Touring Noto Peninsula, Ishikawa
Noto Peninsula (Noto Hanto) is a large, scenic peninsula jutting into the Sea of Japan like a dorsal fin. Lots of tourist sights, but the train line goes only halfway…
Mt. Sakurajima, Kagoshima
Japan being such a mountainous country, there are bound to be prefectures with a famous mountain as its main symbol. Mt. Fuji for Shizuoka, Mt. Aso for Kumamoto, and for…
Miyazaki Prefecture’s 1960s honeymoon boom
Miyazaki Prefecture’s most prominent natural feature are these neat parallel rows or grooves of pockmarked, platform rock nicknamed the “Devil’s Washboard” (鬼の洗濯板). They are uplifted wave-cut platforms (隆起波食台) formed by…
Aokigahara Forest, Fuji Kawaguchiko, Yamanashi
An ordinary-looking forest in Japan (upper right photo). Nothing spooky about it right? Right. It’s only Aokigahara Forest, a beautiful forest on the northwestern foot/slope of Mt. Fuji. However, it…
Very green Korakuen Garden, Okayama
Korakuen is one of the Big Three Famous Japanese Gardens (Nihon Sanmeien 日本三名園). The other two are Kairakuen in Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture famous for ume plum blossoms and Kenrokuen in…
Kaiten Human Torpedo Museum, Ozushima, Yamaguchi
Near the coastal city of Shunan, there’s a small island called Ozushima (大津島) in the Seto Inland Sea. During the latter years of World War II in 1944–1945, Ozushima was…
Yoshinogari Historical Park, Saga
Huge outdoor park on an archaeological site where ruins from the Yayoi Period were discovered and excavated since the mid-1980s. The Yayoi Period (10th–3rd century BC 弥生時代) is noted for…
Izumo Taisha Shrine, Shimane
If you want to avoid tourist crowds, the San’in Region (Tottori, Shimane, Yamaguchi Prefectures) facing the Sea of Japan is the perfect answer. Lots of sights and relatively few tourists…
Northern Culture Center, Niigata
Northern Culture Center (Hoppo Bunka Hakubutsukan) is a former Japanese farmhouse built in 1887 and converted into a local museum. The house has numerous rooms, with a floor space of…
Yamagata Hanagasa Matsuri, Yamagata
One of the Big Tohoku Summer Festivals, Yamagata Hanagasa Matsuri is an evening folk dance parade of women and children wearing colorful costumes and waving flower hats. “Hanagasa” means flower…