Many of Japan’s landmarks are well known abroad: Tokyo TV Tower, Golden Temple, Hiroshima Nuclear Bomb Falls Park. When going on a trip, travelers plan to rub Hachiko’s nose in the Shibuya quarter, buy anime goods in Akihabara, and get acquainted with the life of geisha in Kyoto. In Japan, however, there are quite a few very unbroken cool places off the standard routes, but easily accessible even for an inexperienced tourist. I collected ten of these points that I visited myself and sorted them by distance from Tokyo.
Fujiyama
Fujiyama is Japan’s calling card. Its height is 3776 meters. For the Japanese, this place is sacred, and for tourists, it is beautiful. The volcano has a surprisingly symmetrical cone. There are five volcanic lakes near Fujiyama.
Mountaineering is done in the summer guide, and advanced infrastructure helps to conquer Fujiyama.
Yokohama Ramen Museum
Japan is the perfect country for food tourism, and you should try ramen noodles. In any institution. It will be tasty everywhere. But the chicest is to go to Yokohama (half an hour or an hour from Tokyo) to the ramen museum. Like any museum about food in Japan, this is primarily a place where you can eat delicious, authentic, and inexpensive. But the charm of this particular museum lies in the fact that it reproduces the design and everyday life of a Japanese street in the middle of the 20th century in an enclosed space. Signboards, posters, telephone booths, bicycles – all this can be viewed and photographed for at least an hour. And then – have lunch!
Todai-Ji Temple
This is the most sacred place in Japan. Three million visitors come here every year. It was built in 745. In the center of the temple is a 15-meter statue of Buddha. Almost all of its brass reserves were spent on its manufacture. The tourist-loving deer also lives in the temple area.
Hot springs in Kusatsu
Relaxing in a hot spring at a traditional ryokan inn is a must-try for any tourist. The most fantastic place you can quickly get from Tokyo is Kusatsu Onsen, three hours by train or bus. First, I recommend walking in the park, where hot springs come to the surface in emerald lakes of boiling water. Then – have a snack with street food (grilled river fish or eggs boiled in a hot spring). In the evening, enjoy a traditional 10-course kaiseki dinner and relax in a beautiful hot spring for ryokan guests. Before returning to Tokyo, you can climb the hill where the haiku of the great Japanese poet Matsuo Basho is carved in stone and enjoy a pleasant view of the city.
Arashiyama bamboo grove
The grove was built by the monk Muso Soseki. It is placed in the Kyoto region. Everything in the park has a deep meaning. Not surprisingly, they say that here you can understand the importance of life. The roads lead to Arashiyama. You can walk around the park in 15 minutes, but you’ll want to walk for hours.
Bamboo stems make unique sounds. This is incredible forest music. The height of the trees reaches 40 meters.
Kegon Falls in Nikko
There are many waterfalls in Japan, but one of the largest and most picturesque is the one-hundred-meter Kegon in Nikko. You will still visit this city as the guidebooks suggest visiting the Tokugawa Tomb and the Temple of the Three Monkeys.
No physical training required: Japanese caretakers have built an elevator that takes tourists almost a foot, the most accessible place to take pictures.
Suppose you want to show off your muscles. In that case, it is better to rent a boat on the lake and slowly sail along the coast with Shinto shrines, a giant Buddha statue, and heartbreaking mountain views.
Himeji Castle
Himeji is called the White Heron’s castle. Its walls are snow-white, and its lines and features are as graceful as birds. During its being, the fort did not face fire and enemy raids. The whole complex is 83 buildings.
Sakura flourishes around them, which makes the castle even more beautiful. Not surprisingly, he has appeared in films on several occasions.
The Jugosaki coast on the Izu Peninsula
Tokyo travels to the Izu Peninsula to take a break from both big cities and mountain landscapes. Jyugosaki is the place where lava from ancient volcanoes met the sea and solidified into substantial black rocks. Now they are overgrown with pine trees, and people have paved convenient walking routes along the coast, fencing off the most dangerous places. On Jyugosaki stroll for hours, stop taking a photo or buy ice cream with a taste of green tea. Citrus grows well on volcanic soil. On the way back to the ryokan, you can purchase delicious tangerines or oranges from the farmers straight from the branch.
Hiroshima Peace Memorial
At 8:15 a.m. on August 6, 1945, the Gambaku Dome was the center of the Hiroshima Exhibition. All the visitors were killed after an atomic bomb exploded in the building.
The dome was located 160 meters from the epicenter of the blast. It burned out but survived. It was strengthened, and it became the main exhibit demonstrating the consequences of an atomic explosion and the inadmissibility of using nuclear weapons.