Travel Blog, Itineraries & Guides, Hotel Reviews
One of the main touristic regions in Japan covers the central region encompassing Kanazawa down to Nagoya. In between, there are the charming towns such as the UNESCO-listed Shirakawa-go and Takayama. This itinerary provides a guide in how to cover these places in 4 days/3 nights – the minimum duration in my opinion if you are exploring these places.
For suggested things to do in Tokyo, check out my Tokyo itinerary
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Tokyo has gained quite a bit of popularity in recent years as a travel destination. The capital of Japan has benefited in no small part by the weaker Yen and current moves by the government to ease visa restrictions from visitors of nearby countries. With a population of 13 million people, the metropolis offers a great juxtaposition of the exotic and ultramodern. This is a city of maid cafes, of restaurants run by robots and where you can hire professional cuddlers to hug you for a small fee. At the other end of the scale, some parts of the city offer a peek into a more traditional side of Japan.
If you are also heading west, check out this recommended itinerary for Osaka and Kyoto full of lesser-known attractions.
I have visited Tokyo for four times now and I always end up discovering a lot of new things to do in the city with each visit. Like the previous itineraries I’ve made, here are some suggestions on things to do in Tokyo and I have segregated the activities for first-timers, shopaholics and people seeking for something more unique.
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Autumn is a magical time in Japan. The leaves start to wither, earlier in the countryside and in northern Japan, and at about late-November to early-December in Tokyo’s open areas like Showa Kinen Park. Called koyo, Japan’s parks and forests turn into a sea of red, yellow and brown especially when seen with a backdrop of maple and gingko trees. Autumn is widely considered to be the favorite season of most Japanese, and it was with much luck that my visit to Tokyo last week fell right smack in this season.
Editor’s Note: Here are more autumn leaves viewing spots in Tokyo.
With very little time, I shortlisted a few nice autumn viewing spots. Places such as Hibiya Park in central Tokyo, the Rikugien in Bunkyo Ward as well as Shinjuku’s Gyoen are considered to be some of the best autumn viewing spots in Tokyo. Since I only had time to visit one or two places, I eventually decided on Gingko Avenue or Icho Namiki in Aoyama and Showa Memorial Park (Showa Kinen Koen) in Tachikawa in western Tokyo.
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My recent trip to Wakayama encapsulated the ease and convenience of visiting Japan’s off-the-beaten path destinations. I have so far been to Japan for five times prior to this trip and had not known about Wakayama until I was invited to participate in the “My Secret Wakayama” project. It is an initiative to uncover this little known destination in the southern part of Kansai region brimming with resorts, historic attractions and some of the best ramen in Japan.
Despite being little known to foreign visitors aside from Mt. Koya which is also located within Wakayama’s namesake prefecture, the city is surprisingly easy to get to. From Kansai International Airport, it is slightly less than 1 hour away which makes it practical to combine with a trip to Osaka and Kyoto.
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One of Japan’s most iconic touristic regions is Kansai where the cities of Osaka and Kyoto are located. In contrast to other regions such as Tokyo or Central Japan, the Kansai region offers both the ultramodern comforts that Japanese big cities are known for as well as charming old towns dating back from the time of the geishas and samurai warriors. Another good thing is that traveling between Osaka and Kyoto takes less than an hour by train which makes combining these two cities in one trip highly advisable. Whether you love shopping, eating or exploring cultural attractions, check out this itinerary for your trip to Kyoto and Osaka.
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There is no shortage of off-the-beaten path attractions and unusual things to do in Osaka and Kyoto if you know where to look. Like in Japan’s other major cities, you can find just about every kind of diversion that you can think of while traveling here. What most don’t realize is that Osaka and Kyoto’s quirky attractions extend to much more than just the cosplay or maid cafe venues that foreign visitors often find intriguing. The attractions here are both modern and traditional – sometimes even coming straight out of the unexpected and mundane.
I visited the Kansai Region recently as part of a collaboration with Hotels.com to check out these relatively unknown places. If you are looking for something new during your first (or subsequent) trip to Osaka and Kyoto, make sure to include these sights into your itinerary.
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A few years back, I chanced upon a photo shared in Facebook of a village with thatched houses covered with snow. The fairy-tale scene piqued my interest and after a little research, I found out that it was in a place called Shirakawa-go, a UNESCO World Heritage Site which I never heard of until I came across that photo. Sometimes, all it takes is one photo to inspire me to visit a place. Such was the case with Hallstatt in Austria, Perast in Montenegro as well as the Italian Dolomites.
Fortunately, the village of Shirakawa-go is much nearer than any of those European towns I enumerated. The former’s also a lot easier to get to although non-Japanese folks may initially get intimidated with Japan’s transportation system. In this post, I shall explain how to visit Shirakawa-go as well as elucidate how you can do this picturesque visit as a day trip on the journey from Kanazawa to Takayama (or vice versa) if you so wish.
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Mention Tokyo and the first impressions that come to mind probably won’t stray away from neon lights, innovative gadgets and concrete jungles. What many do not realize is that Tokyo is one of the oldest big cities in the world. Its population had already topped 1 million in the year 1800 which would have given rise to a large swathe of historical sites scattered around town. Unfortunately, many of them were destroyed during the war. Today, it is still very much possible to see the other, more traditional side of Tokyo if you know where to look. With their narrow streets, colorful shops as well as remarkable architecture; these pockets of nostalgia offer a great contrast to the modernity which Japan’s capital is known for.
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