Category: Japan Travel

The Miho Museum is located in Shiga Prefecture, just a short trip from Kyoto. It was designed by the renowned architect, I. M. Pei, and is named after Koyama Mihoko, one of the richest women in Japan and the founder of the museum.

Hikone is a small city at the shores of Lake Biwa, Japan’s largest lake. The city is most famous for its castle, one of only four castles in Japan designated as national treasures. Hikone makes an easy and pleasant 3-5 hour stop-over (or more) on a trip between Tokyo and Kyoto.

The Fuji Five Lake region (Fujigoko) is located at the foot of Mount Fuji at an altitude of roughly 1000 meters above sea level in mountainous Yamanashi Prefecture. It is one of the best places to view Mount Fuji from a close distance and a convenient base for climbing the mountain.

Rishirito (Rishiri Island) and Rebunto (Rebun Island) are two small islands near the northern tip of Hokkaido. The islands are part of the Rishiri-Rebun-Sarobetsu National Park and offer beautiful hiking trails, costal sceneries, alpine flowers and small fishing villages.

Abashiri is a city of 40,000 people on the eastern coast of Hokkaido, not far from Shiretoko and Akan national parks. The city’s main tourist attractions are its prison museum and the drift ice, which can be observed in the Okhotsk Sea during winter.

Shiretoko National Park, located on the Shiretoko Peninsula in eastern Hokkaido, is one of Japan’s most beautiful and unspoiled national parks. No roads lead further than about three fourth up the peninsula, and the northern tip can only be viewed from boats or be reached on multi day trekking tours.

Akan National Parks is located in eastern Hokkaido. The park’s main attractions are its beautiful crater lakes, hot springs and mountains, which are of volcanic origin.