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Nikko Hotels: 290 Reviews - 586 Photos
Hakone Hotels: 144 Reviews - 361 Photos
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Japan Off The Beaten Path

An small island at the Port of Nagasaki

by KevinMichael

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An small island at the Port of Nagasaki
by KevinMichael
Shrine and Temple District East of...
by robertbaum
You'll pass this on the way to Kumamoto...
by sanukseeker
A cafe for you to catch a breather and...
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Sushi-making party
by sanukseeker

Most Viewed Off The Beaten Path in Japan

126.

Day Trip out of Tokyo Tokyo

44 Reviews ....Every year in late April/Early May, the 1300-year-old Shiofune Kannon Temple's grounds come afire with brilliant azaleas blooming on a stadium-like landscape that is focused on a huge standing...

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127.

Ohara Area Kyoto

6 Reviews Ohara is a major stomping ground for Japanese 'aki-front' followers; when the nation gets bored of pining for cherry blossoms and instead glues its eyes to NHK for the first news reports of Kyoto's...

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128.

temples & shrines Osaka

16 Reviews We came accidentally to this small garden with a shrine and a cemetery inside and had a look around: Shinko-in Temple A ceremony had started shortly after we came and we were invited to participate....

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129.

Shrines and Temples Tokyo

23 Reviews Gotokuji temple, a Soto-sect zen temple in Setagaya-ku, is best known by the legend of Manekineko better known as "lucky cats" or "beckoning cats". It was originally built in 1480 in a part of...

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130.

Otsu City Kyoto

4 Reviews Lake Biwa is the largest lake in Japan and among the top largest lakes in the world. It is actually surrounded by a few prefectures, one of which is Shiga. All the usual lake activities can be found...

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131.

Sightseeing outside Osaka Osaka

8 Reviews Just three hours from Osaka by Shinkansen, Imabari is a beautiful city on the coast of the Seto Inland Sea. It is the home to beautiful Imabari Castle, one of the most outstanding examples of medieval...

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132.

Experience Tokyo

17 Reviews It is common to see the beautiful Mt Fuji from the window of the Bullet train (direction: Kyoto, Osaka). It is particularly a superb experience to see the snow-covered Mt. Fuji in early Spring...

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133.

Fushimi Inari Shrine Kyoto

5 Reviews Two train stops south out of Kyoto, a brilliant walk right from Fushimi station takes you to the temple of Fushimi-Inari, and continuing up the hill through 10,000 red torii dedicated by companies to...

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134.

shopping Osaka

5 Reviews This almost went in as a "warning" tip, but I think seeing things like this are essential if you want to get a good sense of a foreign country. On Sundays there is a flea market west of the pedestrian...

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135.

Shinjuku Tokyo

10 Reviews Shinjuku Nichome (literally Shinjuku 2nd District) is a name known to most straight Japanese but visited by very few- it is the "notorious" epicentre of gay life in Japan. In a four block radius,this...

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136.

Otagi Nenbutsuji Temple Kyoto

2 Reviews Otagi Nenbutsu-ji, beautiful buddhist stone sculptures. In Arashiyama, go to Adashino Nenbutsu-ji, where one can walk the bamboo grove. pass this temple, follow the walking path north,till one reaches...

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137.

culture & history Osaka

3 Reviews This little gem hides in a sub-urban area of Osaka. Located in the heart of Hattori-Ryoukuchi Park. It contains a collection of 11 old Japanese Farmhouses from all over Japan. Most of them are...

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138.

Local People and Lives Tokyo

16 Reviews Don't speak much or any Japanese and looking to meet some friendly Japanese people who do? Com Inn is a cozy, little English conversation cafe in Ebisu, near the Doutor building. Most of the time it...

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139.

Arashiyama Kyoto

2 Reviews If you fancy something different to do in Kyoto or simply suffering from temple fatigue and like animals, how about a trip to the Monkey Park at Arashiyama. You enter the park strolling up a steep...

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140.

Parks, Yards, Gardens and Squares Tokyo

14 Reviews The Ueno Zoo is just like most every other metropolitan zoo. The calling card for this one though is its Panda Bears. The panda's are pretty cool to look at, and there are a few other animals which I...

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141.

General Kyoto

6 Reviews Kyoto is not really a very large city, although there are many places to visit! The bus, train, and subway system really makes most of the city very easy to access. What many people consider to be...

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142.

