Ha, most people prefer it the other way around and spend the winter in Okinawa!
And many do!
Are you guys just up for nature or would you like a pinch of history and culture, too?
I would like a nice split of history, culture as well as have some entertainment for my 16-year-old and 8-year-old so that they don't get bored (though, snow might be all they need)
In that case, I'd suggest
Tohoku: starting out in Sendai (plenty of history, izakaya, and culture), Mount Zao, Ura-Bandai, and if you have more time go further north (Hiraizumi in Iwate, Towada-ko in Aomori, etc). How much time do you have?
I'm retired and we're fine with finances. I wouldn't want to spend a month there, but a week to two wouldn't be bad.
Would you consider going to a ski resort that has a bunny run for the kids?
That might be very fun for my 8-year-old to experience. Any info on this?
Check out the timing of the annual
Snow Festival in Sapporo, Hokkaido (early February) and see if the ice and snow sculptures appeal to them.
Combine this with the bunny run, as well as the aforementioned history and cultural things, and this might make for the perfect vacation to keep everyone entertained during portions of the trip.
Wherever you choose, be sure you know how to dress warmly enough!
I'm originally from Washington State, where it gets quite cold, but probably not as much as
Hokkaido. But, we do have very warm clothes (Columbia jackets, etc.) for camping. I don't know the exact rating on temperatures, but it can keep us quite warm in the winter on the beach with the wind chill even.
It is the best to see the beautiful setting sun while taking a bath in the hot spring of the beach in Obama Onsen.
Sounds kind of expensive, but at the same time alluring. I will have to check out pricing and if it increases during winter time. We don't want to spend too much, but, our budget is fairly big for a trip like that, especially with LCC (low cost carriers).
Glenski's idea about the snow festival is certainly an idea worth serious consideration. The problem is you are going to get some excellent ideas and choosing from them is really tough -- will be tough.
I know. So many ideas thrown out so far that I'm going to have to look everything up. Fortunately, it'ss only December 9th and there's about 3-4 weeks of planning before taking that step if we decide.
They put some sort of tunnel in between Hokkaido and Honshu and so you could, depending on how much time you have for this project; you could take the flight into Hokkaido and see that festival and then take the train through that tunnel thingy and end up in Tohoku where a recommendation was made to visit.
Sounds very interesting! I will have to look into this. I though Hokkaido was an "isolated" island (no bridge, etc. out).
Rather neat --- step into a plane in Okinawa and step off that plane into a snow bank.
I'm sure the kids will love it. (I might even enjoy it as well
)