Tateshina Shinyu Onsen in Nagano Prefecture Is there anywhere better to curl up with a good book than a Japanese hot spring inn that inspired over a dozen famous Japanese poets and novelists in the early 1900s? Literary lights gathered for months at a time at Tateshina to pen their novels, poems and plays… whichContinueContinue reading “Let’s stay at an amazingly bookish Japanese inn!”
Category Archives: Beyond Tokyo
Who wears it better? Kosan-ji temple or the maple trees?
Kosan-ji temple in Hiroshima Prefecture Everyone whips through Hiroshima to see the atomic bomb museum and the floating torii gate at Miyajima, but if you don’t make a detour to the little island of Ikuchi-jima to see Kosan-ji temple in its autumn finery, you deserve all the regrets! In other seasons, the ornate and colorfulContinueContinue reading “Who wears it better? Kosan-ji temple or the maple trees?”
Over the river and through the woods to a dragon shrine and a killer waterfall
The Haruna Shrine & Fukinoware Falls in Gunma Prefecture Who goes to Japan to hike? Can’t you see forests and rivers in other parts of the world that are way more famous? Well, yes, but if you’d like to see just how only-in-Japan trekking over the river and through the woods can be, look noContinueContinue reading “Over the river and through the woods to a dragon shrine and a killer waterfall”
Come with me to the northiest north!
Hiking the Lofoten Islands, inside the Arctic Circle Little red houses everywhere! Okay, I know this isn’t the Norwaygram, and I apologize to be coming to you from a place that is SO far beyond Tokyo this month. To be honest, I can’t remember the last time I was in a country where they wereContinueContinue reading “Come with me to the northiest north!”
Let’s explore an amazing Japanese design site that turns landscape into art
Enoura Observatory in Odawara Huge apologies for sending you an email with a broken link this morning! Here’s the piece you were supposed to get (>_<;;) All my friends told me I should run—not walk—to see the Enoura Observatory. Not one of them could quite explain why. Or even really describe what it was. OnceContinueContinue reading “Let’s explore an amazing Japanese design site that turns landscape into art”
Let’s explore an amazing Japanese design site that turns landscape into art
Enoura Observatory in Odawara All my friends told me I should run—not walk—to see the Enoura Observatory. Not one of them could quite explain why. Or even really describe what it was. Once I was there, though, I understood. It’s such an immersive and utterly visual experience, trying to explain it in words is likeContinueContinue reading “Let’s explore an amazing Japanese design site that turns landscape into art”
Let’s go back to see the Jōnan-gu Shrine plum garden in bloom!
What a difference two weeks makes! Because you endured last month’s navel-gazing about making rock gardens from rocks, it’s only fair that I take you along on the rinse-and-repeat trip I took to Jōnan-gu Shrine two weeks later, to be rewarded with…this! From the first glimpse of the glories ahead as we round the bend…ContinueContinue reading “Let’s go back to see the Jōnan-gu Shrine plum garden in bloom!”
Let’s stay at a Japanese inn with seven outdoor hot spring baths by a river!
Ginkon-yu Onsen in Hokkaido This month I’m inviting you to come with me to one of the most magical places I’ve ever been—the inn with seven secluded hot spring baths set in a forest next to a rushing river! We’ll cleverly plan our trip to arrive at the earliest possible check-in time, because there areContinueContinue reading “Let’s stay at a Japanese inn with seven outdoor hot spring baths by a river!”
Hokkaido: Like the Alps…but with volcanos
Hokkaido beyond ski season If spending time in glorious mountains where you might be surprised by steam spouting from the ground around every bend sounds like heaven to you, get thee to Hokkaido when it’s NOT snowing! Everyone knows Japan’s northiest island is home to the best powder skiing on earth, but it’s well worthContinueContinue reading “Hokkaido: Like the Alps…but with volcanos”
A real-life vine bridge and other undiscovered Shikoku delights!
Exploring Shikoku beyond the art islands and the temples Most visitors only visit the Japanese island of Shikoku to trek around the famous 88-temple pilgrimage or ogle the art on the island of Naoshima… but Shikoku delivers so many great experiences you can’t have anywhere else. Like…the Kazurabashi Vine Bridge! Forty-five meters long and twoContinueContinue reading “A real-life vine bridge and other undiscovered Shikoku delights!”
Let’s go see where that fabulous Meisen kimono silk comes from!
