Many thanks for your tips also Florian. Our flight in and out of Tokyo is already booked so we have to start/end there. I'll definitely think about your itinerary as well. Sounds like a great one and a smart way to do it.

Thank you ceg10!

I thought a bit more about your itinerary. I don't know what your must-see's are or if money matters for you. But you can save a lot using a 7 instead of 14 day JR pass with a few adjustments on your itinerary which make sense to me.

In example:

March 29th, Sunday: arrive Tokyo at 9PM get to hotel & sleep
March 30th, Monday: Tokyo bike tour, fish market
March 31st, Tuesday: Tokyo

April 1st, Wednesday: Tokyo - Kamakura day trip
Prefer Kamakura day trip because close to Tokyo and reachable by cheaper local trains.
I would like to have more time in Nikko to hike around. You need around 5 hours of traveling incl. return to Tokyo. I think this is too much traveling for a day trip.

April 2nd, Thursday: Nagano - 1st day JR Pass
April 3rd, Friday: Kanazaawa
I agree with Luca to less time there and you should think to skip something and extend your stay in Kyoto instead.

April 4th, Saturday: Kyoto
April 5th, Sunday: Kyoto - Day trip to Nara
April 6th, Monday: Kyoto
April 7th, Tuesday: Hiroshima/Miyajima Island In the early morning, travel from Kyoto to Hiroshima and visit the Hiroshima Peace Park. In the afternoon, continue on to Miyajima (40 minutes) and overnight there.
April 8th, Wednesday: Kawaguchiko - 7th day JR pass

April 9th, Thursday: Kawaguchiko
One night more at Kawaguchiko instead heading back to Tokyo. Double the chance to see Mt. Fuji

April 10th, Friday: Tokyo
Take JR Bus for 2000 Yen from Kawaguchiko to Tokyo

April 11th, Saturday: Tokyo Afternoon flight

What do you think?
As I said I don't know what is important for you.

First time I've heard of someone going to Sanlucar de Barrameda, I even had to look it up, lol!

Arcos de la Frontera is one obvious suggestion, being very close to where you are going. Weather depending, you could also visit the white towns of the Grazalema / Ronda area, such as Setenil de las Bodegas, Zahara de la Sierra, etc. If the weather is nice you could go hiking to Garganta Verde, El Torreon, as well as the twin peaks of Simancon/Reloj above Grazalema.

El Caminito del Rey, though refurbished for mass tourism, is also an interesting option. The area of El Torcal makes for an interesting hike.

You could cycle on one of the via verde - old railways turned into cycling paths. Popular ones are around Olvera and Cabra.

If you're going to Almeria, you can also visit the seaside of Cabo de Gata nature park. And on the way there you can go to some white towns of the Alpujarras, such as Capileira and Trevelez.

In northern part, Baeza and Ubeda are both UNESCO listed top sights, but for me personally Cazorla and the mountainous area around is a bigger draw.

A lot will depend on weather, could be +17C and sunny or +11C and rain. I wouldn't have too high expectations.

Res, reading the paragraph again I think you're right: "designated areas" in this case means the seven affected prefectures. I thought I had heard that Governor Koike expressly requested citizens to NOT go for walks, jogs, bicycle rides(?) etc. for exercise, but perhaps I misunderstood.

I think I mentioned last week that I am currently practicing limited self-isolation - at least to the extent that I no longer take a morning walk to Staba. I miss it so! Was really the highlight of my day... Giora, I did notice your post re: Starbucks but haven't been to Kichijoji in over a week and so not sure what the openings are like out this way...

Still, life in West Tokyo seems relatively normal. Or "new normal."

A troupe of toddlers to the day care centre next door.

The beeping of trucks as they pull in and out of the local Family Mart, just off the thoroughfare.

A cluster of hopeful mask shoppers milled aimlessly outside the local drugstore, reminding me of herd scenes from The Walking Dead (not to be mean; it's what I'm binge-watching these days and so everything reminds me of WD.
The local bakery is open, though there were only six patrons at a time allowed, wth tape marks on the sidewalk outside to maintain social distancing hough notably short of two-metre spacing).

A pair of chromed-out motorcycles outside the open Muscle Gym (that’s its name).

