Fodor's Essential Japan
Written by locals, Fodor's Essential Japan is the perfect guidebook for those looking for...
Tradition and modernity share space in this island nation where ancient shrines bump up against skyscrapers. Castles and palaces whisper of history, and bullet trains shuttle you through spectacular landscapes to cities packed with world-class restaurants and shopping. From Tokyo’s urban sprawl to the peacefulness of Kyoto, from boisterous Osaka nightlife to Hiroshima's contemplative spirit, Japan’s big attractions never fail to dazzle first-time visitors. What keeps people coming back is astoundingly delicious food, a unique culture, and warm hospitality.
Fodor's Essential Japan
Written by locals, Fodor's Essential Japan is the perfect guidebook for those looking for...
Top Destinations
Top Destinations
Tokyo
Lights, sushi, manga! Sprawling, frenetic, and endlessly fascinating, Japan’s capital is a city of contrasts. Shrines and gardens are pockets of calm between famously crowded...
Kyoto
The astonishing number of temples, shrines, and palaces that adorn the city make Kyoto's architecture its most famous feature worldwide. Japan's capital for more than...
Hokkaido
Hokkaido is Japan with breathing space. People here don’t put on the air-conditioning in summer—they open the windows. Outside, fragrant air, wild mountains, virgin forests...
The Kansai Region
Stretching from Mie Prefecture in the east to Hyogo Prefecture in the west, the Kansai region is both a snapshot of archetypal Japan and a...
Side Trips from Tokyo
As diverse and exciting as the neighborhoods of Tokyo are, a short day trip or overnight away from the city offers a refreshingly different perspective...
The Japan Alps and the North Chubu Coast
Until the 20th century brought highways and railways to central Japan, villages in this alpine region were largely isolated from the rest of the country...
Shikoku
The smallest of Japan's four main islands, Shikoku has been a travel destination for Japanese people since the 8th century, when the Shingon Buddhist priest...
Tohoku
Tohoku translates as "east–north," and it is a path less traveled by foreign tourists. Though the recent addition of bullet trains has made getting up...
Kyushu
Kyushu's landscape couldn't be more varied, with active yet accessible volcanoes, numerous thermal spas, endless fields of rice and famous potatoes, forested mountains capped by...
Nagoya, Ise-Shima, and the Kii Peninsula
Nagoya punches well above its weight. The present-day industries of Japan's fourth-largest city are a corollary to its monozukuri (art of making things) culture. This...
Okinawa
Tropical climate, sun-kissed beaches and crystal-blue waters, deserted islands ringed by rainbow-hued coral reefs, verdant jungle trails, and funky port towns full of laid-back, fun-loving...
Western Honshu
Like disparate siblings, the two coasts of western Honshu have distinctly different personalities. Taken together, they embody the ancient and modern—those two seemingly bipolar time...
Osaka
From Minami's neon-lighted Dotombori and historic Tenno-ji to the high-rises and underground shopping labyrinths of Kita, Osaka pulses with its own unique rhythm. Home to...
Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park
This region, southwest of Tokyo between Suruga and Sagami bays, is one of Japan's most popular resort areas. The main attraction, of course, is Mt...
Kobe
Kobe resonates with a cool, hip vibe, a condition of its internationalism and its position between mountains and sea. With more than 42,000 foreigners living...
Nagoya
In 1612 Shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa established Nagoya by permitting his ninth son to build a castle here. Industry and merchant houses sprang up in the...
Sapporo
Modern, openhearted Sapporo is a good planning base for any trip to Hokkaido's wilder regions. Hokkaido's capital is also worth a few days' stay for...
Nara
Nara is a place of synthesis, where Chinese art, religion, and architecture fused with Japanese language and Shinto traditions. The city was established in AD...
Kanazawa
Twenty-first-century Kanazawa presents an extraordinary union of unblemished Old Japan and a modern, trendsetting city. More than 300 years of history have been preserved in...
Naha
Okinawa's capital city is the center of commerce, tourism, and youthful enterprise in the region. People here are more laid-back than elsewhere in Japan, with...
Matsuyama
Shikoku's largest city, Matsuyama prides itself on a great history, friendly disposition, fantastic cultural attractions, and a love for fine food, intense fashion, and haiku...
Nagasaki
Blessed with a breathtaking location, Nagasaki is strung together on a long series of hillocks in a scenic valley that follows the arms of the...
Hiroshima
On August 6, 1945, at 8:15 am, a massive chunk of metal known as Little Boy fell from an American plane, and the sky ignited...
