travel in japan essay

Essays About Japan: Top 5 Examples and 5 Prompts

Japan is a beautiful country famous for its lush landscape, delicious food, and well-mannered people. Here are some examples of essays about Japan.

A developed country in Asia known as the “land of the rising sun,” Japan has become a hot commodity for tourism and business. Japan is truly a sight to behold, from its beautiful cherry blossoms, efficient public transportation system, and delicious food. 

Japan’s rich history has allowed it to develop into one of the most advanced nations in the world, and its technology is renowned worldwide. Moreover, its people are known for their discipline, hard work, and resilience, even in the face of severe natural disasters. Japan is, without a doubt, a country worth visiting. 

If you want to write essays about Japan, here are our best essay examples and writing prompts to help you begin. 

1. What Japan Taught Me About Life by Beth Louise

2. japan experience: reflection on japanese culture by rayan elhafiz abdalla, 3. what i learned about design from travel in japan by teo yu siang.

• 4.  The best time to visit Japan by Pat Kay

5. A Day Trip To Kobe by David Swanson

5 prompts for essays about japan, 1. what does japan mean to you , 2. misogyny in japanese society, 3. why visit japan, 4. japan’s history, 5. living in japan: what’s it like.

“In fact, there’s so much to see and do that it feels like a lifetime of exploring would never uncover all that’s on offer. It’s also a bright, buzzing lesson in living fast; just wandering around in the crowds is a massive adrenaline rush, and Monday nights are as mental as Fridays. But despite the intensity of a city so large, people are calm and quiet. It’s the most magical juxtaposition. Everything is moving at light-speed, but with such efficiency and thoughtfulness, that it feels like a well-oiled, intuitive machine, powering a ride that you never want to get off.”

In her essay, Louise writes about her experience traveling to Tokyo, Japan. She compares it to a machine, with all the people in the city playing their part. She is amazed by the people’s focus, discipline, manners, and sense of purpose, and she can better appreciate life’s simplicity. She is mesmerized by Japan and recommends booking a trip to Tokyo as soon as possible. 

You might also like these essays about being yourself and essays about college .

“People were very friendly, they will greet you even if they don’t know you. One shocking incident that I will not forgot, is when the cashier was trying to help me put all my coin money in my wallet with me. In America I am not used to having someone put my money inside my wallet, that is really invading personal space. However, I learned that in Japan it seems normal to just drop off someone’s coins in their wallet.”

Similar to Louise, Abdalla reflects on new things he discovered about Japan and its people during his time there. These range from trivial things such as the “Pokemon Go” rollout in the country to the Japanese’ sense of honor and discipline. He recounts an experience in which the cashier was helping him put his change into his wallet, something he is not used to back home. He provides excellent, although short, insight into Japan, its culture, and its people. 

“Everything around us is designed: from the smartphones we use every day to the tactile paving on a walkway. But it’s often hard to examine the designed environment around us with eyes as fresh as a tourist’s. So if you’ve made it to the end of this post, I’ve got a challenge for you: The next time you take a walk outside, try to become aware of the thousands of design decisions around you. What works, and what can be improved?”

Siang writes about the edge that Japanese cities and society in general have because they are well-designed. He cites innovations such as fast, automated cash register machines and aid for the visually impaired and recalls lessons such as the importance of accessibility when designing something. 

4.   The best time to visit Japan by Pat Kay

“When people ask me “When is the best time to visit Japan?”, I usually reply with “anytime”. Japan is always a good idea, at any time of year. It’s truly an all-year-round destination that provides vastly varied experiences throughout its distinct 4 seasons. Whether you’re a traveller who loves snow, or one who thrives in humidity; a traveller who wants to see beautiful nature changes, or wants to be thrown into crowds; whatever your style of travel, there’s a season and a time for that.”

Kay describes the weather and activities during the different seasons in Japan, giving readers an idea of when they would prefer to visit. Japan ranges from the ethereal but chaotic cherry blossom season to the calm, frigid snow season; however, each year’s season has its own charm. Kay’s essay gives good insight into the best times to visit Japan.

“When planning a visit to Kobe, consider the fact that the city has been completely rebuilt since 1995, following the great Hanshin earthquake that leveled much of the city. Except for a few memorials, you likely won’t be aware of the destruction at all. Instead, what you will discover is a cosmopolitan port city where foreign influences intermingle, museums are dedicated to sake, and a conveniently compact and walkable quarter showcases a robust nightlife scene that has featured jazz on the menu for nearly a century. Oh, and, of course, there is the beef.”

In this short write-up, Swanson lists the best things to do in Kobe, Japan, a place best known for its top-quality beef. However, there are many things to do in the city besides eating beef, such as viewing historical buildings, going to the hot springs, and visiting the botanical gardens. However, Swanson notes that eating is an integral part of a trip to Kobe, and one should not miss out on trying the beef. 

In your essay, you can write about the country’s significance to you. For example, are you from there, or do you have Japanese ancestry? Have you visited? Write about your connection to the country and why this connection exists in the first place. If Japan has a special place in your heart, this essay topic is for you. 

