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Destinations

η”Ÿγε ΄

Feel free to explore my POI Japan map:


Below list of topics I’m populating with related blog posts over time. Stay tuned. 😊

A

Mt. Akina – 秋名山

Panorama of the crater lake on top of Mount Akina with the famous hotel and rental boats from the InitialD series.

#initialD #gunma #MountAkina

Also know as Mount Haruna in the real world. Main story site of my favorite Anime / Manga series InitialD. In 2018 I visited some of the original passes that are raced in InitialD in Gunma-Prefecture. 😍


Akihabara Denki Gai – η§‹θ‘‰εŽŸι›»ζ°—θ‘—

Arcade, maid or pet cafes, electronic stores, manga and anime, erotic stores, themed restaurants, any pleasure is served in “electric town” Akihabara

One of Tokio’s craziest shopping and entertainment district.

#tokyo #shopping #sightseeing

Ainokura

Gassho (folded hand) style houses in one of the beautiful world heritage Gifu villages.

A small village of Gassho-style houses in a magical valley in Gifu-Prefecture.

#gifu #gassho #UNESCOworldheritage


B


C

Chichibu Shrine – 秩爢η₯žη€Ύ

The gate made of hay needs to be passed in a certain way for luck and good fortune.

A beautiful shrine in Saitama-Prefecture, where I got my first Goshuinchou (red stamp book)

#saitama #shinto #shrine

Choan-ji Temple

A beautiful forest Buddhist temple in Hakone Prefecture that features more than 300 stone figurines hidden between the trees. A true gem.

Read my blog post here:

#hakone #choanji #buddism


D

Dejima

Main Street of rebuild historical Dejima

Dejima has been the only open port to Japan for 200 years during the Edo Period, when Japan was closed to the outer world by order of the shogun. This famous location has been restaurated by the city of Nagasaki and is a must visit for East Asia history buffs.

#nagasaki #historic #sightseeing #dejima


E








F

Fuji-san – 富士山 – Mount Fuji

The iconic Mountain of Japan. I tried my first ascent in July 2018.

Read my blog post here:

Fukushima

Literally translated “Lucky Island” – the disaster area is barely recovering and has to live with the stigma. They finally put signs up in English to keep stupid tourist getting out of their cars at highly contaminated no stopping zones.

Festivals – η₯­γ‚Š

A glimps at the lights of the floats at Gion Matsuri.

Especially in Summer there are tons of festivals all over the country. Highlights being for example the Obon week and the almost 1000 year old Gion-Matsuri in Kyoto.

#matsuri #η₯­γ‚Š


G

Gion

Geishas entertain their guests at one of the tea houses (Chayas) in Gion.

The famous Geisha district in Kyoto. Beautiful tea houses and restaurants line the river. Especially in the evening a nice area for a walk or to have a glimpse at the occasional passing Geisha or Maiko rushing from appoinment to appointment.

#kyoto #geisha #gion

Gifu

One of Japans iconic post card motives. Could not resist either. πŸ˜€

Region in central Honshu, famous for it’s postcard view Gassho (=praying hands) style houses. The cute villages are one of the most magical spots in Japan.

#gifu #gassho

Ghibli Museum

The Tokio located museum features recreated sets from the globally beloved studio Ghibli movies.


H

Heda Harbour

Read my blog post here:

Relax at Izu Peninsula’s east coast.

Honshu

Japans largest Island. Mount Fuji, Tokio, Kyoto and most of the other well known sights of Japan are located there

#honshu





Hokkaido

The northernmost of Japan’s 5 main islands. Famous for its harsh winters and the snow festival in the capital Sapporo.

#hokkaido #sapporo





Hakone

View of Mount Fuji above the Hakone lakes. Actually, as ususal view of the clouds in front of Fuji-san. πŸ˜€

Lake region close to Tokio, famous for it’s iconic Mount Fuji views.

#initialD #mountfuji #hakone





Hiroshima

Hiroshimas main street passing the atomic dome.

A bustling modern city in a beautiful bay. There is lot’s to explore in the city and its vincinity.





Hiroshima Word Peace Memorial

Hard to stomach place. Yad Vashem and Auschwitz level…

#hiroshima #sightseing #memorial #UNESCOWorldheritagesite





Hiroshima Castle

Reconstruction of the medieval castle.

Has been rebuild after the war.

#castle #hiroshima





Himeji Castle

Rainy day at the swan castle.

The swan castle in Hyōgo-Prefecture is one of the most famous sights in Japan.

#himeji #castle





Hikone Castle

Another beautiful Castle located in Shiga-Prefecture at lake Biwa, the largest lake in Japan.

#lakebiwa #hikone #shiga






I




Izu

My favored region in all of Japan so far. A large peninsula in Shizuoka-Prefecture with lush climate and stunning scenery, rounded up by amazing beaches and views like a Hokusei painting, close to Mount Fuji.

