Shukkeien Garden
Shukkeien Garden dates back to 1620 when Asano Nagaakira, the feudal load, ruled the Hiroshima area and ordered the construction of the garden for his villa.
Beautiful Japanese garden! There’s a pond, little bridges, and a teahouse inside, with gorgeous scenery that changes every season. You can walk around the whole place in about 30 minutes. It’s super peaceful—perfect for a relaxing stroll. Cherry blossoms in spring and autumn leaves are especially stunning! 😻
Okabe-shuku Ohatago Kashibaya
This lodging facility was used as an inn for travelers coming and going on the Tokaido Highway during the Edo period. It is now open to the public as a museum, where visitors can learn about the lifestyle of the people and how inns were used in those days.
Okabe-shuku has become popular among foreigners in recent years. You can enjoy sake made from the area's beautiful water, especially from the well-known Hatsukame Brewery.
Miho no Matsubara
About 30,000 pine trees grow along the 5-km-long coastline, a scenic spot that has attracted people from all walks of life since ancient times. It is one of Japan's three new scenic spots and one of Japan's three great pine groves. In 2013, it was registered as a component of the World Cultural Heritage of Mt Fuji.
Miho no Matsubara feels like a place full of energy for travelers. The famous Miho Shrine and the 'Path of the Gods' are nearby. Walking here gave me a totally refreshed feeling.
Takumishuku Traditional Hand Craft Arts Center
A facility where visitors can experience the traditional crafts for which Shizuoka City is famous reopened in May 2021. The experience is divided into three workshops: "Bamboo and Dyeing Workshop," "Wood and Lacquer Workshop," and "Fire and Earth Workshop," with a variety of experience plans available. At the "Bamboo and Dyeing Workshop", visitors can try their hand at Suruga Take Sensujizaiku, indigo dyeing, and tea dyeing; at the "Wood and Lacquer Workshop", woodwork and lacquer; and at the "Fire and Clay Workshop", visitors can try their hand at pottery making using an electric potter's wheel and other tools. Visitors can also try their hand at pottery making using an electric potter's wheel at the "Wood and Lacquer Workshop".
At Mariko Sunpu Takumishuku in Shizuoka City, you can experience traditional Shizuoka crafts. I followed the tea-dyeing artisan and listened to stories about tea dyeing. It was such a rewarding experience.
Nozawa Onsen Ski Resort
Nozawa Onsen Ski Resort, located in Nozawa Onsen Village, Nagano Prefecture, ranks among Japan's largest ski slopes. It provides the finest powder snow on more than 40 courses, 40% of which are safe for beginners. There are children’s courses for play equipment, sleds and tubes and they are great for introducing children to snow play. Families can have fun all day.
Nozawa Onsen Ski Resort is a historic hot spring town with an amazing ski area. But this place is really for experienced skiers from all over the world.
Higashi Honganji Temple, Kyoto
Higashi Honganji Temple is located in Karasuma Rokujo, near Kyoto Station. Officially called "Shinshu Hongyo", Higashi Honganji Temple is the head temple of the Otani sect of Shinshu Buddhism, built in the 7th year of Keichō era (1602) on land donated by Tokugawa Ieyasu to Kyōnyo Shonin.
If you're visiting Kyoto, you have to check out Higashi Honganji! The ginkgo trees here are especially dense, and you can enjoy both the beautiful foliage and the historic temple itself. Highly recommended!
Hotel Urashima
This enormous onsen ryokan is located in the Nanki-Katsuura onsen near the World Heritage Kumano-Nachi Taisha shrine. The complex consists of four buildings: the main building, the Nisshokan, the Sanjokan, and the Nagisakan, and accommodates 404 guest rooms; it’s one of the largest hotels in Japan.
If you visit Japan, you have to stay at the Katsuura Onsen Hotel! What impressed me most is that the whole island is the hotel, and the hot springs are built inside natural caves! The hotel is right on the coast of Kii-Katsuura in southern Wakayama. I really love the hot springs here. ♨️❤️
Engetsu Island
A landmark of the Nanki-Shirahama area, familiar as the subject of paintings, photographs, and postage stamps. The official name is “Takashima” but it’s commonly called “Engetsu-jima” because of the sea cave (hole) near the center of the island.
Engetsu Island is famous in Japan for its beautiful sunset views. Every year, it attracts lots of tourists and has become the go-to spot in Shirahama Town for watching the sunset.
ROKKO Forest Sound Museum
The ROKKO Forest Sound Museum, located on top of Mt. Rokko, is a museum exhibiting a collection of antique music boxes, automatic organs, and karakuri dolls made in Europe and America from the late 19th to early 20th centuries. Visitors can enjoy automatic performances of music based on seasonal themes in the popular program "Concerts without Performers.
ROKKO Forest Sound Museum—here you can enjoy beautiful flowers in bloom all year round and amazing scenery. The SIKI Garden has a sound path, and there are five different seasonal flower areas, sound exhibitions, and relaxing spaces. It's a lovely place to visit.
Yamanakadani
Yamanakadani is located near the border of Osaka and Wakayama prefectures. It was once a post town on the Kishu-kaido highway used by the Kishu Tokugawa family when they made the SANKIN KOUTAI (a system in which feudal lords travel back and forth between their fiefdom and Edo every other year).
Both sides of Yamanakadani Station are lined with cherry trees—there are over a thousand of them! 🙏 If you want to avoid the crowds in Kyoto, this is a great spot to enjoy the cherry blossoms. 🌸