Tsukiji Market Tokyo

7 Reviews Though not a fishing trip in the usual sense of the word, you will see more fish here than you ever have before. I struggled to find a way to describe it. I have come across the following passage...

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143.

Hozu River Kyoto

3 Reviews Old Cliffie is a bit too old for white-knuckle pastimes such as bungee jumping or whitewater rafting. But he did enjoy the 'Hozugawa Kudari' - trip down the river Hozu - near Kyoto. Take the train (20...

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144.

Theatres and Museums Tokyo

8 Reviews The Yebisu Beer Museum is one of those places you can only find in Tokyo. The admission is free, although the beer isn't. It is in the Yebisu Garden Palace, and is a place that commemorates the...

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145.

Nanzenji Temple Kyoto

4 Reviews This is a huge temple complex situated in the eastern part of Kyoto at the foot of the hills, and can be considered off the beaten track as it doesn't seem to get as much visitors as the other more...

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146.

Odaiba & Ariake Tokyo

4 Reviews What greeted me next was quite a surprise (even for a liberal thinker such as myself!) & even though I had mentally prepared for it. A sea of women of all ages and a few girls, were changing out of...

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147.

Otani Mausoleum Kyoto

1 Review A little unusual, but we found this by accident. Rather than following the main route up to the Kiyomizu Temple with all the usual stalls selling souvenirs we found a path at the bottom of the hill...

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148.

Ikebukuro Tokyo

6 Reviews The world's biggest car showroom is just under the railway bridge in front of sunshine city. On five floors you can see all Toyotas cars, including some that only seem to be made for the Japanese...

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149.

Hyogo Prefecture Kyoto

3 Reviews Many say that one will not need to visit any other castle after seeing the most beautiful castle of Japan, the Himeji Castle. Although a bit far from Kyoto than other nearby places, this castle is...

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150.

Ginza Tokyo

5 Reviews I stumbled across this small shop on my way back to Ginza from the fish market. I was drawn in and I couldn't help it - it's so beautiful. It's only like 5 mins walk from all the Ginza glitz and it's...

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Reviews from VirtualTourist Members

Izu hantó, the Izu peninsula

by Maline

The Izu peninsula is located south of Tokyo on the east side of Honshu island. The peninsula is famous for its many hotspring resorts. The volcanic activity is abundant here, hence the many hot springs, or as they are called in Japanese, onsen.Atami, at the base of the peninsula is a very popular travel destination for people in Tokyo. We went down to Shimoda town all the way down the peninsula. From here we took some hot spring trips and also visited a marine center and got some lovely views of the ocean. The landscape of the peninsula itself is also amazing with the typical lsch green hills and the occasional steam from a spring rising above.The railroads on the Izu hantó are private so you cannot use your Rail Pass if you have one, but must buy special tickets.If you center your visit in Japan around Tokyo, but want a nearby getaway Izu should be perfect, it's close by and offers such...

Onsen - hot spring baths

by Maline

In Izu hantó and other parts of Japan, like the Hakone area, you can visit the natural hot springs, the onsen. If you travel on a tight budget my advice is to stay at a cheaper hostel or hotel and only visit the onsen resorts for the actual bathing. Staying at an onsen hotel is of course bound to be luxurious, and I wish we could have tried it, but since it is also quite expensive, we decided to stay and eat other places and only come to the onsen for a soak. Many of the onsen establishments have these kinds of bath-only admission for aournd 1000 yen and up (about 6 euros).I am sure you know how to go about a bath in Japan? Otherwise I'll just make a tip about it in the local customs section here.Good luck,ps it can be very hot! Careful!In the picture is the outdoor pool of the Kanaya onsen in Rendai-ji, one stop north of Shimoda on the railway. The Kanaya onsen is quite famous and was...

Sendai - a most friendly city

by Maline

Sendai lies on the east coast of Honshu island, north of Tokyo. The town was destroyed during WWII and has been built up since. We spent three days here and came to really love this town. It felt really clean and somehow wider than Tokyo, where one can feel crammed sometimes. Here there were big avenues and some space to breathe, as well as some small cute alleys with miniature restaurants. The town served as the base for visiting famous Matsushima( see other tip), a short train-ride to the north, but is well worth a visit in itself. The covered shopping arcades in the town center offer endless shopping possibilities, the adjacent restaurant alleys promise culinary discoveries, we had some great food here, and the whole town itself was a very friendly place. Only one thing was a problem, most maps were not really accurate, so it took us some time befor we foiund our way around.Sendai is...

