Attractions

It takes less than 10 minutes to walk end-to-end of this quaint cobbled street shadowing a narrow canal leading to Ryōsen-ji temple. However, the appealing ambience of old houses under willow trees now occupied by c…

A 15-minute walk south of Shimoda Station is Ryōsen-ji, site of the treaty that opened Shimoda, signed by Commodore Perry and representatives of the Tokugawa shogunate. The temple's Museum of the Black Ship stands s…

Atami's hilltop MOA Museum of Art boasts an excellent collection of Japanese and Chinese pottery and paintings, spanning more than 1000 years and including national treasures. It also has a serene tea garden set amo…

In the middle of the village is its namesake temple, said to have been founded over 1200 years ago by Kōbō Daishi, the priest credited with spreading Buddhism throughout much of Japan. You can wander the pleasant te…

This inn, established in 1928, is now a national monument for its elegant woodwork. Each of its three storeys was designed by a different architect. Architecture buffs will love comparing the subtle differences, and…

From Izu's seashore you can see this grassy dormant rice-bowl volcano peaking above the hills. Ride the eight-minute chairlift to the 580m summit where you can take in coastal views of Mt Fuji. There's a 1km walk ar…

The newly opened Museum of the Black Ship displays artefacts and artwork relating to Matthew C Perry, the Black Ships, and Japan as seen through foreign eyes and vice versa. There's a rather cheesy but informative f…

Founded in 1590, this Zen temple is most famous as the first Western consulate in Japan, established in 1856. A small museum has artefacts of the life of American Townsend Harris, the first consul general. It's a 25…

You can wander the pleasant temple grounds for free but there's a fee if you wish to see inside its small treasure museum, which contains ancient carved buddhas, other religious works of art and documentation of res…

Kanazawa Shoko (www.k-shoko.org), who has Down's syndrome, has been doing calligraphy since she was five years old. Her vividly expressive pieces, as well as a video of her creating calligraphic work, are displayed …