Journeys

Explore the quiet islands of the Seto Inland Sea on a two-night journey by boat and bicycle.

It is tempting to plan a trip to Mt. Fuji around the view of the mountain itself. In Fujinomiya, though, you can feel its presence even when the summit is hidden by clouds. Start at the Mt. Fuji World Heritage Center, have lunch at Omiya Yokocho, and visit Fujisan Hongu Sengen Taisha and Wakutama Pond.

Featured image: © Tokyo Convention＆Visitors Bureau Tokyo does not preserve its past in museums alone. In Yanaka and Nezu, traces of earlier centuries remain woven into ordinary streets: a vermilion shrine gate between neighborhood homes, a weathered wall built from clay and roof tiles, a cemetery path shaded by cherry trees, and a shopping street

Cherry blossoms may be Japan’s best-known sign of spring. Yet about ninety minutes northeast of Tokyo, another kind of spring appears on a hill close to the Pacific Ocean—one painted almost entirely in blue. This is Hitachi Seaside Park in Hitachinaka, Ibaraki Prefecture. Each spring, around 5.3 million nemophila cover Miharashi Hill, creating a landscape

If asked to name one reason to visit Lake Kawaguchi, most people would answer Mount Fuji. The mountain rising beyond the water is reason enough to come. Yet it would be a shame to reduce this part of Yamanashi Prefecture to a single photograph. Flowers follow the seasons around the lakeshore. Trees turn from fresh

In Sawara, Chiba Prefecture, a small river runs through the heart of an old merchant town. Wooden shopfronts, tiled roofs and willow trees line the water, while boats pass below the bridges at an unhurried pace. At first, it is easy to see the Ono River simply as the town’s most picturesque feature. But the