Sendai
Sendai is Tohoku's largest city, and its million residents enjoy the big-city amenities coupled with the easygoing vibe of a small town. Devastated by World...
Niseko
For the best skiing in Hokkaido, head for Niseko's Grand Hirafu, Annupuri, Niseko Village, and Hanazono runs. Popular with Japanese skiers in the 1970s, Niseko...
Miyako Islands
Some intensive beach therapy can be engaged in here. In the southwest corner of the main island, Miyako-jima, is Maehama, perhaps Japan's finest beach, and...
Takamatsu
If you're coming to Shikoku by train, your first stop will likely be Takamatsu, the capital of Kagawa Prefecture. Takamatsu combines urban verve with a...
Matsumoto
Snowcapped peaks surround the old castle town of Matsumoto, where the air is cool and dry on the alpine plateau. More interesting and picturesque than...
Kochi
Kochi has earned a reputation for being different. The locals are rough-talking, boisterous, and social, and their spirited city has an attitude far from the...
Fukuoka
Fukuoka is an excellent base to begin exploring Kyushu. To get a sense of the city, walk along the meandering Naka-gawa River. The stunning Canal...
Shikotsu-Toya National Park
Mountains, forests, hot springs, caldera lakes, and volcanoes are virtually in Sapporo's backyard, less than an hour's drive away. Route 230 passes the large hot-spring...
Naoshima
In past centuries, pirate attacks were the biggest surprise you might encounter on the Seto Inland Sea. Now, it's the world-class art museums of Naoshima...
Hirara City
On the main island of Miyako-jima, sprawling, unremarkable Hirara, population 48,000, doesn't have much to see but offers plenty of budget accommodation...
Morioka
Morioka is a busy commercial and industrial city ringed by mountains, but it's more of a travel hub than a destination to visit; for that...
Takayama
Originally called Hida, Takayama is a tranquil town whose rustic charms are the result of hundreds of years of peaceful isolation in the Hida Mountains...
Matsue
Matsue is a city blessed with so much overwhelming beauty and good food that you will wonder what to look at, what to eat, and...
Yufuin
Southwest of the majestic twin peaks of Yufu-dake, this tranquil village resembles a checkered quilt. Forests nestle up to clusters of galleries, eclectic cafés, local...
Tokushima
Tokushima means "virtuous island"—ironic, considering the local residents' fondness for drinking, dancing, and hard partying. The city's annual Awa Odori dance festival is Japan's biggest...
Aomori
Throughout the year you can enjoy delicious seafood from Aomori Bay, including Oma no Maguro (Oma tuna), as well as delicious fruits and vegetables (particularly...
Otaru
Otaru nets its wealth in tourists these days, but the canal where barges used to land the catch of the day is still the center...
Kumamoto
Kumamoto is nearly midway along the curve of the west coast of Kyushu. From here you can go west to Nagasaki, north to Fukuoka, east...
Northern Okinawa
North of Okinawa Honto, small towns sprawling up the coast are cut at intervals by resort hotels and some great treasures: active artisan enclaves, sweet...
Nagano and Environs
Nagano Prefecture is called the "Roof of Japan," home to the northern, central, and southern Japan Alps and six national parks that offer year-round recreational...
Noto-hanto (Noto Peninsula)
Thought to be named after an Ainu (indigenous Japanese) word for "nose," the Noto-hanto, a national park, juts out into the Sea of Japan and...
Shiretoko National Park
A highlight of any trip to Hokkaido, the spectacular and miraculously uninhabited Shiretoko National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage site. On the Shiretoko Peninsula...
Ishigaki-jima
A day of beachside R&R and a night in Ishigaki City's fun bars and cheap restaurants may be all it takes to make you want...
Hagi
Hagi is virtually surrounded by two branches of the Abu-gawa—the river's south channel, Hashimoto-gawa, and the river's northeast fork, Matsumoto-gawa. Rising in great semicircles behind...
Sado Island (Sado-ga-shima)
Sado is known as much for its unblemished natural beauty as for its melancholy history. Revolutionary intellectuals, such as the Buddhist monk Nichiren, were banished...
Hakodate
Facing out on two bays, Hakodate is a 19th-century port town, with clapboard buildings on sloping streets, a dockside tourist zone, streetcars, and fresh fish...
Akita
In the scenic, faraway realm of Akita, the peaks of the Dewa Sanchi (Dewa Range), marked by Mt. Taihei, march off to the east, and...
