan. But its a rough estimate. If it sums up to be 20k in total, thats fine. The main goal is to experience the culture, food, cities and nature of different parts of Japan without burning through our budget too quickly but having a little extra here and there. Your estimate of roughly 250€ for two people is really helpful. That seems to align with our estimation pretty nicely.
- Thank you very much for the detailed comparison between renting a flat and staying in a hotel, thats really helpful! We will try to mix and match accomodations. What we want to avoid is, staying completely isolated in hotels during our whole trip. Staying in hotels makes travel a lot more passive, like living in a parallel society.


@Winter Visitor:
- More bases! In Fukuoka as well! We're working on it, thank you!
- Your tip for saving time by going through places rather than traveling back and forth from a single hub is very helpful!
- Business hotels in between: Do you have any specific hotels in mind? Any chains that you can recommend?


@Kim:
- Tourist magnets: It's exactly like you wrote it: We just dont want to get burned out by fighting through crowds of tourists just to check a few "top-ten" items of a list. But of course we want to experience some of the most popular sights (i.e. Fushimi Inari-Taisha, Kinkaku-ji, Nara-Park, Kiyomizu-dera) as well. Is the Arashiyama bamboo forest even worth it? Do you think it makes any difference which time of day we visit the more popular sights? Or will it be crowded almost all the time?
- Tourist information centers: We'll totally take them into account.
- You mentioned downsides to the JR Passes other than the price. Are there any other downsides than Nozomi and Mizuho Trains not being included (like @LikeBike mentioned)? It seems they cover all places we could possibly want to visit. The "all-you-can-ride passes" as you said, also seem to really give us a lot of freedom and save a lot of time of microplanning, research of the right tickets/lines etc.
- We definitely don't want to reserve accommodations for all places we might visit. That would really take a lot of spontaneity out of our trip. We plan on booking the first one to two stays, and maybe special accommodations that might otherwise be booked out.


-------


Rough outline V2 - based on your tips and research for good connections:

Region | Place | Days

Hokkaido:
Sapporo | 4

Tohoku:
Hakodate | 4
Aomori | 4
Morioka | 4
Sendai | 4

Kanto:
Tokyo | 5

Chubu:
Nagoya | 4

Kansa:
Kyoto | 5
Osaka | 4

Chugoku:
Okayama | 4
Hiroshima | 4

Kyushu:
Hakata | 4


JR Fare Calculator comparison:

- 21 days (649€) * 4 = 2596€
- 11 tickets (520€) * 2 = 1040€
-----------------------------------
= Difference = 1556€

So yes, that's a pretty big difference. But still, it sound like the ideal way to save time and reduced the complexity of our trip (roughly 22 Tickets vs. 4 in addition to inner city trains, busses, taxis). But maybe we put too much thought into this.


What we're still concerned about:

- Which places from our rough outline V2 do you think you would skip in order to gain time for other places? Maybe skip on place in Tohoku in exchange for a trip to an Okinawa Island?
- Do you think it's worth it to visit Okinawa on our trip? We plan to have a few days of relaxed beach town time at the end of our trip before heading back home. At first we thought about visiting one of the amazin small islands like Yakushima or Yoron-to. Then we thought that this will cost us too much time, so we opt to stay around Fukuoka, maybe around Futamigaura. Now we're completely unsure how to approach this.
- Are there accomodations in any of our considered places which you would describe as a "must"? Any hotel or guest house etc. that you think is a "once in a lifetime" experience that's worth it?


Thanks again for your amazing tips and insights. That's incredibly helpful! We would'nt have thought to receive such good explanations.

Your new itinerary looks more balanced :) Just a small correction, Hakodate is in Hokkaido.

Zao onsen vs Ginzan onsen: Ginzan onsen is prettier, without any doubt. But Zao onsen has an incredible open air public bath ("Zao onsen dai rotenburo") which makes it the winner in my opinion. It is very easy to reach from Sendai: one train and one bus, then a bit of walking uphill. The same train passes by Yamadera, so you can combine the temple and onsen visit in the same day. No need to stay the night (although we did, because the accommodation was very affordable, and I love hot springs).

As @mfedley said in another post, there are plenty of small towns with old buildings all over Japan (or at least looking old fashioned), so you should be able to find something similar to Ginzan onsen elsewhere.


Staying in hotels makes travel a lot more passive, like living in a parallel society.