#izu #shizuoka





Inari Fujimi Taisha

Located in Kyoto, it’s one of the most iconic shinto shrines in Japan. Well know for the tunnels of red toori that lead about 4 kilometers up the mountain.

#kyoto #temple #shinto #shrine





Ito

Harbour town located at the west coast of Izu peninsula. Has a beautiful backpacker Ryokan.






J




Japanese Alps

Japans Alps are a sight to behold. A beautiful mountain range on Honshu rising up to 3000 meters above sea level, most of them actually being volcanos. Skiing, hiking, onsen, tons of things to do there.

Read my blog post here:






K




Kitakyushu

Historic and modern Japan next to each other.

Large city in the north of Kyushu





Kintai Bridge

Famous 400 year old wooden bridge, know for the cormorant fishing happening arond it.

Close to Hiroshima in Yamaguchi-Prefecture there is a spot where the old asian art of cormorant fishing is practiced at night. As a tourist you can join the fisherman on their boats.

#kintaibridge #cormorantfishing #yamaguchi





Kanazawa

Old town Kanazawa is famous for it’s collection of Samurai mansions.

Famous for it’s old town with samurai mansions, the zen garden and the international renowned museum of modern art.

#kanazawa #samurai #historic #museum





Kanazawa Museum of Modern Art

One of the most famous art museums of Japan. Especially known for the “Swimming Pool” installation.





Kyoto

At hot summer evenings people gather at the river promenade to dine at the famous restaurants above the river or just sit with a beer at the water.

Rome and Kyoto share the top spot of the list with each featuring 17 Unesco World Heritage sights, more than any other city on earth.

#kyoto #UNESCOWorldheritage





Kyoto Art Museum





Kyoto Museum of Handicraft

An interesting museum for a rainy day. No entrance fee and a nice museum shop!





Kokura Castle

Ancient Castle in old town of Kitakyushu

Another raodtrip day, another Castle. 😍

#kitakyushu #castle #sightseing





Kamiyama – η₯žε±±η”Ί

A beautiful secluded hiking area in the mountains of central Shikoku.

Read my blog post here:






L





M




Motonosumi Inari Shrine

Toorii πŸ˜€

Another instagramable location only reachable by car.

#shinto #shrine #ocean





Matsumoto Castle

The Crow Castle in full Moon light.

Besides Himeji “The Swan” Castle, Matsumoto “The Crow” is the other of the two most famous castles in Japan both named for their either white or black colored tiled roofs.

#matsumoto #castle






N




Nakasendo

the trail winds itself on it’s ancient route through the Kiso valley. Beware of the bears! πŸ˜€

The old post route between the two capitals Edo (Tokyo) and Kyoto. Some of it has been brought back to the state it had during the Edo period. There is a beautiful 7 km hike through the mountains on the old cobble road from the villages Magome to Tsumago. Beware of the bears and enjoy a free tea at the medieval tea house along the way.

#hiking #nakasendo #historic





Ninja Temple

Ninja Temple in Kanazawa that offers a tour of the secrets of the Ninja warrior monks.





Nara – ε₯ˆθ‰―εΈ‚

The ancient capital Nara features some of the most iconic temples in the country, as well as more than 1000 free roaming deer in the temple district. Cuteness overkill. 😍😍😍

Read my blog post here:





Nagoya

The industrial hub is the home of the Toyota Corporation and other iconic companies of Japans industrial age.





Nagano

Famous for hosting the Olympic Winter Games in 1998, it’s a beautiful spot to go skiing in winter or alpine hiking above the clouds in Summer.

Read my blog post here:

Happo Pond – ε…«ζ–Ήζ±  – Hiking the Japanese Alps





Narita

Suburb of Tokio and one of the large airports. Starting point of my trips with Japancampers.





Nagasaki

Has been the gate to the western world for a long time and has a lot more to offer than the Atomic Bomb story.






O




Osaka

The more relaxed Metropolis of Japan. πŸ™‚





Ose

Evening view across Ose bay.

Beautiful little diving town in Shizuoka Prefecture with iconic Mount Fuji view and a nice little temple district.

#ose #diving #mountfuji






P





Q





R




Ritsurin Garden

SONY DSC

Another stunning display of the Zen garden art in Japan located in northern Shikoku.

#shikoku #takamatsu






S




Shikoku

One of the 5 main islands of Japan. Connected to Honshu by several spectacular kilometer spanning bridges.





Saitama

Beautiful mountainous prefecture close to Tokio.






T

Tomioka Silk Mill

Warehouses

Unesco World Heritage site in Saitama-Prefecture.

#UNESCOWorldHeritage #Saitama #sightseing #historic #museum





Toyota Museum

Toyota Truck G1

Iconic Industrial Museum at the site of the original Toyota factory.

#nagoya #historic #sightseing #museum






U





Unazuki

the famous gorge bridge

Famous Spa Town with spectacular railway for tourists touring to the mountains.

#onsen #gorge #train






V

W

X

Y

Z


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