When editing for grammar, we also recommend taking the time to improve the readability score of a piece of writing before publishing or submitting

With all its glory and excellence, Japan is less evolved in gender equality. So how are women treated in Japan? First, delve into research about the treatment of women in Japanese society, and show how the culture differs from modern western gender equality ideologies. Then, discuss why Japan is behind in encouraging women’s equal rights. Make sure to cite research, statistics, and interviews to support your point. 

This topic is straightforward; whether you have been or not, try to persuade others to visit the country. Include highlights that others should visit and suggestions for places others can visit. If Japan was a bad experience for you, go the other way: why should you not visit Japan?

Japan has a dark history surrounding its role in World War II. In your essay, briefly explain these events and research their effects on Japan after the war. How did the war change Japan- for better or for worse? Elaborate on the impact and, as always, include references to strengthen your arguments. This is quite a broad topic, so you can focus on one element of Japanese society: values, city planning, relationships with tourists, race, inequality, and gender equality.

Based on reading articles and sample essays as well as any experiences in Japan, list the advantages and disadvantages of living in Japan and conclude whether it would be ideal for moving to Japan or not. Use anecdotes from travel writers or people who live in Japan to show why living in japan is enjoyable or not so enjoyable. Pick a stance for a compelling argumentative essay.

If you are interested in learning more, check out our essay writing tips !

If you’re stuck picking your next essay topic, check out our guide on how to write an essay about diversity .

Martin is an avid writer specializing in editing and proofreading. He also enjoys literary analysis and writing about food and travel.

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Personal Essay Example: Reasons Why I Want to Visit Japan

Where is one place in the world you would like to visit? Explain why you would want to visit this place, and what you would want to do or see once you arrive. Include specific details and examples in your response.

If I could visit any place in the world, it would be Japan. Many people, such as my friends, relatives, and reviews, told me how amazing Japan is. Japan is one of the most attractive places for tourists, millions of people each year travel there to try its exotic and traditional food. Another reason why is because of the beautiful sakura flowers that only bloom once a year. Japan also has one of the most unique hotels, one being a capsule hotel, like the name says you live in a capsule.

Japan is known for their natural beauty. There are many mountains, waterfalls, and forests, and most importantly, cherry blossoms. Like I said in my manifesto, I like adventuring to new places and especially in mother nature. As my parents say, I’m quite the photographer so, whenever I go to new places, I can add some photos to my collection and see many astonishing views. One of my wishes is that I get a Fujifilm X-T4, it is a camera that specializes in photography, and I want to capture almost everything that I do. If I go to Japan during April, I would definitely go to Chidorigafuchi. Chidorigafuchi is a seven hundred meters long river that leads to the Imperial Palace. The river is surrounded by cherry blossoms and you can take a boat/canoe ride down the river. Chidorigafuchi is one of the most popular places in Japan for viewing cherry blossoms, and during April, cherry blossoms bloom and shine at their brightest. Cherry Blossoms are one of my favourite types of plants because of how beautiful they are and how rare they are. Remember that this is a once-in-a-year time and the cherry blossoms die fast so if you get to see them, you are very lucky! The next place I would go to is Mount Fuji. Mount Fuji is a popular tourist attraction in Japan that a lot of people recognize. It is the thirty-fifth tallest mountain in the world and rises up to 12,388 feet, so I want to see it myself. When I’m at Mt. Fuji, I want to see around because there are five lakes and many temples that surround Mt. Fuji. There is also a lot of history, so I want to learn about it. An example is that Mt. Fuji was known as a sacred kami or spirit in the Shinto religion. The last place I would like to go is to a hot spring. Hot springs are very common because of all the volcanoes Japan has. Hot springs are very relaxing and are located in traditional Japanese inns.

Japan has one of the most unique and exotic foods in the world, that’s why I want to try their foods. Fun fact, 30% of the world's 7 Eleven’s are in Japan and it is pretty common to see a convenience store in every street. So whenever you need a cheap meal such as an egg sandwich, you can head over to 7 Eleven or Family Mart. Many shops in Japan have a traditional food called bento box. All families have a different recipe and they could be eaten for any meal, breakfast, lunch, dinner, and sometimes dessert. One exotic food that I want to try is omurice from Yukimura Motokichi. He works at Kichi Kichi and is most popular for his omurice. He entertains everyone with his cooking tricks, jokes, and makes a very memorable time for everyone. Omurice is a dish that contains fried rice and an omelette, topped off with some ketchup. Another dish I would like to eat is sushi, a traditional dish from Japan and is my favourite food of all time. I like sashimi over the rolls because I think that in sushi, the fish is the most important part of the combination. Sushi is a traditional food for the Japanese people and whenever you eat sushi in Japan, it may be pricey, but believe me, it tastes like heaven. Another food I would like to try is ramen. I love noodles and ramen is my favourite type of noodle dish. I would take tonkatsu ramen because ramen is about broth and tonkatsu ramen has pork bone broth. And for dessert, I would take mochi. Mochi has a wide range of flavours but I would take the green tea matcha because I drink green tea almost every day and it is my favourite type of tea. Unique food that is only grown in Japan is square or cube watermelons. They are essentially ornamental and are very expensive. They are around two hundred and fifty dollars and I want to see what’s so special about them. Another food I would like to try is street food. Every countries’ street food is unique but Japan’s stand out to me. There are more than two thousand items to try and street food doesn’t take very long.