Looks like you are looking for AirBnbs where you can interact with the host, and not just rent a whole flat.
If so, my tip would be to look for listings run by Japanese grannies :D By experience, they are very talkative (much more than their husbands), even if you have a limited vocabulary. Some of them use Google translate or have a portable translation device. Not limited to AirBnbs, there are some gems on Booking or Agoda too.

Around Morioka (or rather, Kakunodate), I highly recommend a homestay through https://semboku-gt.jp/en/stay/ (preferably with meals). We stayed for 2 nights at Asano Agri farm with fantastic hosts (but I'm sure the other farm stays are awesome too). The meals were homemade, partly with their own vegetables, and that's the kind of cooking you don't usually find in restaurants.


The "all-you-can-ride passes" as you said, also seem to really give us a lot of freedom and save a lot of time of microplanning, research of the right tickets/lines etc.

Just a heads up, some trains are "reservation only", which means that even with a pass you need to book a seat in advance.
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2018.html
-> (about shinkansens) Only the Hayabusa, Hayate, Komachi and Tsubasa trains along the Tohoku/Hokkaido Shinkansen, and the Kagayaki trains along the Hokuriku Shinkansen require seat reservations.

Some "limited express" trains also require seat reservations before boarding (eg: all of the "Yakumo" that runs between Okayama and Matsue, and one "Yufu" train between Hakata and Beppu). But most of the time, you can indeed hop on any train you want with a pass.

Maybe skip on place in Tohoku in exchange for a trip to an Okinawa Island?

You can probably reduce Morioka and Sendai to 3 nights each, but it depends on what interesting things you find to do there.
I would reduce your time in Osaka or Kyoto, since they are really close to each other and not far from Okayama either.

I don't think the famous "bamboo forest" is worth going to at all (I studiously avoid it when I go to Arashiyama), and most Japan experts tend to pan it. I think there are nicer alternatives, and if you spend some time researching the subject you will likely find them. It is selfish of me, but I often don't promote some of my most favorite places by naming them, because I don't want them to become future tourist magnets... I figure if people care enough they will find them (the information is out there), and if they don't, then they can just settle for the same-old same-old. But anyway, if you are in Japan for 50 days you will see some nice bamboo groves. Just keep your eyes and your minds open. I really think that a lot of tourists who are fixated on must-see sites don't take the time to appreciate all of the wonderful things that they pass by on the way to those sites. So many of my peak experiences in Japan have been serendipitous.

Generally speaking, the earlier in the day the better as far as popular sites go. One reason is that tour buses tend to not start arriving at places until around midmorning. Tour buses dump huge volumes of people on sites. But in general, tourists typically like to get a somewhat late start. Of course you need to keep the opening hours of any sites you want to visit in mind. Many shrines are open dawn to dusk (and some never close), and some temples have nice grounds that are always open. At the time of year you are going, you are going to have less trouble with crowds than if you were to go at busier times, and you might find even some popular spots to be not very crowded. But you're never going to find places like Kiyomizudera or Ginkakuji deserted. I would say just don't worry about it, but be sure to go to some places besides the must-see spots. And stay away from top-ten sites on the weekends.

The pros and cons of JR passes and other transit passes are numerous (and many of them are often overlooked because people tend to focus only on whether a pass will save them money for a preplanned, fixed itinerary). The Nozomi-Mizuho thing is a fairly major issue but not a deal-breaker for me, but off the top of my head I can't come up with a complete list of "cons." One real negative for me is that when I have a JR pass, to a large extent I tend to focus most of my attention on sites that I can get to by JR, and am reluctant to spend money on non-JR transit. The result is that there are a lot of good places in Japan that I have never been to. Lots and lots of places in Japan are not served by JR, and although I will often spend money on non-JR transit, having a JR pass is still a dis-incentive to doing so, especially with the arm-and-a-leg pricing on the JR pass these days. A more minor issue is that you have to physically pick up the pass once you get to Japan, and this is a chore that can be time-consuming. (In particular, if you want to pick the pass up at an airport or in Tokyo, be prepared for a very exasperating wait in line.)