Monday we were gonna picnic rather than our original plan, head to an obscure mountain for a short hike.

Eating out of doors didn't seem appropriate under the circumstances so ate lunch at home first.

The bike ride itself was a drag, as we were mostly on large roads and seemed to be constantly stuck behind diesel-spewing buses and trucks.

I guess it’s a good sign that traffic seems as heavy as always?!? Signs of life in a city…

The masks were probably more helpful filtering diesel fumes than any coronavirus hanging in the air.

The park itself was pleasant enough, however, and while many of the Yoshino cherry trees were long past prime and the maples and other hardwoods not yet in bloom, there was a not-unpleasant airiness in the park’s thick canopy.
The Edo Tokyo Open Air Museum was closed, of course, but there were still families with toddlers with their (widely spaced apart) picnic tents set up on the grassy field, elderly couples, strolling the walkways, and gangs of elementary and middle school kinds bombing along the bike paths on miniature mountain bikes.

Some late-blooming cherry blossoms were still in full bloom, (later learned they included a dark pink variety which I’ve photographed at other times, and a hybrid white and dark pink variety of "hanamomo" peach flower which I’ve only seen a few times, including twice Monday.

Yesterday I went into the city. I travelled at off-peak hours, so can't say much about the rush-hour commute though anecdotally I've heard trains are still very crowded. Most people, it seems, can't telecommute, at least not full-time. Only noticed a couple of cafes and shops closed: a San Marco (they make those choco croissants?) cafe, and a Family Mart in Shinjuku. Shinjuku at 2pm seemed comparatively dead; the Kabukicho area a relative ghost town. I'll post a few pictures later if I got any keepers.

So no, from what I've seen both locally and in the city this week most businesses remain open. Did hear that either PM Abe or Governor Koike is going to make an announcement tomorrow about which businesses will be "allowed" (is that the right word? is it enforceable?) to stay open, so maybe there'll be a more notable change over the weekend going into next week.

Hi,
Thank you for sharing. Me and my husband we would like to visit Madagascar next December for 2 weeks. Is the weather would be good? I am worried about the time, as it is the peak season, do you think the price will double
Can I ask you the total cost of your trip?

Many thanks,
G

If you go to Bolivia in February, it could be better to visit places like Salar de Uyuni as during the rainy season it becomes the world's largest mirror :) There are some other perks of travelling to Bolivia in February, you can check seasonal experiences over here and here.
Peru could be trickier in February, especially for hiking. Inca Trail high season for hiking runs between April and October.
So, all in all, April would probably be a better choice.

I thought about that too ... perhaps the OP is just a bit early ... July-September being the peak season. But still - late June should still be buzzing a bit.

I have a rather jaundiced view about art & craft markets - there is a strong element that you've seen one, you've seen them all. Farmers markets I like rather a bit more.

No cruising here. More like crawling at about 15 km/h through the forest, on a road that's was surely narrower than the bottoms of some of the people that Ian's going to be sharing his cruise with. Discovered some wonderful lost villages, way up in the mountains, climbing up steep hillsides like a centipede. It's been an interesting morning so far.

I am wearing a jacket, for the first time this fall. Temperatures lovely for camping though, cool enough that you don't sweat inside the tent, warm enough that you're not shivering. Had a bit of rain last night, but no leaks. Back in civilization, where I can enjoy a freshly brewed coffee.

Japanese encephalitis is primarily a disease of pigs and some birds. It is spread by mosquitoes that breed in and around rice fields and hang out in pig sties. It tends to occur seasonally, in outbreaks. The mosquitoes that transmit it tend to bite in the early evening, reduce biting until after midnight, then start up again, peaking around 3 am. They'd rather bite pigs than people.

Immunization is usually recommended for people who will be spending a lot of time in farming areas during the transmission season. especially if you will be staying in places with no air conditioning, window screens, or mosquito nets, or will be camping.

JE immunization is usually hot recommended for travel of less than a onths, unless you will indeed be hanging around rice paddies and camping out. If you will be primarily day hiking, and will be sleeping in hotels or guesthouses with AC, screens, and/or nets, you might not want to bother with immunization. If you will be camping in farm areas, then you might want ot consider it.