Gifu
Gifu's main attraction is its 1,300-year tradition of ukai fishing, which uses live birds to catch fish in the river. The city center spreads several...
Tsuwano
This hauntingly beautiful town, tucked into a narrow north–south valley at the foot of conical Aono-yama and its attendant dormant volcanic mountain friends, may be...
Yamagata
Yamagata, or Mountain Terrain, is the capital of the prefecture of the same name (and the sister city of Boulder, Colorado). It's a community of...
Hirosaki
Hirosaki is one of northern Tohoku's most attractive cities. It's most famous for its sweet apples, and its only real cultural attraction is a small...
Toyako
...
Kagoshima
Kagoshima is a laid-back, flowery, palm-lined southern getaway on the Satsuma Peninsula with mild weather, outgoing people, and a smoking volcano out in the bay...
Akan National Park
This national park is sometimes overlooked in favor of Daisetsu and Shiretoko, but offers great fishing and hiking opportunities...
Kurashiki
From the 17th through the 19th century, this vital shipping port supplied Osaka with cotton, textiles, sugar, reeds, and rice. Today Kurashiki thrives on income...
Ise
When you step off the train, you may feel that Ise is a drab city, but hidden in two forests of towering cedar trees are...
Niigata
The coast between Kurobe and Niigata is flat and not so interesting. Two towns along the way, Naoetsu and Teradomari, serve as ferry ports to...
Inuyama
Inuyama sits along the Kiso River, on the border between Aichi and Gifu prefectures. A historically strategic site, the city changed hands several times during...
Kerama Islands
The Kerama Islands have many pristine beaches, and divers rate the coral and clear water off their coasts highly. There are two main islands, Tokashiki...
Aso-san (Mt. Aso)
Aso-san comprises the world's largest caldera—128 km (80 miles) in circumference, from 18 km to 24 km (11 to 15 miles) wide in places—formed after...
Iriomote-jima
Surging brown rivers, dense green forests, and crystal-blue seas are Iriomote's essential draws, and there's a surprising amount of helpful infrastructure in place to help...
Hakuba
In the northwestern part of Nagano Prefecture, Hakuba Village lies beneath the magnificent Hakuba mountain range, the best of the northern Japan Alps. Hakuba means...
Shimanami Kaido
This 60-km (37-mile) road-and-bridge route connects Imabari and Onomuchi and offers some of Japan's most pleasant cycling...
Iya Valley and Oboke-Koboke Gorges
In the Iya Valley, mountain villages cling to the side of improbably steep hills while turquoise rivers rush through the ravines below. This remote region...
Towada–Hachimantai National Park
Including the windswept expanse of Hachimantai Plateau, scenic Lake Towada, beech forests, marshes of wild flowers, and many hot springs, this national park offers many...
Miyajima
Miyajima's majestic orange O-torii, or “big gate,” is made of several stout, rot-resistant camphor-tree trunks, and is famed for the illusion it gives of "floating"...
Takachiho
Deep in the sacred mountains, a spiritual place full of atmosphere, is the birthplace of Japanese mythology. A visit to the Takachiho region takes you...
Kakunodate
The little samurai town of Kakunodate, sometimes called "Little Kyoto," was founded in 1620 by Yoshikatsu Ashina, the local lord, who chose it for its...
Abashiri
A good touring base for eastern Hokkaido, Abashiri is a small town in the shadow of Tento-san. On the town outskirts are shallow coastal lakes...
Okayama
The city of Okayama claims to have the most sunny days in Japan, and the disposition of the locals tends to reflect this. A beautiful...
Matsushima
Matsushima and its bay are the most popular coastal resort destinations in Tohoku, and they owe this distinction to an infatuation in Japan with oddly...
Tsuruoka and Dewa-Sanzan
South of Akita along the Nihon-kai coast are small fishing villages where nets hang to dry only inches from train windows, vast plains of rice...
Koya-san
This UNESCO World Heritage site is the headquarters of the Shingon sect of Buddhism, founded by Kukai, also known as Kobo Daishi, in AD 816...
The Northern Cape and Islands
Japan's northernmost point is windy and empty. In the short summer season, tiny alpine flowers bloom in coastal grasslands and on rocky outcrops overlooking the...
Daisetsuzan National Park
The country's largest nature preserve, Daisetsuzan National Park contains the very essence of rugged Hokkaido: vast plains, soaring mountain peaks, hidden gorges, cascading waterfalls, thick...