Even before the huge price increase on the nationwide pass, there were some knowledgeable Japan travelers who disliked the JR pass because of various constraints that I don't have the time to get into (possibly they might weigh in if they are reading this) and because in many cases it didn't save much if any money. Again, I think that to merely compare pass prices with single-ticket prices for a fixed itinerary can be simple-minded, especially for people who have plenty of time and seriously want to experience "the real Japan." (There is nothing wrong with following a standard fixed itinerary, and for many newcomers it is the right thing to do, but people who want "off the beaten path" experiences will need to spend a lot more planning time in order to accomplish that goal, and those people are more likely to get value, beyond simple monetary savings, from a pass.) So to be honest, I can't see too much value in your fare calculator comparison, plus I just don't think in euros :) And I didn't try to figure out your calculation for number of tickets. You can use the JR pass without tickets only if you ride in unreserved seats, and some trains don't have them, plus when you have the pass you will tend to make reservations "just to be on the safe side," which is for me actually a downside as much as a "pro," because in many cases unreserved seating is actually a better choice. I don't know that having a JR pass would reduce the complexity of your trip. The planning you need to do to get an enjoyable trip (not just a lot of pointless train-riding) that gets more than "face value" from a pass is considerable. Of course, there is convenience in having a pass even if you don't use it very much, but the "wasted" money could really be put to better use.

Although a 21-day pass worked great for me on my last 30-day trip, for a different trip I might not get one (I would likely get some other pass or combination of passes), but I doubt if I would ever get two 21-day passes for a 50-day trip. A hugely expensive nationwide JR pass basically encourages you to do enough travel to recoup the cost, and I can sustain that for 21 days (like I said, I still had plenty of "easy" days on my last trip) but I think I would be hard-pressed to do that for 42 days.

Thank you for your comments on my blog. Hope it helps.

I would add a few more rural / smaller towns to your trip.

An other person posted their itinerary here:
https://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quereadisplay.html?0+180450
I thought that it is a nice mix of smaller places and bigger towns. Maybe it can inspire you.

Regarding where to do some bicycle trip: mamacharis (ie very basic bicycles) can be rented in a lot of places. But are very basic. Often even donft have gears. So itfs more to get around within a village/town and maybe ride 10-15 km. Better bicycles are harder to find. There is a really good rental place in Maibara station on Biwako.
An other good place to rent better bicycles is Tsuchiura station and ride around Kasumigaura lake (but Biwako is nicer). And then there is the Shimanami Kaido. To do it full you need 1-2 days. But you can do parts of it. However I think the best part is in the middle. There are also good bicycle outlets in Onomichi (one of the starting points).

An other great activity in Japan is hiking. I personally donft like hiking, but if you do, Japan offers really great hiking places.

Are you interested in koyo at all? In your current itinerary you are going to be too early for koyo practically everywhere. But if you invert the itinerary, ie start south and finish north you might be able to get some great koyo towards the North. I totally get it that not everyone is into koyo. I personally am not that much into koyo either, as I grew up in a part of the world where it is normal that trees go red and orange in fall. But koyo in the mountains in Japan can be very nice.

Regarding the JRP, I personally never qualified for using it. So donft have actual experience. But per your calculation it clearly doesnft pay off. Do some more reasearch. Local passes can pay off and give you a similar freedom of choice. (Itfs not like if you are in Aomori that youfll want to do a day trip to Kyoto. Youfll stay in that region so a regional pass is all you POTENTIALLY need)

But buying single tickets isnft that complicated either. Once you get used to the machines (you can change them to English) itfs not that complicated. There are also online options but that can be a bit more complicated to understand.
But paying a premium of 1000 Euros for some perceived advantage if the JRP seems to me to through away money.

Youfll need an IC card anyway for local transport.

Also note that specially around Kyoto / Osaka and Tokyo there are a lot of non JR trains that arenft covered.

I would steal a little from Hokkaido and Tohoku, and add in Kanazawa and Kumamoto. A week in each regions should be enough to see alot.

Hokkaido - Sapporo/Hakodate 7d
Tohoku - Aomori/Yamagata/Sendai 7d
Kanto - Tokyo 7d
Chubu - Kanazawa/Nagoya 7d
Kinki - Kyoto/Osaka 7d
Chikugo - Okayama/Hiroshima 7d
Kyushu - Fukuoka/Kumamoto 7d

Still got one day to add on where you see fit.

Re business hotel chains - therefs a good summary on this website IIRC.
Itfs a competitive market so my experience is that all the main chains are pushing hard to win your business, and consequently you get what you pay for/pricing and offering is quite similar.
I like Dormy Inn, but only because they have some rooms with tatami area and beds that will sleep 3 (our family size), and also because they have onsen/sento style baths.