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Japan
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When to visit
Attractions in Japan
1. Fushimi Inari Taisha (Kyoto)
Quick facts: Morning fog softens the vermilion glow as a tunnel of thousands of torii gates leads you along winding steps, while dozens of stone foxes stare from mossy niches. Generous donations from businesses and families have left over 10,000 inscribed gates, turning the climb into a patchwork of names, prayers, and surprisingly personal messages.
Highlights: Slip through a narrow, tunnel-like corridor of over 5,000 vermilion torii gates, their lacquered wood glowing in the sun while the air smells faintly of incense and old cedar, and notice that each gate has a donor's name and year etched into it along the roughly 4-kilometer trail. Between the gates you'll find hundreds of stone fox statues wearing red bibs, some clutching tiny keys in their mouths, and locals quietly leave rice and sake at the smallest altars as a tradition believed to keep the mountain's good fortune flowing.
2. Kinkaku-ji / Golden Pavilion (Kyoto)
Quick facts: Glimmering gold leaf reflects off a tranquil pond, making the pavilion appear to float amid maple trees and the soft rustle of bamboo. A gilded phoenix crowns the roof, and the top two floors are sheathed in gold leaf so sunlight bathes the building in a mirror-like glow that photographers chase at dawn.
Highlights: A troubled monk set the three-story pavilion on fire in 1950, and the building was lovingly reconstructed and reopened in 1955 using traditional carpentry; a gilded phoenix still perches on the roof and flashes in the sunrise. The two upper floors are covered with gold leaf so thin you can see delicate hammer marks up close, the sunlight turning the façade from pale cream to molten orange while the pond below mirrors the glow.
3. Senso-ji (Asakusa, Tokyo)
Quick facts: Lanterns glow a deep saffron over the approach, while thick incense curls through the courtyard and invites visitors to fan the smoke toward aching shoulders. More than 30 million people stroll the approach and market street annually, turning weekday mornings into a lively blur of street food, souvenir stalls, and local rituals.
Highlights: Legend says two fishermen hauled a small gilded statue of Kannon from the river in the year 628, a story that still brings crowds beneath the cavernous vermilion lantern to offer incense. If you edge close to the main hall you can smell thick sandalwood-like smoke, hear the clack of wooden prayer plaques being hung, and try a 100-yen omikuji before tying the paper to a metal frame to leave bad luck behind.
4. Tokyo Skytree (Sumida, Tokyo)
Quick facts: Soaring to 634 meters, the needlelike tower ranks among the tallest freestanding structures on Earth and offers a glass-floor observation deck that makes your stomach flutter while your camera works overtime. Colors sweep across the lattice frame at night, and advanced seismic and wind-damping systems keep the views steady so you can pick out distant landmarks through the illuminated haze.
Highlights: Crowned at 634 meters, the tower's two observation decks sit at 350 and 450 meters, where glass-floor panels turn the urban sprawl into a glittering circuit board and on clear days Mount Fuji appears as a blue smudge on the horizon. The number 634 was deliberately chosen to be read as "Musashi" in Japanese, a nod to the old province, and after dark the lattice is lit with seasonal LED shows that bathe the structure in cherry-blossom pinks and electric aqua for summer festivals.
5. Mount Fuji (Fujinomiya/Hakone)
Quick facts: Morning light often turns the summit's perfect cone into a glowing jewel, and at 3,776 meters the peak gives climbers dramatic panoramas above the cloudline. From lower trails you still find centuries-old shrines and stacked stones left by pilgrims, small human traces that make the ascent feel like a moving blend of nature and devotion.
Highlights: At 3,776 meters many climbers stage midnight ascents to catch the local 'goraiko' sunrise, leaving mountain huts between 2:00 and 3:00 a.m. so the whole ridge glows molten orange as the sun peeks over the eastern horizon. Underfoot you crunch sharp pumice, a faint sulfur tang rides the air from steaming vents, and the wind often roars through the crater rim while clouds churn like a white sea far below.
6. Itsukushima Shrine (Miyajima, Hatsukaichi)
Quick facts: Moonlight and lanterns turn the vermilion gate into a fiery silhouette, reflections trembling on the water like brushstrokes. Tides act like theatre cues, sometimes letting you stroll right up to the gate at low water and sometimes making it hover above the sea while priests continue quiet ceremonies on the over-water stages.
Highlights: At high tide the vermilion torii appears to float like a painted doorway on glassy water, and at low tide the sea withdraws so far you can walk right up to its base, feeling cool wet sand squish between your toes. The present gate dates from 1875, so when lantern light hits its lacquered wood you are seeing more than a century of repairs and ritual offerings gathered by generations of worshippers.
7. Himeji Castle (Himeji)
Quick facts: Staggering white walls and layered rooftops glow after rain, making visitors feel like they’re stepping into a living fairy tale while narrow corridors hide clever traps and defensive twists. Climbing to the top of the central keep gives sweeping sightlines, and the maze-like approach shows how carpenters and masons combined elegance with surprising structural resilience.
Highlights: Walk the maze of sloping corridors, zigzagging gates and defensive angles laid down in 1609 that funnel attackers into narrow stairways and trap them beneath heavy wooden doors. On rainy days the brilliant white plaster seems to glow, while generations of craftsmen still apply traditional lime plaster and precision wooden joinery, the same methods that helped the complex survive the 1945 air raids and the 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake.