There are a lot of tourist attractions in Japan and there is a lot I like to go to. I really want to go to Japan’s Disney World. I am a big fan of theme parks and I heard that Disney World is a very fun place to go to. So far, have been to Canada’s Wonderland and Universal and both turned out to be super fun. I really like Disney movies and now that they own Marvel or the Avengers, I really want to check out what they built for the Avengers. I also want to visit the Great Buddha of Kamakura. It is a colossal representation of Amida Buddha and is one of the most celebrated Buddhist figures. My family are Buddhists so it is nice to go here. Last but not least, I want to go to Hokkaido. Hokkaido is an island located north of Japan, taking up twenty percent of Japan’s mass and five percent of its population. Hokkaido is one of the most popular destinations for travelers in Japan. Boasting unspoiled natural sights, festivals, historical landmarks, coastline villages and the freshest seafood in the country, the island is sure to impress even the most seasoned traveler.

My third reason why I want to go to Japan is because of their unique hotels, one is a capsule hotel. Capsule hotels were also known as pod hotels are a type of hotel that has been invented in Japan. The room/capsule you get is roughly the length and width of a single bed and has the height for a person to crawl in and sit/sleep on the bed. The amenities you get would be the same as any other hotel, a/c, power sockets, slippers, etc. Amenities outside the capsule, you are given toilets, showers, Wi-Fi, dining rooms, and sometimes a cafeteria. It is around ¥2000 to ¥4000, which is 18 to 37 Canadian dollars, which is cheaper than most hotels. Once you get there, your clothing and footwear are swapped to Japanese clothing, yukata and slippers. Another unique hotel from Japan is bus and train hotels. Bus and train hotels both have the size of a business classroom in an airplane. They have comfortable reclining chairs that can turn into a bed. You are also given as many amenities as a hotel would.                  

In conclusion, I would like to visit Japan because I find that their natural beauty is really beautiful and their foods are very flavorsome. Japan, in general, is unique because I find that the culture, art, technology, etc is very different from other countries. I think that no other country can offer the same characteristics Japan has.

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Nomadic Matt's Travel Site

Travel Better, Cheaper, Longer

Japan Travel Guide

Last Updated: April 29, 2024

It was a lifelong dream to visit and, when I finally did, it lived up to all my expectations. Since that first visit, I’ve been there over five times. Japan is a country that blows everyone away. From the food to the people to the architecture and everything in between, I’ve never met someone who didn’t go to Japan and fall in love with it.

A lot of people delay visiting Japan because they think it’s super expensive. And, while some aspects of traveling there are expensive, there are plenty of ways to make it affordable. I was actually shocked how easy it was to see Japan on a budget .

This Japan travel guide can help you plan an affordable trip so you can see more, eat more, and spend less.

Table of Contents

• Things to See and Do
• Typical Costs
• Suggested Budgets
• Money-Saving Tips
• Where to Stay
• How to Get Around
• How to Stay Safe
• Best Places to Book Your Trip
• Related Blogs on Japan

Click here for City Guides

Top 5 things to see and do in japan.

1. Explore Tokyo

Tokyo is one of the best cities in the world. Here you will find shrines, palaces, temples, hip clubs, fancy cocktail bars, weird fashion, and, of course, incredible people. Tokyo is a fast-paced, futuristic city. Be sure to also hit some of the quirky-themed cafés, wander the Harajuku district, walk across the iconic Shibuya crossing, and admire the Imperial Palace. Visit my detailed guide for more information .

2. Wander Kyoto

Boasting beautiful temples and Japanese gardens, Kyoto is one of the most popular destinations in Japan. This place definitely lives up to the hype because it retains much of the traditional lifestyle and is a good juxtaposition to fast-paced and high-tech Tokyo. See as many temples as possible , wander the enchanting bamboo forest of Arashiyama, (just get there early to beat the crowds), and do some hiking here. It’s a city not to be missed.

3. See Hiroshima

In 1945, the first atomic bomb to be used in combat was detonated in Hiroshima . Around 80,000 people were killed instantly and tens of thousands more died afterward due to radiation exposure. Visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome), which was the only building left standing after the bomb was dropped on August 6, and learn about one of the most controversial events in human history. I found the museum’s photos and artifacts sobering and eye-opening, and yet a must-see if you want to understand modern Japan. You can also take a cycling tour around the city to learn more about the bombing and its aftermath.

4. Climb Mount Fuji

This 3,776-meter (12,389-foot) mountain is located near Tokyo. As Japan’s tallest mountain, it is often covered by fog and clouds during the day, so ascents tend to happen early in the morning or overnight. In fact, some 400,000 people take part during the short climbing season that is only from early July to mid-September. If you’re visiting outside of the climbing season or just don’t want to hike the mountain, there are many tour providers that offer day trips from Tokyo from around 12,000 JPY.

