Welcome to Japan!
I love making lists! I've included a selection of my Google Maps lists, highlighting Japan's regions, Tokyo neighborhoods, favorite restaurants (by food type) and more. Tokyo Neighborhoods includes some of the places I have bookmarked over the years. Reach out if you want more!
· CULTURE ·
温泉 ♨️
My new fave hot spring hotel is Taishoukaku: 90 mins north of our house on a mountain road. Classy joint. No train access so you should get a ride/hire a car. You will not believe how close you are to Tokyo yet feel like you are in another world. Check it out! https://www.taishoukaku.com/ https://youtu.be/D96-Lqb48r4
· TOKYO NABES ·
清澄白河 & 門前仲町
art galleries, parks, museums, coffee culture, many artists and warehouse lofts
神楽坂
traditional, gorgeous, cute little restaurants
南青山
art galleries, clothing boutiques
目黒 & 中目黒
fashionable, great restaurants and cafe culture
代官山
young hipsters, fashion, fine dining, art galleries
下北沢
vintage clothes, live music and theatre
恵比寿
upscale
六本木 "Six Trees"
near the U.S. Embassy, formerly seedy, now mostly nouveau riche
広尾
classier than Roppongi, some international schools and lovely parks
麻布十番
be sure to visit Soul Food House
赤坂 "Red Hill"
higher-end business district, nice medical clinics and high-end hospitals
銀座
wide streets, high-end shopping, fine dining
日比谷, 大手町 & 丸の内
business and financial districts adjacent to the Imperial Palace, some nice parks, flat and easy to walk or job
日本橋
another classic business district
秋葉原 (電気街)
video games, anime, manga, electronics, "maid cafes"
新宿 & 新大久保
modern and bustling high rise area adjacent to largest Korea Town (Shin-Okubo)
渋谷
young people's town
原宿
even younger people's town
表参道
high-end shopping, dining, cafes, wide sidewalks lovely to stroll wide sidewalks before or after Meiji Jingu
· DAY TRIPS from TOKYO ·
鎌倉
A former capital of Japan, beaches and mountains, Big Buddha, and so much more
横浜
Fantastic China Town, with waterfront views, great walks, unique history and culture
日光
Fantastic nature, incredibly restored shrine, lakes, rivers, waterfalls, gateway to the north
奥武蔵
Fall foliage, rivers, day hikes, close to Tokyo but it feels like another world
· HIKES ·
鋸山 & 南房総市
https://pinboard.in/u:Vince/t:Nokogiriyama
Been here three times. Love it!
栃木 & 茨城
Lots to see and do northeast of Tokyo
観音
Only visited about half of them so far
尾瀬
Gunma, Niigata, Tochigi, Fukushima
https://oze-fnd.or.jp/en/season/
I still have not made it past the parking lot
random list of places I've hiked or plan to hike
https://ridgelineimages.com/hiking/100-famous-japanese-mountains
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/100_Famous_Japanese_Mountains
Years ago, a writer tried to catalog his version of the 100 best peaks in Japan
His list has become canon
· OVERNIGHTS BY LAND ·
東北
Six northern prefectures, including
❶ Akita-ken
❷ Aomori-ken
❸ Fukushima-ken
❹ Iwate-ken
❺ Miyagi-ken
❻ Yamagata-ken
箱根町
Hot springs and scenic lakes near Mt. Fuji
The Izu Peninsula (伊豆半島, Izu-hantō) is a large mountainous peninsula with a deeply indented coastline to the west of Tokyo on the Pacific coast of the island of Honshu, Japan – part of Shizuoka Prefecture
Hotel CLAD, Gotemba
We recently stayed at this relatively new (2019) hotel and hot spring resort run by the Odakyu Group. The hotel is perched above Gotemba, Japan's largest outlet mall shopping complex. Best of all, you have a direct view of Mt. Fuji on a clear day. We went over the second weekend of February, so the place was packed with Japanese on holiday, plus visitors from around the world, especially China, since they get a week off for Chinese New Year.
軽井沢
Napa Valley with ski slopes
Climb a smoking volcano or trek down an old postal road
金沢
"Little Kyoto"
能登半島
Wajima, Suzu: secluded location and rustic charm; one of the last areas in central Honshu to escape the ravages of mass tourism; stunning coastlines, rural landscapes, rich agricultural history
京都
嵐山
大坂
An ideal hub for visiting Kyoto and Nara, both less than an hour away by train
奈良
Historic, deep culture; recommended itinerary
❶ Tôdai-ji
❷ Kôfuku-ji
❸ Yakushi-ji
❹ Gangô-ji
❺ Tôshôdai-ji
❻ Kasuga-Taisha
❼ Kasugayama Primeval Forest
(see https://www.insidekyoto.com/nara-travel-guide)
名古屋
ldeal hub for visiting Ise Jingu (Mie); a charming city that reminds me of both New Orleans (passionate food culture), Chicago (classy shopping) and Detroit (obvious parallels to the dominant auto sector); check out the Tokugawa Museum and Gardens, Atsuta Shrine, and Nagoya Castle (also Inuyama Castle one hour north if you love castles)
直島
World-class art island (pretty sure you will need to fly or take a ship at some point)
· OVERNIGHTS by AIR ·
屋久島
"Princess Mononoke" inspiration: subtropical cedar forests containing some of Japan's oldest living trees
Amami Oshima
那覇
Naha, the capital city of Okinawa, on the largest island
宮古島
Largest and the most populous island among the Miyako Islands of Okinawa Prefecture, Japan
石垣島 & 西表島
Southwestern Okinawa Prefecture: known for beaches, snorkeling, diving and surfing