Hiraizumi
A culture of gold flourished in Hiraizumi in the late 11th and 12th centuries, when the Oshu Fujiwara family, a then-powerful clan, chose to move...
Kirishima-Yaku National Park
According to Japanese myth, the mountainous, volcanic Kirishima is one of two possible places where Amaterasu's grandson descended to Earth. The national park, northeast of...
Karuizawa
When Archdeacon A. C. Shaw, an English prelate, built his summer villa here in 1886 at the foot of Mt. Asama in southeastern Nagano Prefecture...
South of Naha
The culture park Okinawa World is an interactive trip through the islands' Ryukyu past, with restored houses, a large limestone cave, and traditional performances. More...
Uchiko
This small farming town in the mountains south of Matsuyama was a major producer of Japanese paper and wax until the early 20th century Now...
Kashikojima
...
Kiso Valley
This deep and narrow valley is cut by the Kiso River and walled in by the central Alps to the east and the northern Alps...
Yudanaka Onsen and Shibu Onsen
Northwest of Nagano, these historic hot-spring towns are the gateway to the Shiga Kogen Plateau ski area, known for its alpine skiing and snowboarding. Yudanaka...
Yamadera
If you'd like to see one of Japan's most revered—and scenic—temple complexes, come up here on an easy day trip from Sendai or Yamagata...
Uwajima
A quiet fishing town south of Matsuyama on the Uwa Sea, Uwajima has two unusual claims to fame, its sumo-style bullfights and a sex museum...
Tazawa-ko
The beautiful azure waters of Tazawa-ko, an almost perfectly round crater lake, can be enjoyed from the paths along the shore, a rented paddleboat, or...
Shingu
Shingu is home to one of the three great shrines of the Kumano Kodo, Hayatama-taisha ????, which sits at the mouth of the Kumano River...
Kusatsu
The highly touted hot springs at Kusatsu contain sulfur, iron, aluminum, and even trace amounts of arsenic. Just inside the border of Gunma Prefecture, the...
Kotohira
Kotohira's draw is the Konpira Shrine, a mountaintop temple to the Shinto deity who protects seafarers. Though it's a long climb up a flight of...
Nibutani
Nibutani is one of the last places in Hokkaido with a sizable Ainu population—or at least part Ainu, as few pure-blooded Ainu are left. The...
Fukui
Fukui, the capital city of the small eponymous prefecture on the Sea of Japan, doesn't have much to draw foreign visitors beyond amazing seafood and...
Nachi
Reputed to be 1,400 years old, this is perhaps the most impressive of the Kumano Kodo shrines...
Kamikochi
The incomparably scenic route from Matsumoto to Takayama winds over the mountains and through Chubu-Sangaku National Park (Chubu-Sangaku Kokuritsu Koen) via Kamikochi. Entry to the...
Asahikawa
Asahikawa, Hokkaido's second-largest city, is the principal entrance to Daisetsuzan National Park. It is not terribly cosmopolitan; daytime life centers around a pedestrian shopping area...
Shirakawa-go
It's speculated that the Shirakawa-go area—and particularly Ogi-machi, an Edo-period hamlet deep within—was originally populated by survivors of the powerful Taira family, who were nearly...
Biei and Furano
Flower fields and small farms at the base of the Daisetsuzan mountain range attract thousands of domestic and East Asian visitors hoping to get a...
Toyama
Busy, industrial Toyama is beautified by Toyama-joshi Koen (Toyama Castle Park), a spread of greenery with a reconstructed version of the original 1532 castle. Toyama...
Iga Ueno
This small city halfway between Nagoya and Nara has some interesting claims to fame. Noted haiku poet Matsuo Basho was born here in the 1640s...
Shirahama
Rounding the peninsula 54 km (34 miles) northwest of Shio-no-misaki, Shirahama is a small headland famous for its pure white-sand beach. If you're wondering why...
Zamami-jima
An island paradise with wonderful beaches, snorkelling, diving, and sea kayaking, on Zamami-jima, late January through March is prime whale-watching season, and during those months...
Izumo Taisha
The oldest of Japan's Shinto shrines, Izumo Taisha has been of tremendous cultural significance—second only to the great shrine at Ise Jingu—since the 6th century...
Tokashiki-jima
...
Aka-jima
...
Nagano
Rimmed by mountains, Nagano has been a temple town since the founding of Zenko-ji in the 7th century. In time for the 1998 Winter Olympics...
Doro-kyo
The wide ocean views of the coastal journey to Shingu give way to gorges and mountainsides of a deep mossy green when you pass through...