5. Visit Sapporo

The gateway to Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido, this city is famous for its surrounding mountains, thermal baths, ski resorts, and lengthy beer brewing history. Hosting the 1972 Olympic Winter Games put the city on the international map, and it remains hugely popular for its cold-weather sports. It’s also home to the hugely popular Sapporo Snow Festival, where you can see world-class ice and snow sculptures each February (over two million people attend!). Although Sapporo is very much a ski haven, I also loved going in Spring because of the lush greenery and in particular, the thousands of Japanese cherry blossoms in Moerenuma Park. Don’t miss the Beer Museum and be sure to take the train to the coastal town of Otaru for uni (which is harvested there).

Other Things to See and Do in Japan

1. visit the tsukiji and toyosu fish markets.

Tokyo’s fish markets start bright and early at 4am. Here you can see the frenzied buying and selling of the world’s largest tuna market. Tsukiji was the original market but, as of 2018, the inner fish market moved to Toyosu and is now known as the Toyosu Fish Market. However, the outer market (where you can find food and shops) is still at Tsukiji. You can take a guided tour to learn about its history, how it works, and even learn how to roll sushi in a workshop at the end. Shops start opening around 6am so it’s a perfect place to go when you have jetlag.

2. Spend a day in Kyoto’s Gion District

Otherwise known as the Geisha District, this neighborhood is filled with fascinating historic architecture and is a good area for window shopping. Geishas (traditional professional entertainers) have worked here for centuries, and if you’re lucky, you may be able to spot one going to or from a social engagement at one of the establishments. (Just note that photographs are forbidden on the narrow alleys to prevent harassment of the geishas.) You can also take a nighttime walking tour .

3. Explore Nara

Located just one hour from Kyoto , Nara is famous for its 1,300 “wild” deer that freely roam Nara Park. The Japanese consider deer to be messengers of the gods, so they are free to roam the city (their horns are cut short, so they can’t hurt people). There are vendors selling crackers all around the park, so you can feed them by hand. While here, be sure to take in the world’s largest wooden building, Todai-ji, which dates to the eighth century and was reconstructed in the 1700s. Most travelers visit Nara as a day trip from Kyoto, but I suggest staying at least a night to really see everything.

4. See Osaka

Osaka is the third-largest city in Japan and its financial heart. It’s also a big foodie hub. Mouthwatering sushi and sashimi, Kobe beef, Japanese barbecue, and flavorful ramen can all be found here in abundance. There are also popular specialties like okonomiyaki (a savory pancake with egg and vegetables) and kushikatsu (skewered kebabs). You can take a food tour for around 12,000 JPY or just wander and eat.

Beyond the food, don’t miss Osaka Castle. While it’s not the original (this version dates to 1931), it’s nevertheless an impressive sight. It’s home to a small but insightful museum and an observation deck that offers some picturesque city views.

5. Relax in Ueno Park

Established in 1873, Tokyo’s Ueno Park is a great place to spend the day. It’s the perfect spot to see the cherry blossom trees (April is the best time of year if you hope to catch them in full bloom). Year round, you will find events on the weekend, people hanging out here on a beautiful day, and plenty of museums to visit. The park is home to the Tokyo National Museum, a couple art museums, and a zoo. You can also take a three-hour architecture tour around the park .

6. Admire the Imperial Palace

The Imperial Palace is home to the emperor of Japan (whose lineage stretches back over a thousand years). It was built on the site of the former Edo Castle, which was originally constructed in the 15th century. Though you can’t go inside the palace itself, the surrounding grounds and park are beautiful, and you can watch the changing of the guard. You can visit select parts of the grounds on a 75-minute guided tour at 10am and 1:30pm Tuesday-Saturday. The Imperial East Gardens are free and open daily except Mondays, Fridays, and holidays. There’s also a lot of free walking tours that take you around and give you a history of the palace.

7. Visit Miyajima Island

Miyajima is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located about an hour outside of Hiroshima, known as “Shrine Island” because of its temple and iconic floating torii gate. Itsukushima Shrine, the main one here, dates back to the 12th century. There’s also a five-story pagoda that dates back to the 15th century, and the tranquil Momijidani Park, one of the most beautiful maple valleys in the country. And, like Nara, there are plenty of deer here too. A trip to the island can easily be made into a full day if you hit the walking trails nearby. And be sure to hike up Mount Misen — it’s a great workout, and the views are stunning! There is also a cable car to the peak you can take for 2,000 JPY round-trip.

8. Tour Bitchu Matsuyama Castle

At 430 meters (14,100 feet), not only is this Japan’s highest castle but it’s also its only remaining original one (most were destroyed in fires or during World War II). The castle was originally built on a nearby mountain in 1240 by Akiba Shigenobu. In 1929, restoration work began, and it is now a popular tourist site. Admission is 500 JPY for just the castle or 1,000 JPY for the castle, temple, and nearby samurai houses. If you’d like to patronize the Takahashi Folk Museum and Yamada Hokoku Museum, the entire combined ticket costs 1,500 JPY.

