Japan is open year-round, 1,900 miles from icy north to balmy south. Honshu, the largest of Japan’s four main islands, is home to Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya, Kyoto, Nara, and Hiroshima. Winter sports are in Hokkaido, whereas trekking and hot springs are in Kyushu. Shikoku, across the Seto Inland Sea, is known for its pristine lifestyle, whereas Okinawa, Japan’s Hawaii, lies 1,000 miles south of Tokyo.

Honshu

The major hitters are in Honshu. The Tokaido-Sanyo bullet train connects Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, and Hiroshima, with the Tokyo-Kyoto portion known as the “Golden Route”. Shibuya’s “Scramble Crossing,” Ginza’s neon, Shinjuku’s backstreet clubs, and Meiji Shrine are must-sees. Take the bullet train west to Kyoto, stopping at Hakone for hot springs and Mount Fuji vistas. You’ll need decent walking shoes to visit Kyoto’s Unesco world heritage sites including Kiyomizu-dera, Kinkaku-ji, rock gardens, and geisha districts.

Spring is Kyoto’s most beautiful and busiest time, when cherry blossoms cover the city. Maruyama Park in Kyoto hosts a spring hanami party under the “weeping” cherry blossoms, or Nijo Castle, a Unesco world heritage site, offers nighttime viewing.

Hokkaido

Japan’s northernmost island is unmatched for winter vacations. Hokkaido has world-class ski resorts, backcountry hikes, and delicious winter cuisine, including king crab from the Sea of Japan. The world’s deepest and longest railway tunnel, the Seikan tunnel, connects Tokyo to the island by air or bullet train. Niseko, a family-friendly resort with English speakers, offers skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, and cat skiing against Mount Yotei, a Mount Fuji replica. You should spend a night or two in Sapporo, Hokkaido’s bustling city, for its famous miso ramen and a week-long Snow Festival with giant ice sculptures in February. Upopoy Museum honors Japan’s indigenous Ainu on Shiraoi’s shoreline. Explore Hokkaido’s huge wilderness east. Wear a drysuit to wander on the Shiretoko Peninsula’s drift ice in winter or observe brown bears, orcas, and sperm whales in summer.

Shikoku

Shikoku is Japan’s smallest and least-visited island due to its gorges, vine footbridges, and inaccessible interior. Shikoku is rural and pristine, yet the Iya Valley, nicknamed the Tibet of Japan, has vertiginous, tiny roads that require steel nerves. Stay in old thatched cottages in rural communities and see 88 Buddhist temples on the 870-mile pilgrimage circuit around the island. Autumn is the ideal time to visit Shikoku, when the mountainside gingko and maple trees are ablaze in yellow and scarlet. Visit Matsuyama to relax in Dogo Onsen, one of Japan’s oldest hot-spring bathhouses.

Kyushu

Visit Kyushu, Japan’s southwestmost island, to hike active volcanoes and soak in hot springs. For a day of relaxation, visit Beppu for mud and sand spas or Yufuin for open-air tubs with mountain views. Cross to Aoshima island in Miyazaki to see the “Devil’s Washboard” rock formations before visiting Mount Sakurajima, Kagoshima’s smoking active volcano. One can take a hydrofoil to Yakushima, a small yet magnificent island with ancient cedar trees and a Unesco world heritage site.