Tokyo
Lights, sushi, manga! Sprawling, frenetic, and endlessly fascinating, Japan’s capital is a city of contrasts. Shrines and gardens are pockets of calm between famously crowded...
Kyoto
The astonishing number of temples, shrines, and palaces that adorn the city make Kyoto's architecture its most famous feature worldwide. Japan's capital for more than...
Osaka
From Minami's neon-lighted Dotombori and historic Tenno-ji to the high-rises and underground shopping labyrinths of Kita, Osaka pulses with its own unique rhythm. Home to...
Kobe
Kobe resonates with a cool, hip vibe, a condition of its internationalism and its position between mountains and sea. With more than 42,000 foreigners living...
Nagoya
In 1612 Shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa established Nagoya by permitting his ninth son to build a castle here. Industry and merchant houses sprang up in the...
Sapporo
Modern, openhearted Sapporo is a good planning base for any trip to Hokkaido's wilder regions. Hokkaido's capital is also worth a few days' stay for...
Nara
Nara is a place of synthesis, where Chinese art, religion, and architecture fused with Japanese language and Shinto traditions. The city was established in AD...
Kanazawa
Twenty-first-century Kanazawa presents an extraordinary union of unblemished Old Japan and a modern, trendsetting city. More than 300 years of history have been preserved in...
Naha
Okinawa's capital city is the center of commerce, tourism, and youthful enterprise in the region. People here are more laid-back than elsewhere in Japan, with...
Matsuyama
Shikoku's largest city, Matsuyama prides itself on a great history, friendly disposition, fantastic cultural attractions, and a love for fine food, intense fashion, and haiku...
Nagasaki
Blessed with a breathtaking location, Nagasaki is strung together on a long series of hillocks in a scenic valley that follows the arms of the...
Hiroshima
On August 6, 1945, at 8:15 am, a massive chunk of metal known as Little Boy fell from an American plane, and the sky ignited...
Sendai
Sendai is Tohoku's largest city, and its million residents enjoy the big-city amenities coupled with the easygoing vibe of a small town. Devastated by World...
Niseko
For the best skiing in Hokkaido, head for Niseko's Grand Hirafu, Annupuri, Niseko Village, and Hanazono runs. Popular with Japanese skiers in the 1970s, Niseko...
Matsumoto
Snowcapped peaks surround the old castle town of Matsumoto, where the air is cool and dry on the alpine plateau. More interesting and picturesque than...
Takamatsu
If you're coming to Shikoku by train, your first stop will likely be Takamatsu, the capital of Kagawa Prefecture. Takamatsu combines urban verve with a...
Fukuoka
Fukuoka is an excellent base to begin exploring Kyushu. To get a sense of the city, walk along the meandering Naka-gawa River. The stunning Canal...
Kochi
Kochi has earned a reputation for being different. The locals are rough-talking, boisterous, and social, and their spirited city has an attitude far from the...
Naoshima
In past centuries, pirate attacks were the biggest surprise you might encounter on the Seto Inland Sea. Now, it's the world-class art museums of Naoshima...
Hirara City
On the main island of Miyako-jima, sprawling, unremarkable Hirara, population 48,000, doesn't have much to see but offers plenty of budget accommodation...
Morioka
Morioka is a busy commercial and industrial city ringed by mountains, but it's more of a travel hub than a destination to visit; for that...
Matsue
Matsue is a city blessed with so much overwhelming beauty and good food that you will wonder what to look at, what to eat, and...
Tokushima
Tokushima means "virtuous island"—ironic, considering the local residents' fondness for drinking, dancing, and hard partying. The city's annual Awa Odori dance festival is Japan's biggest...
Yufuin
Southwest of the majestic twin peaks of Yufu-dake, this tranquil village resembles a checkered quilt. Forests nestle up to clusters of galleries, eclectic cafés, local...
Takayama
Originally called Hida, Takayama is a tranquil town whose rustic charms are the result of hundreds of years of peaceful isolation in the Hida Mountains...
Kumamoto
Kumamoto is nearly midway along the curve of the west coast of Kyushu. From here you can go west to Nagasaki, north to Fukuoka, east...
Otaru
Otaru nets its wealth in tourists these days, but the canal where barges used to land the catch of the day is still the center...
Aomori
Throughout the year you can enjoy delicious seafood from Aomori Bay, including Oma no Maguro (Oma tuna), as well as delicious fruits and vegetables (particularly...