9. Go on the temple pilgrimage

The 88 Temple Pilgrimage (also known as “Shikoku Henro”) is an ancient route that circles the island of Shikoku, one of Japan’s four main islands. Under consideration for UNESCO status, the route stretches 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) and can take between 30 and 60 days. Pilgrims typically wear special white robes and carry a walking stick so they stand out (locals take pride in helping and welcoming pilgrims so standing out is a good thing). It’s one of the only circular pilgrimages in the world, with roots dating back over a thousand years. Between 150,000 and 200,000 people do the hike each year. In addition to the 88 official temples, there are also 20 additional sites you can visit as well. Most pilgrims hike between March-May or October-November since the summer is too warm. If mobility is an issue, you can also explore the route via car or bus, which takes around 10 days.

10. Explore Nikko

Located two hours north of Tokyo in the mountains, Nikko has welcomed worshippers of both Buddhist and Shinto traditions for centuries, so there are many temples and shrines in the woods to visit. Nikko is also the home of the imperial summer palace (the only imperial residence opened as a museum) and the resting spot of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of Tokugawa Shogunate (1603–1868). You’ll also find lots of waterfalls in the area and a beautiful lake to go boating on. The trails at nearby Nikko National Park offer excellent hiking. Don’t miss Nikko Toshogu, Kegon Falls, Ryuzu Falls, Shinkyo Bridge, Lake Ch?zenji, Kanmangafuchi Abyss, and the Imperial Palace! Only a few hours from Tokyo, Nikko is a really nice destination for two or three nights.

11. Stay in a ryokan

A ryokan is a traditional Japanese bed-and-breakfast, usually found in the more scenic regions. They date back over 1,200 years and are known for their traditional tatami floors, communal baths, sliding doors, and cozy interiors. Ryokan s make for an intimate and unique Japanese experience, featuring included meals and traditional Japanese robes (called yukata ). Beds are traditional futons, and there is usually a common area where you can make tea and chat with the owner.

12. Soak in an onsen

Natural hot springs are widespread throughout the country, and can be found both indoors and outdoors. They are a great way to “soak in” some traditional Japanese culture. Each has a different mineral composition. Expect to pay around 1,000 JPY for a budget bathhouse. (Just note that many do not allow people with tattoos or require tattoos to be covered. They are also separated by gender.) Hakone is the most popular onsen destination as it’s just 90 minutes away from Tokyo and is nestled into the mountains. Other popular choices include Beppu, Yufuincho, Noboribetsu, and Ibusuki.

13. Explore Daisetsuzan National Park

If you make it all the way up to Hokkaido (the northern prefecture of Japan and second-largest island), be sure to spend some time exploring Daisetsuzan (“Great Snowy Mountains”) National Park. Located around two hours from Sapporo, the park offers numerous trails, and some of the most rugged and beautiful landscapes in the country. It’s also one of the last remaining places in Japan to see brown bears. The most popular hike here is Mount Asahidake, a challenging volcano that takes 3-4 hours. The park is a far cry from the tourist trail and usually just sees Japanese visitors, so you’ll get to enjoy a spot locals favor.

14. Relax in Okinawa

If you need a break from the fast pace of Japan, hop on down to Okinawa Prefecture, considered “the Hawaii of Japan.” Life proceeds at a much slower pace here, and the climate is subtropical. Even Naha, the biggest city in the region, is laid-back. Okinawa is famous for its diving opportunities as well as World War II sites and memorials. From Okinawa Honto (the main island), you can hop to other smaller islands by ferry, including some that are very remote and rarely see visitors (such as Iriomote or Kume). Camping, whale watching, and hitting the beach are some of the most popular activities here.

15. Admire Kanazawa

Located on the west coast, Kanazawa is known for its incredibly well-preserved Edo-era (1603–1868) districts (the final period of traditional Japan). Home to under 500,000 people, the city is called “Little Kyoto” — but without the oppressive crowds. I think this is a really nice, off-the-beaten-path destination. Make sure to see Tsuzumi-mon Gate, admire Kanazawa Castle, and explore the geisha districts and samurai district (Nagamachi), where numerous preserved houses remain. Head to the Omicho Fish Market for fresh fish and seafood (there are dozens and dozens of stalls here). And if you want to learn more about Buddhism, visit the DT Suzuki Museum (Suzuki was a Zen Buddhist academic and philosopher who helped introduce Zen Buddhism to the West).

16. Hike in the national parks

Japan may be a small country but it’s preserved a lot of its natural landscapes. There are 34 national parks, each offering respite from the hectic and dense cities that Japan is known for. Nikko (mentioned above) is best for seeing fall colors; Daisetsuzan (also mentioned above) has lots of remote onsen and challenging trails; Keramashoto, located in Okinawa, has some of the best islands and beaches, as well as over 250 types of coral; and Yoshino-Kumano is famous for its cherry blossoms. There are a lot of parks to choose from! Try to see at least one!

17. Visit Takashima

Home to just 50,000 people, Takashima is just a short drive from Kyoto on the coast of Lake Biwa (the largest freshwater lake in Japan). The city boasts castle ruins, plenty of old shrines and Buddha statues, and a picturesque floating torii gate (similar to the one in Miyajima) at the Shirahige Shrine. There’s also a four-kilometer (2.5-mile) walking route lined with cherry trees. Moreover, this town is famous for its Hida beef, which I think is the best beef in all of Japan. For a fun day trip, head to Chikubushima, a small island on Lake Biwa where you can visit centuries-old temples as you hike around the island.