8. Nara Park & Todai-ji (Nara)
Quick facts: Friendly sika deer wander freely across the park, often bowing for snacks and creating a charming, slightly chaotic photo opportunity. Beneath a cavernous wooden hall sits an enormous bronze Buddha, its sheer scale and hushed atmosphere make many visitors stop in awe.
Highlights: Over 1,200 tame sika deer roam the park, nudging visitors with velvet noses and bowing politely when given the crisp, hand-sized shika senbei crackers sold nearby. A 15-meter bronze Buddha fills an immense wooden hall, its green-patinated face catching shafts of light while guides recount how the deer were long regarded as sacred messengers of the deity Takemikazuchi-no-Mikoto.
9. Osaka Castle (Osaka)
Quick facts: Visitors often gasp at the sight of the colossal stone ramparts topped with glittering gold ornaments, then climb to a high vantage point that offers sweeping city views. Spring fills the grounds with thousands of cherry trees, and the on-site museum pairs original artifacts with interactive displays where you can try on samurai armor to feel the weight of the past.
Highlights: A secret delight is tucked inside the museum: a painstaking replica of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's portable Golden Tea Room, every surface layered in gold leaf so you can actually cup your hands in that gilded hush and imagine a 16th-century warlord staging a tea ceremony as a power display. Around early April, about 3,000 cherry trees in the surrounding park burst into a dense pink tunnel, and at night the yozakura illuminations turn the white plaster walls into a soft, rosy lantern where locals spread bento and drink sake beneath drifting petals.
10. Shirakawa-go (Ogimachi, Gifu)
Quick facts: Steep thatched roofs shaped like praying hands funnel heavy snow away, and the airy attics served as clever spaces for silkworm cultivation. Walking the quiet lanes at dawn, you can smell wood smoke and spot traditional joinery and clustered houses that reveal how villagers pooled skills to endure long winters.
Highlights: Picture about 110 steep thatched houses with roofs angled roughly 60 degrees, built gassho-style so winter snows up to three meters slide off instead of crushing the beams. At night the valley fills with the honeyed scent of hoshigaki persimmons drying on rafters and the warm glow of paper-shōji windows, and villagers still climb long bamboo ladders to tend the thatch as their grandparents did.
Traditional Sweet Dishes
Mochi
Mochi is made by pounding glutinous rice until it becomes a smooth, elastic mass, and the communal mochitsuki ceremony at New Year brings neighbors together to pound and shape it.
Wagashi
Wagashi are delicate confections crafted to reflect the season, their designs often mimic flowers, leaves and landscapes to complement tea ceremonies and moments of mindfulness.
Dorayaki
Dorayaki pairs two fluffy pancakes with sweet red bean paste, and its name 'dora' means gong after a legend that batter was once cooked on a discarded gong.
Traditional Savory Dishes
Sushi
Sushi began as a method to preserve fish in fermented rice, and the hand-pressed nigiri style was invented in Edo in the early 19th century as fast street food.
Ramen
Ramen arrived from China and evolved into dozens of regional broths and noodle styles, and slurping loudly is both polite and helps bring the aroma to your nose.
Okonomiyaki
Okonomiyaki literally means 'grill what you like', it is a customizable savory pancake that people often cook together on communal griddles in Osaka and Hiroshima.
Traditional Beverages
Green tea
Green tea, especially powdered matcha used in tea ceremonies, contains L-theanine and caffeine that together promote calm alertness, and it became central to Zen practices.
Sake
Sake is brewed with koji mold that converts rice starch into sugar, and it has been used in Shinto rituals for centuries as a sacred offering and celebratory drink.
Shochu
Shochu is a distilled spirit often around 25 percent alcohol by volume, and it can be made from ingredients like sweet potato, barley or rice giving each region a distinctive flavor.
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Day trips
Comments (13)
Weather flips fast, one day bright and warm, next day raining. Layers and quick-dry clothes made a huge difference for me.
Kyoto's temples at dawn feel magical, avoid midafternoon crowds. Ryokans are charming but book months ahead if you want budget options.
Grab a Suica or Pasmo at the airport, tap on trains and buses, it even works at konbini. Saves time and stops you fumbling for coins.
I loved the food, sushi every day felt worth it. Trains get packed on weekends though, plan mornings for markets and quieter strolls.
Tokyo exceeded expectations, trains are spotless and punctual, street food is unreal, but expect crowds and tiny hotel rooms.
Getting there
Airports
Train stations
Tokaido Shinkansen, JR lines, local metro connections
Tokaido/Sanyo Shinkansen, JR lines
JR lines, Odakyu, Keio, multiple metro lines
Use Narita Express/Keisei Skyliner from Narita, Tokyo Monorail/Keikyu from Haneda; get a Suica/PASMO IC card.
Click to get eSim for Japan
The easiest and most affordable way to get mobile internet wherever you travel.
Visa & entry
EU/Schengen countries, USA, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Mexico
Many African countries, some South Asian countries (e.g., India, Pakistan), and some Middle Eastern countries typically require visas
Check the Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs or local embassy for your nationality; rules change and some stays vary.