Travel in Japan
Travel in Japan
International Resort Town: Karuizawa
With churches in the woods and North American-style houses with vast gardens hundreds of square meters in size, Karuizawa has a distinct atmosphere. It is situated at the foot of Mt. Asama in Nagano Prefecture, and with a population of 19,000, it’s such a small town that you can drive around it in under 30 minutes. Karuizawa is known as a resort town and a tourist spot because it’s rich in nature, cool in summer and also has an urban feel. ...
Tokyo’s City on the Water: Odaiba
Not known for wasting space, or even having any room to spare for that matter, the city of Tokyo in the ‘90s, looking for more room to grow, expanded into Tokyo Bay. But creating artificial land on the water wasn’t anything new to the city. In 1853, towards the end of the Edo period, the shogunate built six islands in the bay to act as a defense, armed with cannon batteries (battery or fort is “daiba” in Japanese), ...
Japan’s Lost World: Yakushima
Giant waterfalls, shrub-covered mountains, and twisted, ancient cedar trees. You will find them all on one island – Yakushima. This round island is located about 60 km off the coast of Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyushu, in a subtropical area of Japan, making its snow capped peaks of winter a surprising contradiction. It rains heavily and often there, about half the year. ...
Tokyo’s Garden – Different World in the City
Japanese gardens fall into two main categories: the dry landscape garden (kare-sansui) and the stroll-through garden (kaiyu-shiki). The former is better known as the Zen garden and consists primarily of raked sand that represents a river and rocks. As landscape gardens are much more associated with Kyoto in the Kansai region, it is stroll-through gardens that you are most likely to come across in Tokyo. ...
Yokohama - A City of Firsts
When Yokohama (Kanagawa Prefecture) opened its ports to the world in 1859, it was a quiet fishing village of about 100 houses. Since then it has survived devastation from below with the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923, devastation from above during the Great Yokohama Air Raid on 1945, and has blossomed into Japan’s busiest port city and second largest metropolis. ...
It’s not Only the Airport; Narita is a Hot Place for Sightseeing
When you think of Narita in Chiba Prefecture, the first thing that comes to most people’s minds is Narita International Airport. But as well as being home to the airport, Narita is becoming a hot sightseeing spot for foreign tourists. Approximately 13 million tourists visited Narita in 2007; many of them foreign tourists staying at hotels around the airport who stop by just before leaving Japan. ...
Nikko – World Heritage Site Just Two Hours by Train from Tokyo
Nikko (Tochigi Prefecture) is one of the most renowned sightseeing spots in Japan, and the shrines and temple as well as the remains in the area are registered as world cultural heritages. Since it is located just two hours by train to the north of Tokyo, many domestic and overseas tourists visit the area. 3.82 million people stayed in Nikko in 2007. ...
Old-world left in a Big City, Shinjuku’s Golden-gai
Shinjuku is the most popular district for non-Japanese in Tokyo. It is a diverse place. It has a business area with skyscrapers, five major department stores, Kabukicho for entertainment, a hotel area for lovers, Ni-chome for the gay and lesbian community and Shinjuku-gyoen that is full of greenery. Of all Shinjuku’s areas, though, Golden-gai is the most mysterious. ...
Izu Oshima: Tokyo's Own Island Getaway
Usually, when people think of Tokyo, they imagine an overcrowded metropolis. Some, at least city-dwellers, don’t necessarily consider it an ideal vacation spot. In fact, Tokyo Prefecture is home to a chain of 11 major islands, the Izu Island group and the Ogasawara group, stretching to the south as far as 1,033 kilometers away. ...
Hakone ― 6 Ways to Explore
the Resort in Tokyo’s Backyard
Hakone is a hot-spring resort, popular for generations, located in the center of Fuji Hakone Izu National Park. It is not only a scenic sightseeing spot where people can look up at the nearby Mt. Fuji, but is also well-known for its hot springs. Hakone is always busy with tourists, especially in spring because of the fresh greenery and in autumn because of the crimson leaves. ...
Yanesen — Shitamachi off the Beaten Path
Asakusa and other parts of shitamachi have become fixtures on the international tourist map, but there is still one shitamachi area that remains largely undiscovered by overseas tourists: Yanesen. Yanesen is an almost triangular area with Nezu, Nippori and Sendagi stations at its tips. ...
Azumino – Where Crystal Clear Water Runs
Actor TERAO Akira’s anonymous character wanders through the peaceful countryside along a calm, crystal clear river, coming upon several quietly turning watermills. Children, dressed as if from a time long past, pick flowers and walk by. ...