  For information on specific cities in Japan, check out these city guides:

• Hiroshima Travel Guide
• Kyoto Travel Guide
• Tokyo Travel Guide

Japan Travel Costs

Accommodation – Expect to spend 2,500-4,500 JPY per night for a dorm room in a hostel (prices are on the higher end in larger cities like Tokyo or popular tourist destinations like Kyoto). Free Wi-Fi, private lockers, and self-catering facilities are standard in most hostels. But it’s uncommon for them to provide breakfast here. For a private room with a twin or double bed, expect to pay 6,500-15,000 JPY per night. Prices are generally the same year-round.

Capsule hotels cost 3,000-5,500 JPY for a tiny coffin-like pod that’s essentially just a bed, often with a small TV, light, and outlet to charge your devices. There are shared bathrooms and sometimes a small common room as well. It’s not fancy, but it’s a unique (and very Japanese) experience.

For (non-capsule) budget hotels, expect to spend 6,000-10,000 JPY per night for a double room. For Western hotel chains, expect to spend around 20,000 JPY or more per night. Note: For accommodation in Tokyo, add 50% to all these prices.

Airbnb is heavily regulated in Japan and, as such, there aren’t too many options. What rooms are listed are mostly hotels and guesthouses. Private homes/apartments usually start around 15,000-20,000 JPY per night, while private rooms (i.e., hotel rooms) run 8,000-10,000 JPY per night and up.

If you are looking for a more unique experience, consider staying at a ryokan , a traditional Japanese bed-and-breakfast. While they are more expensive than a standard hotel, it’s a unique and memorable experience, as you’ll get to sleep on traditional futons and tatami mats.

Food – Japanese cuisine is world-renowned and has even earned a spot on UNESCO’s Intangible Heritage List. While each region has its own specialties, rice, noodles, seafood, and seasonal produce all feature heavily no matter where you are. Plus, there’s izakaya (small plates), yakitori (grilled food), curry bowls, BBQ, and so much more. One of the best things about visiting Japan is the food.

Food in Japan is relatively inexpensive so long as it’s not imported (fresh fruit will blow your budget!). The most common cheap eats are using curry, donburi (bowls of meat and rice), or ramen. Curry and donburi bowls cost 500-700 JPY while ramen or soba noodles are usually around 1,200 JPY. Okonomiyaki (a Japanese pancake with noodles or rice) is between 1,000 and 1,300 Yen.

Fast food (think McDonald’s) is around 800 JPY for a set menu. You can also find plenty of cheap meals and prepackaged items at 7-Eleven (locals actually get a ton of food here as it’s delicious and quick). Noodles, rice balls, tofu, and prepackaged sushi are all available for only 250-500 JPY per item. (Trust me, it’s good!)

Most sit-down restaurant meals are going to cost you 2,000-3,000 JPY. Sushi conveyor belt restaurants (which are super fun) will run you 125-600 JPY per piece. Quicker lunch spots are going to be around 1,500 Yen.

Fine dining is a tradition rooted in Japanese culture, and kaiseki ryori is a style of high-end, multi-course Japanese dining that originated in Kyoto. It costs about 8,000-10,000 JPY for a set menu of seven courses, covering everything from chicken to Wagyu steak to sushi.

High-end omakase sushi restaurants (where dishes are selected by the chef) will set you back at least 10,000 JPY, though more likely closer to 20,000 JPY. (In Tokyo, the best ones are 30,000 JPY.)

Domestic beer is around 450-550 JPY, and sake is about 800-900 JPY per glass. A cocktail will set you back about 1,200 JPY, though at the famous cocktail bars in Tokyo, expect to pay closer to 1,600 Yen per drink. A latte or cappuccino is 500-600 JPY, and a bottle of water is 100-130 JPY. Soda is around 200 Yen.

Expect prices to be higher in the bigger cities and cheaper in the countryside.

Buying groceries costs around 5,000-6,000 JPY per week for basic staples like rice, vegetables, and fish. However, given the availability of such cheap food, it’s doubtful you’ll go grocery shopping to prepare your own meals.

Backpacking Japan Suggested Budgets

If you’re backpacking Japan, plan to budget 7,000 JPY per day. This assumes you’re staying in a hostel dorm, cooking some of your meals, eating at the cheap restaurants and takeaways, visiting free museums and temples, and using public transportation to get around.

On a more midrange budget of 16,000 JPY per day, you can stay in nicer accommodations, eat out more liberally, indulge in more drinks, visit more attractions, and, overall, just have some more breathing room in your travels! On this budget, you’ll be able to do most things.

On an upscale budget of 28,000 JPY per day or more, you can stay in traditional Japanese accommodations or two-star hotels, eat at nicer restaurants each day, splurge on some meals, enjoy drinks as often as you want, take tours, and, overall, just afford whatever you want!

You can use the chart below to get some idea of how much you need to budget daily, depending on your travel style. Keep in mind that these are daily averages — some days you’ll spend more, some days you’ll spend less (you might spend less every day). I just want to give you a general idea of how to make your budget. Prices are in JPY.