Noto-hanto (Noto Peninsula)
Thought to be named after an Ainu (indigenous Japanese) word for "nose," the Noto-hanto, a national park, juts out into the Sea of Japan and...
Ishigaki-jima
A day of beachside R&R and a night in Ishigaki City's fun bars and cheap restaurants may be all it takes to make you want...
Nagano and Environs
Nagano Prefecture is called the "Roof of Japan," home to the northern, central, and southern Japan Alps and six national parks that offer year-round recreational...
Hagi
Hagi is virtually surrounded by two branches of the Abu-gawa—the river's south channel, Hashimoto-gawa, and the river's northeast fork, Matsumoto-gawa. Rising in great semicircles behind...
Hakodate
Facing out on two bays, Hakodate is a 19th-century port town, with clapboard buildings on sloping streets, a dockside tourist zone, streetcars, and fresh fish...
Akita
In the scenic, faraway realm of Akita, the peaks of the Dewa Sanchi (Dewa Range), marked by Mt. Taihei, march off to the east, and...
Toyako
...
Gifu
Gifu's main attraction is its 1,300-year tradition of ukai fishing, which uses live birds to catch fish in the river. The city center spreads several...
Yamagata
Yamagata, or Mountain Terrain, is the capital of the prefecture of the same name (and the sister city of Boulder, Colorado). It's a community of...
Hirosaki
Hirosaki is one of northern Tohoku's most attractive cities. It's most famous for its sweet apples, and its only real cultural attraction is a small...
Tsuwano
This hauntingly beautiful town, tucked into a narrow north–south valley at the foot of conical Aono-yama and its attendant dormant volcanic mountain friends, may be...
Kagoshima
Kagoshima is a laid-back, flowery, palm-lined southern getaway on the Satsuma Peninsula with mild weather, outgoing people, and a smoking volcano out in the bay...
Kurashiki
From the 17th through the 19th century, this vital shipping port supplied Osaka with cotton, textiles, sugar, reeds, and rice. Today Kurashiki thrives on income...
Ise
When you step off the train, you may feel that Ise is a drab city, but hidden in two forests of towering cedar trees are...
Niigata
The coast between Kurobe and Niigata is flat and not so interesting. Two towns along the way, Naoetsu and Teradomari, serve as ferry ports to...
Inuyama
Inuyama sits along the Kiso River, on the border between Aichi and Gifu prefectures. A historically strategic site, the city changed hands several times during...
Hakuba
In the northwestern part of Nagano Prefecture, Hakuba Village lies beneath the magnificent Hakuba mountain range, the best of the northern Japan Alps. Hakuba means...
Iriomote-jima
Surging brown rivers, dense green forests, and crystal-blue seas are Iriomote's essential draws, and there's a surprising amount of helpful infrastructure in place to help...
Miyajima
Miyajima's majestic orange O-torii, or “big gate,” is made of several stout, rot-resistant camphor-tree trunks, and is famed for the illusion it gives of "floating"...
Takachiho
Deep in the sacred mountains, a spiritual place full of atmosphere, is the birthplace of Japanese mythology. A visit to the Takachiho region takes you...
Kakunodate
The little samurai town of Kakunodate, sometimes called "Little Kyoto," was founded in 1620 by Yoshikatsu Ashina, the local lord, who chose it for its...
Koya-san
This UNESCO World Heritage site is the headquarters of the Shingon sect of Buddhism, founded by Kukai, also known as Kobo Daishi, in AD 816...
Abashiri
A good touring base for eastern Hokkaido, Abashiri is a small town in the shadow of Tento-san. On the town outskirts are shallow coastal lakes...
Matsushima
Matsushima and its bay are the most popular coastal resort destinations in Tohoku, and they owe this distinction to an infatuation in Japan with oddly...
Tsuruoka and Dewa-Sanzan
South of Akita along the Nihon-kai coast are small fishing villages where nets hang to dry only inches from train windows, vast plains of rice...
Okayama
The city of Okayama claims to have the most sunny days in Japan, and the disposition of the locals tends to reflect this. A beautiful...
Uchiko
This small farming town in the mountains south of Matsuyama was a major producer of Japanese paper and wax until the early 20th century Now...
Karuizawa
When Archdeacon A. C. Shaw, an English prelate, built his summer villa here in 1886 at the foot of Mt. Asama in southeastern Nagano Prefecture...
Hiraizumi
A culture of gold flourished in Hiraizumi in the late 11th and 12th centuries, when the Oshu Fujiwara family, a then-powerful clan, chose to move...
