Japan

Mt Fuji

Fuji Five Lakes

Fuji-san is among Japan's most revered and timeless attractions, the inspiration for generations of poets and the focus of countless artworks. Hundreds of…

Tokyo National Museum

Ueno & Yanesen

If you visit only one museum in Tokyo, make it the Tokyo National Museum. Here you'll find the world's largest collection of Japanese art, including…

Peace Park

Nagasaki

A still, serene and deeply moving place, Nagasaki's Peace Park commemorates the atomic bombing of the city on August 9, 1945, which reduced the…

Nishiki Market

Downtown Kyoto

The covered Nishiki Market (Nishiki-kōji Ichiba) is one of Kyoto’s real highlights, especially if you have an interest in cooking and dining. Commonly…

Ghibli Museum

Tokyo

This museum is the heart of the Studio Ghibli world, a beloved (even 'adored') film studio responsible for classic, critically-acclaimed animated titles…

Golden Gai

Shinjuku & Northwest Tokyo

Golden Gai – a Shinjuku institution for over half a century – is a collection of tiny bars, often literally no bigger than a closet and seating maybe a…

teamLab Borderless

Odaiba & Tokyo Bay

Digital-art collective teamLab has created 60 artworks for this museum, open in 2018, that tests the border between art and the viewer: many are…

Shibuya Crossing

Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa

Rumoured to be the busiest intersection in the world (and definitely in Japan), Shibuya Crossing is like a giant beating heart, sending people in all…

Shirara-hama

Kii Peninsula

Shirahama's main beach is famous for its white sand – though what's there now was imported from Perth in the '90s, as the original sand was lost to…

Kikunoi

Southern Higashiyama

Michelin-starred chef Murata serves some of the finest kaiseki in the city. Located in a hidden nook near Maruyama-kōen, this restaurant has everything…

Numazukō

Shinjuku & Northwest Tokyo

This is one of Tokyo's better kaiten-sushi (conveyor-belt sushi restaurants), with fish sourced daily from the fish market in Numazu (south of Tokyo on…

Toyosu Market

Odaiba & Tokyo Bay

In 2018, Tokyo's central wholesale market moved from its iconic Tsukiji location to this new facility in Toyosu, a structure clearly dreamed up by…

Circus Tokyo

Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa

Circus, the Tokyo offshoot of an Osaka club, is aggressively underground: small, out of the way, in a basement (of course), with no decor to speak of and…

Matsuo-jinja

Hiroshima Region

A Shintō shrine dedicated to the god of sake. Sake is brewed here every year in the lead-up to Saijō Sake Matsuri. It's a five-minute walk north of Saijo…

Tsukiji Market

Ginza & Tsukiji

Tokyo's main wholesale market may have moved to Toyosu, but there are many reasons to visit its old home. The tightly packed rows of vendors (which once…

Izumo Taisha

Western Honshū

Izumo Taisha, also known as Izumo Ōyashiro, is perhaps the oldest Shintō shrine in Japan. This shrine, dedicated to Ōkuninushi, god of marriage and…

Fushimi Inari-Taisha

Kyoto Station & South Kyoto

With seemingly endless arcades of vermilion torii (shrine gates) spread across a thickly wooded mountain, this vast shrine complex is a world unto its own…

Chibō

Osaka

One of Osaka's most famous okonomiyaki (savoury pancake) restaurants, Chibō almost always has a queue, but it moves fast because there's seating on…

Jigokudani Monkey Park

Nagano Region

Pleasant in winter when shrouded in snow but less appealing when seasonally bare, Jigokudani Monkey Park is wildly popular. Made famous by the 1992 film…

Art House Project

Naoshima

In Honmura, half a dozen traditional buildings have been turned over to contemporary artists to use as the setting for creative installations, often…

Tokyo Character Street

Tokyo

From Doraemon to Hello Kitty and Pikachu, Japan knows kawaii (cute) and how to merchandise it. In the basement on the Yaesu side of Tokyo Station, some 15…

Kairaku-en

Around Tokyo

One of the three most celebrated landscape gardens in Japan, Kairaku-en was created in 1842 by the daimyō (domain lord) of the Mito han (domain), a member…

Ryōan-ji

Northwest Kyoto

You’ve probably seen a picture of the rock garden here – it’s one of the symbols of Kyoto and one of Japan’s better-known sights. Ryōan-ji belongs to the…

Dazaifu Tenman-gū

Kyūshū

Among the countless visitors to the grand, sprawling Tenman-gū – shrine and burial place of poet-scholar Tenman Tenjin – are students making offerings and…

Kinkaku-ji

Northwest Kyoto

Kyoto's famed 'Golden Pavilion', Kinkaku-ji is one of Japan's best-known sights. The main hall, covered in brilliant gold leaf, shining above its…

Gion

Southern Higashiyama

Gion is the famous entertainment and geisha quarter on the eastern bank of the Kamo-gawa. While Gion’s true origins were in teahouses catering to weary…

Ghibli Museum

Tokyo

This museum is the heart of the Studio Ghibli world, a beloved (even 'adored') film studio responsible for classic, critically-acclaimed animated titles…

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum

Hiroshima

The main building of Hiroshima's premier museum houses a collection of items salvaged from the aftermath of the atomic bomb. The displays are confronting…

Womb

Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa

A long-time (in club years, at least) club-scene fixture, Womb is a reliable good night out on a Friday or Saturday if you want to lose yourself in the…

Narukiyo

Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa

Narukiyo is many people's favourite 'secret' izakaya, serving all the classics (sashimi, charcoal grilled chicken, etc) with a low-key attitude that…

Henn na Hotel Tokyo Ginza

Ginza & Tsukiji

Check in here is supervised by humanoid robots. The compact rooms are more pedestrian but do feature one colourfully painted wall, a huge TV, a closet…

Meiji-jingū

Harajuku & Aoyama

Tokyo’s grandest Shintō shrine is dedicated to the Emperor Meiji and Empress Shōken, whose reign (1868–1912) coincided with Japan's transformation from…

Pokémon Cafe

Tokyo

Pokémon fans will find it hard to pass on this chance to sample Pikachu-themed food and drink, made with classic kyara-ben (character bentō) techniques …

Yellow Pumpkin

Naoshima

This yellow pumpkin sculpture, by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, has become a symbol of Naoshima. It's perched on the end of a small jetty. Pumpkins are…