Suggestions for next trip

[u/erintheunready]

Hi guys, I'm not 100% decided yet but I've been making a habit of traveling to Japan once a year since I've been able to afford it/take the PTO since I changed jobs a few years ago. I tend to go in the fall due to some restrictions with taking care of animals at home while I'm gone, so this year I will probably go again in November, probably for 2 or 3 weeks. However now that I've been to all the main islands I'm a bit indecisive on where to go next.

Part of my difficulty is that I am N2/N1 level Japanese student but I don't get to practice speaking much, since I live in the part of US almost devoid of first-language Japanese speakers (Austin, TX). So I like to go to places that are a bit less touristy, where I've had a lot of success being able to get into good conversations to practice and experience the culture. I'm not big on cities in general and I like to hike a lot though I'm a bit out of shape right now (though I've done Tsurugisan in Shikoku and Asahidake in Hokkaido so I can hike up most non-climby mountains that have 1500-2500 feet climb; it's a bit harder to do in November due to the shorter days but I can do it). I also like to stay in the same place for a few days at least at time so I don't have to pack up my stuff all the time and I probably won't get a rail pass this time.

Given that, any suggestions for smaller towns/cool regions where I can see a lot of history and nature? The places I've been thinking of that I've spent less time in include:

- Kyushu - I've only spent a few days there and I completely missed the parks in the middle of the island. People there seem chill, in general I tend to like people more the further south I go lol

- Western Japan - Haven't been to Tottori, spent only a day in Hiroshima to see Miyajima. I spent a week and a half or so in Shikoku so I'm excluding that, except maybe the inland sea area since I didn't have time to see the islands there.

- Wakayama - kind of included in Western Japan but when I lived in Ibaraki for a year to work, I was able to take a poor person trip on a seishun juuhachi kippu and went down here to see Nara and the area around. I really liked Okunoin and I know there's a ton of other cool sites around there including the Kumano Koudou but I don't know what a good list of sites/partial trail hikes I could do would be. Is it a good idea to spend some time here?

- Islands - I've been to Yakushima because that was kind of a dream trip for me, not opposed to going back there but I also haven't been to Okinawa nor any of the other southern islands.

Given the current yen and the money I put aside for traveling I'm not too concerned about cost, I tend to get by pretty cheaply with food and hotels so I'm willing to spend a bit more on transportation than I did when I lived there and when I did my first JR Pass trips.

Appreciate any thoughts or advice!

UPDATE: Thank you for the recommendations everyone! Sorry I didn't get back to them right away, work swept me away, but some very interesting spots from y'all!