Visiting Ise

We have another Japan visit coming up in April and are looking for interesting traditional areas to explore. We loved the Noto Peninsula on a previous visit and look for a similar experience this time. The Ise area looks interesting but there is not a lot of information we can find. Would this be worth a three or four day trip by car from Tokyo or a city where renting a car would be more practical? We would welcome suggestions on a route to drive and places to visit, accomodation , food etc - or suggestions for similar regions to visit . Thank you.

Do you mean Ise in Mie prefecture? It’s a nice region, but I would rent the car in Nagoya or potentially even closer.

Or do you mean Izu peninsula? Also very nice place with nice small onsen right in the sea shore? You could rent a car either in Tokyo or Atami. I rented once in Shuzenji

In case you are looking for other traditional areas:
- I am a great fan of inner Nara prefecture (Yamatoyagi, Sakurai, Asuka…)
http://bicycletraveljapan.blogspot.com/search?q=Yamatoyagi+&m=1
- more to the North, Tono was very nice

http://bicycletraveljapan.blogspot.com/search?q=Tono&m=1
-Sado ga shima was also very nice.
- Also loved the area around Tokamachi / Tsunan and Matsudai in Niigata.

http://bicycletraveljapan.blogspot.com/search/label/SW2022?m=1


Essentially there are a lot of remote places to chose from.

Mie prefecture is great. It is way off the beaten track as far as tourism goes, except for Ise Shrine. For a four-day trip it would be worthwhile, and easy, to add a trip to Ise Shrine to a three-day itinerary like the one described in the following Japan Guide write-up:
https://www.japan-guide.com/ad/central-japan/190318.html

If you like seafood, I can enthusiastically recommend the ryokan where the writer stopped for the first night. They put on an amazing spread; it’s just wonderful. (But I would not recommend that you stay there if you don’t like seafood including some sashimi. They are justifiably very proud of their seafood and I think it would be weird to ask for something else instead, or to leave large amounts of the fabulous fish uneaten.)

I have traveled to coastal Mie several times (mainly to stay at that ryokan, and also to hike the Iseji), and have always gone by train but I have to say that a car would be very useful there. One thing to bear in mind is that it tends to rain a lot there. That can put a damper on outdoor plans, so think about what you might do if the weather turns sour. There aren’t many things to do indoors in that part of Japan. (If you have a ryokan with a nice bath and spectacular views, you can hang out and recharge your batteries for a day, but most people like to be more active on holiday.) Ise Shrine would be okay with an umbrella, but I would not advise hiking the Kumano Kodo in the rain. In places, it tends to be treacherous (slippery) enough even on a good day. But so spectacular… If you want to hike it, do your research in advance. There are some segments where you can take a train one way, so you don’t have to do an out-and-back hike to return to your car. (Just bear in mind that the trains don’t run very often!)

Read this page.
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4301.html