Okinawa or Sapporo?

Maverick17

Level 2 Member
Ending one award in Japan, starting another. Been to Tokyo a number of times, so thinking of trying something new. Will only be spending one night probably, or two max, so really just somewhere new to pop in and out. Obviously ideal to spend more time at a location, but not an option this trip.

For now I'm thinking of Sapporo or Okinawa, but for no other reason than looking at the map and they're two of the ones I've heard of. Any thoughts? TIA
 

Matt

Administrator
Staff member
Been to the Kyoto/Nara region? Highly recommended for a short trip. Sapporo for the festival of Ice depending on your dates would be good. I like Okinawa a lot, but I'd do more mainland first personally.
 

smittytabb

Moderator
Staff member
I second Kyoto for sure and you can get there easily on the Shinkasen (bullet train). There is a ton to do there and it is a beautiful city.
 

smittytabb

Moderator
Staff member
Ending one award in Japan, starting another. Been to Tokyo a number of times, so thinking of trying something new. Will only be spending one night probably, or two max, so really just somewhere new to pop in and out. Obviously ideal to spend more time at a location, but not an option this trip.

For now I'm thinking of Sapporo or Okinawa, but for no other reason than looking at the map and they're two of the ones I've heard of. Any thoughts? TIA
Just catching up on Anthony Bourdain's "Parts Unknown" on CNN. If you know the show or earlier iterations of "No Reservations" on the Travel Channel, it's a great travelogue show with an edge. Just saw that there is an Okinawa show coming soon, so watch for it if you are still making your mind up in a week or so.
 

Maverick17

Level 2 Member
Thanks for the replies. I know it's kind of a vague or a strange question, but I appreciate the thoughts.

All my trips have been in the Tokyo/Yokohama area for work, so I haven't been to Kyoto. But I'm probably not gonna go anywhere I can't fly into or out of. And I had heard of the festival in Sapporo but I'll be going through at the end of this month.

The more I think about how short the trip is, I'm more into tasting some good food than in seeing more temples. I suppose I need to just read up on a few more places. Are the museums in Hiroshima doable in one day?
 

sunchip

Level 2 Member
If you like food Dotonburi (Osaka) can serve up some tasty treats. You can fly into KIX, train to Dotonburi, eat and then continue on your way to Kyoto.

Hiroshima museums could be done in one day. You definitely want to try and get to Miyajima Island though. Museums and miyajima will two days. With about 2 weeks notice you can also meet with a bomb survivor. Sobering experience and really helps put the museums and everything into perspective.

The hiroshima airport is well outside the city center. You can fly $3 and 4500 BA avios on JAL from HIJ-HND. A little over an hour vs about 8 on the train. Scenery not as good obviously.
 

SanDiego1K

Level 2 Member
For your initial question, I prefer Sapporo to Okinawa. I've been to both, Okinawa in recent months, and found more to see and do in Sapporo. I took a hop on hop off sightseeing bus and enjoyed an extensive range of sights.

I love Kyoto. Osaka is a great place to be based as long as you stay near the train station. There are half a dozen of so places you can visit on day trips. Nagoya is another interesting place to see. A lot of information about the places I've visited are in the hotel forums on FlyerTalk. I know, hotel forums? But so much was done based on how to get there from where I was staying.
 

Maverick17

Level 2 Member
Thanks for the replies again. I'm probably thinking of turning this into more of a long layover (18-30 hours), and should have phrased it that way at the beginning. Although I realize there are some ways to travel cheaply and easily within Japan, just don't have the time/desire on this trip. I have an interest in food and military history more than anything else, so I'm leaning to Hiroshima. Plus I'm not seeing any EVA J availability on the non-stop out of Sapporo, so that is a bummer as well for my onward plans.
 

Maverick17

Level 2 Member
Just to tie up this thread, I ended up booking to CTS (Sapporo) because the connections for my continuation are better and I'll go to Okinawa later when I have time to dive maybe. Total was 25k off-peak AA award plus $5, SLC-SAN-NRT/HND-CTS.
 
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