Takayama - The high mountain town

by Maline

The town of Takayama is a bit "off the beaten path" even though it gets its fair share of visitors, esp during the twice-annually festivals in spring and autumn.Takayama (Taka=high, Yama=mountain) is located on the Japanese island of Honshu (often referred to as the main island, since most of the important cities are located here) in the highland mountainous area west of Tokyo in Hida district.Travelling there by train you will have splendid views over tha mountains and mountain streams. Have your camera ready! The train that runs there is called Wide View Hida, and is driven by diesel, not electricity.In Takayama town you can visit the remaining old quarters, have a bite at the many great restaurants, shop for Saru Bobos (a kind of faceless red doll) or maybe visit the Festival Floats exhibition.The town's two annual festivals are known all over Japan and visitors crowd during these...

Onjuku- very much off the beaten track!

by Maline

Onjuku is the name of a small community on the east coast of the Chiba peninsula east of Tokyo. We were fortunate enough to be able to visit here. The town has great beaches and is popular with surfers. There is also a big community of elderly people who have moved here since retiring, much like Florida in the US I imagine. For info on traveling to this area I recommend you go to one of the Tourist offices in Japan since this usually isn't listed in most guide books.

Hida folk village 2

by Maline

The Gasshó-zukuri style houses are named after what they look like, namely two hands joined in prayer.These houses used to have a great number of inhabitants.On the top floors of the buildings (they are often 4-storied) there was silk-worm farming and factoring. The Hida folk village is located some 40 minutes by bike outside Takayama town and takes some two hours or so to visit. I very much recommend this, it was both beautiful and interesting! In one of the 12 or so gathered farmhouses in the village you can sit down for a cup of the by the always burnig hearth. Don't miss it!!

Hida folk village

by Maline

In the Hida folk village you can see the Gasshó-zukuri style farmhouses of the Hida area. They have been brought to this village from all around the mountainous surroundings. One of the buildings here survived a great earthquake thanks to its flexible construction.The village shows the houses and also some of the traditional craft of the Hida area. There are also everyday items on dislay, such as shoes and kitchen utensils.In the picture is one of the employees of the village showing traditional skills.

Shimoda - and the marine center

by Maline

In Shimoda town we found this aquatic center where you could have a great meal and a great view at the same time. We happened to come during the dolphin show, which we have an excellent view of just from the restaurant. Make sure to take the walkway around the cliffs as well, it runs westward from the marine center. There are some wonderful views there.Check a Shimoda map for details on the whereabouts of the marine center.Behind the center we happened upon these lovely old ladies who despite their age (70 or over) still dived for clams and other seafood around the cliffs. They showed us the days catch and agreed to this photo. So nice :-)

Eikando Temple in Kyoto

by Paul2001

For me a highlight along the Philosopher Walk was a stop at Eikando Temple. Not one of the more famous of many temples in Kyoto is still worth visiting for its lovingly landscaped grounds. The temple is surrounded by maple trees. Naturally this cuts quite a picture in the autumn when the leaves turn colour but alas I visited in June. The temple is also known as Zenrinji Temple. It was founded in 856. It was named Eikan after a head priest in the 12th century. The interior of the temple seems to be forgotten in all the take about the wonderous fall colours around the temple grounds, but I found the alter and Buddhist carvings quite interesting. Also of interest were the fine screens pictured here. They were some of the best that I saw in Japan.The temple is open from 9am to 4pm daily and the admission price is 600 yen.

Authentic Mountain Hot Springs at Nyuto Onsen

by naruto

One thing anyone should do when they visit Japan is to indulge at a hot springs resort.A place I highly recommend is Nyuto Onsen in Akita-ken. It is home to many rustic hot springs and the best, I personally feel, is TSURUNOYU.Tsurunoyu does not get more authentic and rustic. It is a very popular hot springs destination to the locals who treats bathing as a religion, but practically unknown to foreign tourists. This little gem of a hot springs inn in the Nyuto Onsen area of Tazawako is the ultimate get-away-from-it-all. It gets so popular during the autumn and spring seasons, that it has been known to accept reservations months in advance.I went there during winter and it was HEAVEN!Prices varies depending on what kind of room/service (1000yen=US$8):8000yen - Basic room(w/o toilet/bath) Meals at communal hall9000yen - Basic room(w/o toilet/bath) Meals are self-cooked in rooms10000yen -...

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Reviews and photos of Japan attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Japan sightseeing.

Experience Japan

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