Chichibu Meisen-kan in Saitama Prefecture It’s no secret I’m a major fangirl when it comes to Jazz Age kimonos, and if you’ve been following Only In Japan, you’ll remember that fabulous exhibit at the Yayoi-Yumeji Museum that showcased Meisen silk kimonos with patterns influenced by modern art… kitchy Western motifs… and the sheer graphic exuberanceContinueContinue reading “Let’s go see where that fabulous Meisen kimono silk comes from!”
Let’s climb a thousand stone steps to Japan’s famous Mountain Temple!
Yamadera in Yamagata Prefecture The hydrangeas are in bloom and it’s the perfect time of year to climb those thousand steps to Yamadera (literally “mountain temple”), a famed pilgrimage spot since the year 860. The view that will reward us after climbing the thousand stone steps to the top is pretty spectacular… …but it’s theContinueContinue reading “Let’s climb a thousand stone steps to Japan’s famous Mountain Temple!”
Come for the art island, stay for the tea garden
Ritsurin Koen in Takamatsu, Shikoku You came, you saw, you appreciated all the art on Naoshima. But the memory that will stick with you from Takamatsu—the city you thought of as merely the jumping-off place for the art island ferry—is that perfect afternoon stroll through Ritsurin Koen. This huge and stunning tea garden was builtContinueContinue reading “Come for the art island, stay for the tea garden”
Let’s stay in a traditional farmhouse in the Japanese countryside!
Yokomura Eco-Lodge in Yamanashi Prefecture Japan isn’t all neon lights, tea ceremonies and vending machines—rural farm life is alive and well in the beautiful Japanese countryside, and if you’ve ever dreamed of staying in one of those curvy-beamed, straw-plastered, traditional farmhouses, well, now you can! Yokomura Eco-Lodge was restored by the owners of Kasamatsu FarmsContinueContinue reading “Let’s stay in a traditional farmhouse in the Japanese countryside!”
Zao Onsen in winter: Hot springs, snow monsters and more!
Zao Onsen in Yamagata Prefecture Zao Onsen is a perfect example of what makes Japan so extra—there are plenty of places in the world you can ski through a forest of snowy trees… but where else can you do it chased by snow monsters… and stay at an inn that’s been in business for fourContinueContinue reading “Zao Onsen in winter: Hot springs, snow monsters and more!”
The hidden secrets of Miyajima Island
Itsukushima (Miyajima Island) in Hiroshima Prefecture Most people think of visiting Miyajima as that short ferry ride from Hiroshima to snap obligatory pix of the floating World Heritage torii gate, but staying on the island delivers some serious delights that daytrippers never get to see. For starters…the famous gate lit up at night! The ItsukushimaContinueContinue reading “The hidden secrets of Miyajima Island”
Let’s go to the Japanese garden…from Hell
Unzen in Nagasaki Prefecture Abandon hope, all ye who enter here! You’re about to enter a Japanese garden that’s like no other on earth. On the very-much-not-dormant volcanic flanks of Mt. Unzen on the southernmost Japanese island of Kyushu lies Unzen Hell (Unzen Jigoku), the volcanic wonderland at the heart of Unzen-Amakusa National Park. AContinueContinue reading “Let’s go to the Japanese garden…from Hell”
A town that’s packed with weird, wild & wonderful shrines and temples
Kamakura in Kanagawa Prefecture MAP to all shrines and temples If you want to set a record for seeing the most entertaining shrines & temples in a single day, the best of the best are just an hour away from central Tokyo in the charming town of Kamakura! Read on, to pick your must-sees. BeforeContinueContinue reading “A town that’s packed with weird, wild & wonderful shrines and temples”
Time travel to a samurai village, check out Westminster Abbey, then swoon over the most opulent golden shrine in Japan
Nikko in Tochigi Prefecture Nikko not only hosts my favorite must-see World Heritage Site in all of Japan, it’s home to two eye-popping theme parks—one that lets you wander around an authentically recreated samurai village dressed as the period character of your choice, and another that seems like it would be the acme of camp,ContinueContinue reading “Time travel to a samurai village, check out Westminster Abbey, then swoon over the most opulent golden shrine in Japan”
Let’s hike through the cherry blossom forest!
Hanamiyama Park in Fukushima Let’s escape the elbowing cameramen, blossom-hogging selfie-snappers and crowded parks of Tokyo and head up to Tohoku, where kilometers upon kilometers of wild cherry blossoms line the hiking trails at Hanamiyama. “Cherry Blossom Mountain” is a vast private park planted with so many flowering trees that every vista is painted inContinueContinue reading “Let’s hike through the cherry blossom forest!”