Kiso Valley
This deep and narrow valley is cut by the Kiso River and walled in by the central Alps to the east and the northern Alps...
Yudanaka Onsen and Shibu Onsen
Northwest of Nagano, these historic hot-spring towns are the gateway to the Shiga Kogen Plateau ski area, known for its alpine skiing and snowboarding. Yudanaka...
Uwajima
A quiet fishing town south of Matsuyama on the Uwa Sea, Uwajima has two unusual claims to fame, its sumo-style bullfights and a sex museum...
Kashikojima
...
Yamadera
If you'd like to see one of Japan's most revered—and scenic—temple complexes, come up here on an easy day trip from Sendai or Yamagata...
Shingu
Shingu is home to one of the three great shrines of the Kumano Kodo, Hayatama-taisha ????, which sits at the mouth of the Kumano River...
Tazawa-ko
The beautiful azure waters of Tazawa-ko, an almost perfectly round crater lake, can be enjoyed from the paths along the shore, a rented paddleboat, or...
Kusatsu
The highly touted hot springs at Kusatsu contain sulfur, iron, aluminum, and even trace amounts of arsenic. Just inside the border of Gunma Prefecture, the...
Kotohira
Kotohira's draw is the Konpira Shrine, a mountaintop temple to the Shinto deity who protects seafarers. Though it's a long climb up a flight of...
Shirahama
Rounding the peninsula 54 km (34 miles) northwest of Shio-no-misaki, Shirahama is a small headland famous for its pure white-sand beach. If you're wondering why...
Nachi
Reputed to be 1,400 years old, this is perhaps the most impressive of the Kumano Kodo shrines...
Shirakawa-go
It's speculated that the Shirakawa-go area—and particularly Ogi-machi, an Edo-period hamlet deep within—was originally populated by survivors of the powerful Taira family, who were nearly...
Kamikochi
The incomparably scenic route from Matsumoto to Takayama winds over the mountains and through Chubu-Sangaku National Park (Chubu-Sangaku Kokuritsu Koen) via Kamikochi. Entry to the...
Asahikawa
Asahikawa, Hokkaido's second-largest city, is the principal entrance to Daisetsuzan National Park. It is not terribly cosmopolitan; daytime life centers around a pedestrian shopping area...
Iga Ueno
This small city halfway between Nagoya and Nara has some interesting claims to fame. Noted haiku poet Matsuo Basho was born here in the 1640s...
Fukui
Fukui, the capital city of the small eponymous prefecture on the Sea of Japan, doesn't have much to draw foreign visitors beyond amazing seafood and...
Toyama
Busy, industrial Toyama is beautified by Toyama-joshi Koen (Toyama Castle Park), a spread of greenery with a reconstructed version of the original 1532 castle. Toyama...
Biei and Furano
Flower fields and small farms at the base of the Daisetsuzan mountain range attract thousands of domestic and East Asian visitors hoping to get a...
Nibutani
Nibutani is one of the last places in Hokkaido with a sizable Ainu population—or at least part Ainu, as few pure-blooded Ainu are left. The...
Izumo Taisha
The oldest of Japan's Shinto shrines, Izumo Taisha has been of tremendous cultural significance—second only to the great shrine at Ise Jingu—since the 6th century...
Nagano
Rimmed by mountains, Nagano has been a temple town since the founding of Zenko-ji in the 7th century. In time for the 1998 Winter Olympics...
Doro-kyo
The wide ocean views of the coastal journey to Shingu give way to gorges and mountainsides of a deep mossy green when you pass through...
The Kansai Region
Stretching from Mie Prefecture in the east to Hyogo Prefecture in the west, the Kansai region is both a snapshot of archetypal Japan and a...
Hokkaido
Hokkaido is Japan with breathing space. People here don’t put on the air-conditioning in summer—they open the windows. Outside, fragrant air, wild mountains, virgin forests...
Side Trips from Tokyo
As diverse and exciting as the neighborhoods of Tokyo are, a short day trip or overnight away from the city offers a refreshingly different perspective...
The Japan Alps and the North Chubu Coast
Until the 20th century brought highways and railways to central Japan, villages in this alpine region were largely isolated from the rest of the country...
Shikoku
The smallest of Japan's four main islands, Shikoku has been a travel destination for Japanese people since the 8th century, when the Shingon Buddhist priest...
Tohoku
Tohoku translates as "east–north," and it is a path less traveled by foreign tourists. Though the recent addition of bullet trains has made getting up...