Japan Travel Guide: Money-Saving Tips

I think Japan’s reputation as an expensive country is overstated. Outside of accommodation and transportation, it’s actually really affordable. Is it super cheap? No. Is it super expensive? Not at all. There are plenty of ways to lower your costs and all non-imported food is really inexpensive. Here are some ways to save money when you visit:

• Visit the free attractions – With its countless museums, galleries, shrines, temples, historic neighborhoods, and parks, Japan is filled with opportunities to immerse yourself in its culture without spending a Yen. Moreover, many of the nation’s parks and gardens are also free. Start with them and you’ll fill your days on the cheap!
• Get a JR Pass – The bullet trains in Japan are ridiculously expensive, with one-way fares costing hundreds of dollars. If you plan to do a lot of traveling around the country, get the JR Pass , which allows you unlimited train travel and can save you a ton of money. It comes in 7-, 14-, and 21-day options. (Keep it mind it can only be purchased outside of Japan, so be sure to plan ahead.)
• Take the bus – Buses are a far more economical option than the trains. They cost a fraction of the price. For example, the unlimited Japan Rail Pass costs 29,650 JPY for seven consecutive days of travel, but this is far more expensive than using the bus. But buses take a lot longer. For example, the two-hour bullet train ride from Tokyo to Osaka becomes a 10-hour bus ride. Bottom line: if you have the time, take the bus.
• Shop at the 100-yen stores – There are many 100-yen shops around the country. They all sell meal sets, groceries, water bottles, toiletries, and household items. Store names vary by region, so ask your hotel or hostel reception where the nearest “Hyaku En” store is located.
• Eat at 7-Eleven – 7-Eleven, Family Mart, and other convenience stores have a lot of pre-made meals that make for a cheap lunch or snack. The food is actually really good and you’ll always see locals dipping in and getting a quick lunch or snack here. Don’t be afraid to at them.
• Cook your own food – Many hostels have kitchens where you can cook your own meals. Combining this with shopping at the 100-yen stores will drastically cut your food costs.
• Eat curry, ramen, and donburi – These dishes are the best option for eating cheap, filling meals. These cost from 400 – 1200 Yen (ramen is 1200). Shops specializing in these dishes are all over the country so you can easily find them. They are on every corner and the cheapest way to eat on a budget.
• Stay with a local – Using hospitality sites like Couchsurfing allows you to stay with residents, so you not only get a free place to stay but you get to interact with someone who can share their insider tips.
• Buy food before grocery stores close – After 8pm, many supermarkets discount their fresh food, as they have to get rid of it by law. You can save up to 50% on almost all ready-made meals. It’s a great cheap dinner.
• Hitchhike – Japan is one of the world’s safest countries, and many locals are curious enough to pick up foreign visitors. Hitchhiking isn’t really practiced by Japanese, so you will stand out as a tourist, which will increase your chances of finding a ride.

Where to Stay in Japan

There’s a lot of affordable accommodation in Japan, especially if you avoid Western style hotels and chains. To help you save money on accommodation, here’s my list of the best hostels and budget hotels in Japan:

• Hostel Chapter Two Tokyo (Tokyo)
• Hotel Century Southern Tower (Tokyo)
• Backpacker Hostel K’s House Kyoto (Kyoto)
• Gojo Guest House (Kyoto)
• The Pax Hostel Records (Osaka)
• Roku Hostel Hiroshima (Hiroshima)
• Guesthouse Akicafe Inn (Hiroshima)
• WeBase HAKATA Hostel (Fukuoka)

How to Get Around Japan

Public transportation – Metro or bus tickets cost 150–300 JPY for a single journey. (The price varies by distance and may often be higher.) Fares are usually around 220 JPY to travel across Tokyo but less for shorter distances. In most major cities, you can buy a day pass, which gives you unlimited travel for 24 hours for around 800-1,100 JPY.

Train – Train travel is the quickest way to get around Japan. The bullet train is awesome, comfortable, and super-fast — but it’s not cheap. Individual tickets can cost hundreds of dollars. In order to reduce your train costs, get a Japan Rail Pass , which is indispensable for travel here.

Even if you just get the seven-day pass, it’s the same price as a round-trip train ticket from Osaka to Tokyo. Moreover, the JR trains also serve urban areas and so can be used within cities. I used my pass to get around Kyoto and Tokyo instead of buying metro tickets.

So, even if you aren’t going to do much traveling around Japan, buying a pass is better than buying individual tickets. While the high price of the pass can cause sticker shock, the alternative is worse.

Additionally, be sure to download the Navitime app . It has offline maps, train and public transit routes, and info on train stations. It’s a lifesaver when trying to figure out how to get around the country.

Bus – Buses are a less expensive alternative to the bullet train system in Japan, but they take more time. For example, the two-hour bullet train ride from Tokyo to Osaka becomes a ten-hour bus ride. The price for that seat is 4,500-8,000 JPY, but at some point, you need to think about how much your time is worth.