Ise Mairi – Visiting Japan’s Holy Land
Japan has a spiritual sanctuary that was once a must-visit site for pilgrims. It is located in Ise City in Mie Prefecture, about 100 kilometers south from Nagoya. Generally it is called “Ise Shrine” and it is worshiped by people as the head shrine of Shinto. ...
Mt. Fuji – A Spiritual and Cultural Symbol
Nothing is as symbolic of Japan as Mt. Fuji. Standing at 3,776 meters, the mountain that straddles the prefectures of Yamanashi and Shizuoka is by far the tallest in the country, visible even from Tokyo. ...
Kyoto Sightseeing Spots by City Bus
Tokyo may be Japan’s main city, but Kyoto is the sightseeing capital. With sights like the gilded Kinkaku-ji and the geisha district of Gion being just the tip of the iceberg, Kyoto is simply unmissable. And thanks to the best bus network in Japan, Kyoto is easy to get around. ...
Harajuku – Town of Young People and Fashion
Takeshita-dori is the first sight that greets many visitors to Harajuku. And what a sight. At almost any time of the week this narrow and noisy pedestrian street is packed with a mixture of teenagers and tourists shuffling shoulder to shoulder taking in the mixture of small shops that cater to Tokyo’s punk, gothic Lolita and hip hop youth cultures. ...
Okutama – A Treasure House of Nature Only Two Hours From Tokyo
Tokyo, as most people know, is a busy cosmopolitan city with a population of over 10 million people, but there is much more to the capital city than just high-rise buildings. The town of Okutama, located in the extreme western part of Tokyo, can be reached within about two hours by train or car. Here, you will see the other side of Tokyo, a world full of beautiful nature. ...
Tsukiji–Entertaining Fish Market
It may only be a station away from the affluent and cosmopolitan streets of Ginza, yet Tsukiji couldn’t be more different. The area is a no-frills working district with a distinctly old-Tokyo feel that has become popular with Japanese and foreign tourists alike, thanks in large part to being the undisputed seafood capital of Tokyo (Tsukiji Market). ...
Kamakura – the Beautifully Scenic First Shogunate Capital
Take a train heading south from Tokyo for about 1 hour and you will get to Kamakura, the old Shogunate capital of Japan. MINAMOTO no Yoritomo, who became the first Shogun in Japan, created a Kamakura shogunate in order to carry out his political aims. From that time, Kamakura became a center of politics and economics but its power gradually waned when the Minamoto clan fell from power after Yoritomo’s death. ...
Akihabara – Exciting Town of Two Faces
Walking through Akihabara Station’s Electric Town exit on a Sunday afternoon can be like walking into a fancy dress party. And a noisy one at that. Girls in French maid outfits pose for cameras as they hand out flyers and vie for attention with wannabe pop idols and loudspeakers bellowing out the latest deals to be had on electronics. ...
Unveiling the Secret of Kusatsu Onsen
Kusatsu is a town like no other in Japan and it has a secret that must be personally experienced to be understood. The townsfolk are in on the secret and are more than happy to share it with visitors. So, just why are the people of Kusatsu so enthusiastic about their home? ...
Experience the World of Geisha at Ito Hot Spring Resprt
Surprisingly to many foreigners, geisha culture does not only exist in Kyoto. Visitors to Ito, a famous hot spring resort situated on the Izu peninsula less than two hours by train from Tokyo can experience the delights of this mysterious world. ...
Cruising Tour of Shiretoko, Newly Registered Natural World Heritage
In 1971, a song "Shiretoko Ryojo" (Shiretoko Traveling Sentiment) sung by well-known Japanese actor MORISHIGE Hisaya, and singer KATO Tokiko became a big hit and motivated many Japanese to travel to Shiretoko, Hokkaido, a part of Japan that is now in the spotlight again as a beautiful sightseeing spot. ...
Spirited Away to Enchanting Ehime!
Ehime, situated in the northern part of Japan's southern island of Shikoku, has a population of about 1.5 million, and contrary to popular belief, is not only famous for some of the best mikan (mandarin oranges) in Japan. ...
Get Lost in Rural Japan, No Translation Necessary
When foreign tourists think about Japan, an image that often springs to mind is that of the Bill MURRAY character in the movie "Lost in Translation" wearily floating through Tokyo, bewildered by Japan and Japanese people. ...
WANTED: 10 Million Tourists!
The emergence of Japan on the international stage in the form of animation and movies, and the explosion in popularity of Japanese cuisine and culture around the globe has been largely responsible for the record number of foreign tourists coming to Japan. ...