Kyushu
Kyushu's landscape couldn't be more varied, with active yet accessible volcanoes, numerous thermal spas, endless fields of rice and famous potatoes, forested mountains capped by...
Okinawa
Tropical climate, sun-kissed beaches and crystal-blue waters, deserted islands ringed by rainbow-hued coral reefs, verdant jungle trails, and funky port towns full of laid-back, fun-loving...
Nagoya, Ise-Shima, and the Kii Peninsula
Nagoya punches well above its weight. The present-day industries of Japan's fourth-largest city are a corollary to its monozukuri (art of making things) culture. This...
Western Honshu
Like disparate siblings, the two coasts of western Honshu have distinctly different personalities. Taken together, they embody the ancient and modern—those two seemingly bipolar time...
Miyako Islands
Some intensive beach therapy can be engaged in here. In the southwest corner of the main island, Miyako-jima, is Maehama, perhaps Japan's finest beach, and...
Northern Okinawa
North of Okinawa Honto, small towns sprawling up the coast are cut at intervals by resort hotels and some great treasures: active artisan enclaves, sweet...
Nakameguro and Daikanyama
...
Iya Valley and Oboke-Koboke Gorges
In the Iya Valley, mountain villages cling to the side of improbably steep hills while turquoise rivers rush through the ravines below. This remote region...
Aso-san (Mt. Aso)
Aso-san comprises the world's largest caldera—128 km (80 miles) in circumference, from 18 km to 24 km (11 to 15 miles) wide in places—formed after...
Kerama Islands
The Kerama Islands have many pristine beaches, and divers rate the coral and clear water off their coasts highly. There are two main islands, Tokashiki...
Shimanami Kaido
This 60-km (37-mile) road-and-bridge route connects Imabari and Onomuchi and offers some of Japan's most pleasant cycling...
Fukagawa
...
Kawagoe
...
The Northern Cape and Islands
Japan's northernmost point is windy and empty. In the short summer season, tiny alpine flowers bloom in coastal grasslands and on rocky outcrops overlooking the...
Shinagawa
...
Kirishima-Yaku National Park
According to Japanese myth, the mountainous, volcanic Kirishima is one of two possible places where Amaterasu's grandson descended to Earth. The national park, northeast of...
South of Naha
The culture park Okinawa World is an interactive trip through the islands' Ryukyu past, with restored houses, a large limestone cave, and traditional performances. More...
Shibamata
...
Urayasu
...
Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park
This region, southwest of Tokyo between Suruga and Sagami bays, is one of Japan's most popular resort areas. The main attraction, of course, is Mt...
Shikotsu-Toya National Park
Mountains, forests, hot springs, caldera lakes, and volcanoes are virtually in Sapporo's backyard, less than an hour's drive away. Route 230 passes the large hot-spring...
Shiretoko National Park
A highlight of any trip to Hokkaido, the spectacular and miraculously uninhabited Shiretoko National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage site. On the Shiretoko Peninsula...
Akan National Park
This national park is sometimes overlooked in favor of Daisetsu and Shiretoko, but offers great fishing and hiking opportunities...
Towada–Hachimantai National Park
Including the windswept expanse of Hachimantai Plateau, scenic Lake Towada, beech forests, marshes of wild flowers, and many hot springs, this national park offers many...
Daisetsuzan National Park
The country's largest nature preserve, Daisetsuzan National Park contains the very essence of rugged Hokkaido: vast plains, soaring mountain peaks, hidden gorges, cascading waterfalls, thick...
Sado Island (Sado-ga-shima)
Sado is known as much for its unblemished natural beauty as for its melancholy history. Revolutionary intellectuals, such as the Buddhist monk Nichiren, were banished...
Tokashiki-jima
...
Zamami-jima
An island paradise with wonderful beaches, snorkelling, diving, and sea kayaking, on Zamami-jima, late January through March is prime whale-watching season, and during those months...
Aka-jima
...
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Guidebooks
Guidebooks
Our worldwide travel correspondents bring you the best and most up-to-date coverage of over 7,500 global destinations.
Shop NowFodor's Essential Japan
Written by locals, Fodor's Essential Japan is the perfect guidebook for those looking for...
Fodor's Tokyo
Whether you want to stay in a ryokan, stand in awe at busy Shibuya Crossing, visit...
Fodor's Tokyo 25 Best
Compact and affordable, Fodor's 25 Best Tokyo is a great travel guide for those who want...
