The British route toward Japan from the west

Did Britain's plan for war with Japan resemble an island-hopping campaign approaching from the west?

Yes; the route ran through Suez, the Indian Ocean, Singapore, and the South China Sea, following British bases toward Japan.

The island-hopping comparison fits, but logistics determines the route. Britain's chain of access ran through the Suez Canal, Indian Ocean bases, Singapore, and then north through the South China Sea. The direction of advance followed the empire's existing route around the world, making the campaign a west-to-east approach rather than an imitation of America's central-Pacific path.