Japan with minimal pre-booking?

Hi travelers!

I’m planning a sabbatical, and I’m thinking of doing around 6 weeks solo travel in Japan.

My travel style is generally to book my first and last nights of the trip and just kind of figure out everything in between (sometimes with a camper van rental pre-booked as well). This kind of flexibility has allowed for some really amazing travel experiences in a ton of places I’ve been to: Mexico, Thailand, Costa Rica, Vietnam, Peru, Iceland…

Obviously you have to be flexible and ready to miss out on some stuff. For example, I didn’t pre-book Corcovado national park in Costa Rica in time and wasn’t able to visit. The upside being that I saw a puma on the hike I did outside the park instead.

My question is: will this approach work for Japan? I’d like to get off the beaten path some, but I don’t want to get in a situation where I’m spending a ton of money on accommodation because I didn’t book in time.

Trip will be October - November.

Would also love recommendations for off the beaten path travel. I’m an avid outdoorswoman and foodie, and am really excited to experience Japanese culture and learn about its history.