JAPAN
Needless to say, Japan is a wonderful country to visit. There is something for everyone – lovers of design, architecture, arts & crafts, lovers of exquisite cuisine and street food, lovers of grand sceneries and nature. Not to forget shopping queens and karaoke kings!
For traveling around Japan as a foreigner (called Gaijin) it is very recommendable to buy the Japan Rail Pass before departure. It allows to travel on the Japan railway system at a good price. Have fun!
- AWAJISHIMA: Island in front of Kobe where architect Tadao Ando built a beautiful underground Water Temple and the 100 stepped garden at the Yumebutai Conference Center.
- BEPPU: Famous for its hot wells. You can stay at Nogami Honkan Ryokan with its own spa. You can book it here.
- HAKONE: Enjoy the view on Mount Fuji – maybe even from the edge of an Onsen bath.
- HIROSHIMA: Historic city with a nice river, be prepared for the peace museum. The peace center and memorial garden were designed by Kenzo Tange.
- IBARAKI: The famous Church of Light by architect Tadao Ando.
- ITO: The Fujiyoshi Onsen is a nice (mixed gender) Onsen close to Ito.
- KANAZAWA: Village with picturesque alleys and the Museum of Contemporary Art by architects SANAA. The Kenroku-en garden is one of the famous three gardens of Japan and Kanazawa also has a Noh Museum and beautiful Ninja Temple.
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KYOTO: This city gets a page of its own!
- MIYAJIMA: Island with the famous Itsukushima shrine.
- NAGASAKI: City in the West with well-known Atomic Bomb Museum.
- NARA: This was a former capital of Japan and has a lot of sights to offer like the impressive Todaijii Temple and Nara Park with its famous deer.
- NAOSHIMA: Wonderful island that you can discover by bike. Do visit the amazing underground Chichu Art Museum by Tadao Ando. Admire the pumpkin sculpture by Yayoi Kusama and enjoy a special onsen bath experience in the I Love You art onsen. Over night you can stay at affordable Cinnamon. Click here to see an overview map.
- NIKKO: See the famous red bridge and funny monkey sculptures or even real monkeys bathing in hot wells.
- OKAYAMA: Here you can visit one of the famous three gardens of Japan, the Koraku-en.
- OSAKA: This city gets a page of its own!
- YAMANKA: A place for more Onsen experiences.
- YOKOHAMA: Eat in Chinatown and visit the Osanbashi pier by architects FOA.