Let’s go to the odd theme park that’s amazing in the most unexpected way
Tobu World Square in Nikko What if I told you that I’d visited a place in Japan that surprised me in a way that I never expected to be surprised? When I finally made it to this place in October, I expected the space-time continuum to be so warped that in a single day youContinueContinue reading “Let’s go to the odd theme park that’s amazing in the most unexpected way”
Let’s go to the Werewolf Shrine!
Mitsumiya Shrine in Saitama prefecture The Mitsumine Shrine sits high atop a snowy mountain near Chichibu, so far from any train station that you’ll be eligible for a senior citizen discount by the time you get off the bus. At first it looks like a typical Shinto shrine with fox messengers at the gate… …butContinueContinue reading “Let’s go to the Werewolf Shrine!”
Let’s walk across red-hot burning coals!
Hiwatari Matsuri at Mt. Takao Who can resist the opportunity to do a bit of firewalking? Once a year, they actually let you join in, at the Hiwatari Matsuri, just an hour outside of Shinjuku Station at Mt. Takao. Get there early, because the festivities start with a grand parade of ascetic mountain monks from all overContinueContinue reading “Let’s walk across red-hot burning coals!”
Thousands of candle-lit igloos turn this village into a winter fairyland
Kamakura Festival in Yokote, Akita The Shiofune Kannon-ji grounds are HUGE. It’s like the Nezu Shrine on steroids. February’s destination is the castle town of Yokote, in the northiest north of Akita prefecture. For two days every year (February 15-16), the town’s children offer toasted rice cakes and sweet sake to visitors inside tiny traditionalContinueContinue reading “Thousands of candle-lit igloos turn this village into a winter fairyland”
Let’s stroll through a forest of perfect miniature trees!
Bonsai Village in Ōmiya The Ōmiya Bonsai Art Museum is a work of art in itself—the trees are displayed in a beautifully-designed landscape that feels like a contemporary Japanese garden. It showcases the trees amid traditional fences and rockscapes Bonsai Village is the neighborhood surrounding the Bonsai Art Museum in Ōmiya, which is home toContinueContinue reading “Let’s stroll through a forest of perfect miniature trees!”
Let’s hike through bowers of flowers
Shiofune Kannon-ji Temple in Ome The Shiofune Kannon-ji grounds are HUGE. It’s like the Nezu Shrine on steroids. Every April, this temple’s kilometers upon kilometers of hiking trails look out on riotously blooming azaleas, as far as the eye can see. Around every bend, each view is more jaw-dropping than the last. Shiofune Kannon-ji is out inContinueContinue reading “Let’s hike through bowers of flowers”
Let’s visit the perfect garden for how we’re feeling right now
Kairaku-en Plum Garden in Mito prefecture February is the best time to see Kairaku-en, because there’s a chance a late winter storm will deliver the amazing sight of spring’s first flowers peeking out from under a blanket of snow Like cherry blossoms, which are beloved because their brief but glorious life is the perfect metaphorContinueContinue reading “Let’s visit the perfect garden for how we’re feeling right now”
Let’s go to Fox Village…in the snow!
Fox Village in Miyagi prefecture It’s a lot easier to get up close and personal with wild animals in Japan, because it’s the Land that Lawyers Forgot and because the Japanese public is better at following rules and being respectful of animals than people in the country where I grew up. Fox Village is aContinueContinue reading “Let’s go to Fox Village…in the snow!”
A rugged paradise with famous drummers, bathtub boats, and a cave of spooky Jizo figures
Sado Island in Niigata prefecture Sado is everything a remote island should be—plummeting cliffs surrounded by crystal clear water—but you can also do some things here that you can’t do in any other part of Japan These days, Sado Island is an hour offshore by hydrofoil, but in olden times it would take a lotContinueContinue reading “A rugged paradise with famous drummers, bathtub boats, and a cave of spooky Jizo figures”
A whole park full of thatch-roofed farmhouses, just outside of central Tokyo
Nihon Minka-en Japanese Folk House Garden in Kanagawa prefecture There are twenty-three authentic structures in the park, each chosen to feature the clever ways that traditional architecture dealt with local climates and allowed their inhabitants to practice their local ways of life One of the most amazing things to see in Japan is buildings constructedContinueContinue reading “A whole park full of thatch-roofed farmhouses, just outside of central Tokyo”
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