There are also bus passes that offer unlimited travel and begin at 10,200 JPY for three nonconsecutive days of travel. You can use these two websites to book your bus journeys:

• Willer Express
• Japan Bus Lines

If you have more time than money, take the bus. Otherwise, I’d say splurge and take the train, because they really are much faster and much, much more comfortable.

To find bus routes and prices, use BusBud .

Flying – Generally, flight prices are on par with bullet train tickets. ANA, one of the country’s two main carriers, offers special last-minute fares via a hidden page on its website , usually for around 14,000 JPY for a seat. It’s only available to foreigners and can sometimes be cheaper than the flights you find on booking platforms, especially for longer routes around the country.

Flights from Tokyo to Okinawa are around 23,000 JPY (round-trip) while those from Tokyo to Sapporo are around 16,000 JPY (round-trip).

Car rental – With efficient public transportation and nationwide bullet trains, renting a car here really isn’t necessary. However, if you do need one, multi-day rentals start at 6,000 JPY per day. Just remember that people drive on the left here! For the best car rental prices, use Discover Cars .

When to Go to Japan

Temperature and weather vary drastically across Japan, meaning it’s always a good time to visit some part of the country. While most of Japan does have four seasons (including snowy, freezing winters in the north), Okinawa and the islands in the south are warm year-round. It gets cold in Tokyo, but it generally doesn’t snow.

Expect warm, humid weather from June through August, with temperatures hovering around 32°C (89°F). Japan also gets a lot of rain, mostly in the summer months, from mid-June to mid-July. It gets a little drier in August, before the precipitation picks up again in September. Typhoon season occurs from May to October. Japan is well-equipped to handle all types of typhoons, but be sure to purchase travel insurance in advance !

Overall, there’s no real bad time to visit. Winter is awesome for skiers or snowboarders, spring is famous for its cherry blossoms, summer is full of festivals, and fall has brilliant autumn colors and nice temperatures. I personally prefer spring and fall, as the summer heat and humidity is pretty oppressive.

How to Stay Safe in Japan

Japan is a very safe country. There’s virtually zero chance you’re going to get robbed, scammed, or hurt here. Your biggest issues will most likely come from other foreigners who get drunk and are causing trouble.

Solo female travelers should generally feel safe here, but the standard precautions apply (never leave your drink unattended at the bar, never walk home alone intoxicated, etc.). Japan does have a problem with groping, especially on packed trains. Most train companies now have “women-only” cars during rush hour (you’ll see pink signs indicating where women should board).

Scams in Japan are nonexistent. No one is going to rip you off. The listed price is the listed price and the same for everyone. There are no tourist prices here.

Your main risk here is from Mother Nature. Earthquakes and typhoons aren’t uncommon, so make note of exits when you arrive at your accommodation. Download offline maps to your phone, as well, in the event you may need to navigate the city during an emergency.

If you do experience an emergency, dial 110 or call the nonemergency Japan Helpline at 0570-000-911.

The most important piece of advice I can offer is to purchase good travel insurance. Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancelations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it, as I’ve had to use it many times in the past.

Japan Travel Guide: The Best Booking Resources

These are my favorite companies to use when I travel. They consistently have the best deals, offer world-class customer service and great value, and overall, are better than their competitors. They are the companies I use the most and are always the starting point in my search for travel deals.

• Skyscanner – Skyscanner is my favorite flight search engine. They search small websites and budget airlines that larger search sites tend to miss. They are hands down the number one place to start.
• Hostelworld – This is the best hostel accommodation site out there with the largest inventory, best search interface, and widest availability.
• Agoda – Other than Hostelworld, Agoda is the best hotel accommodation site for Asia.
• Booking.com – The best all around booking site that constantly provides the cheapest and lowest rates. They have the widest selection of budget accommodation. In all my tests, they’ve always had the cheapest rates out of all the booking websites.
• Get Your Guide – Get Your Guide is a huge online marketplace for tours and excursions. They have tons of tour options available in cities all around the world, including everything from cooking classes, walking tours, street art lessons, and more!
• SafetyWing – Safety Wing offers convenient and affordable plans tailored to digital nomads and long-term travelers. They have cheap monthly plans, great customer service, and an easy-to-use claims process that makes it perfect for those on the road.
• LifeStraw – My go-to company for reusable water bottles with built-in filters so you can ensure your drinking water is always clean and safe.
• Unbound Merino – They make lightweight, durable, easy-to-clean travel clothing.
• Japan Rail Pass – This is a flexible transportation pass used for navigating Japan. Similar to the Eurail pass in Europe, it turns expensive bullet trains into budget-friendly modes of transportation. You honestly can’t visit Japan without one.

Japan Travel Guide: Related Articles

Want more tips? Here are all the articles I’ve written on Japan travel to continue planning your visit:

How to Spend Your Time in Tokyo: A Suggested Itinerary

The Perfect 7-Day Japan Itinerary for First-Time Visitors

How to Travel Japan with a Baby

Where to Stay in Tokyo: The Best Neighborhoods for Your Visit

The Ultimate Japan Itinerary for First-Timers: From 1 to 3 Weeks

A Complete Guide to the Japan Rail Pass

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The 10 most wonderful places to visit in Japan

Mar 28, 2024 • 6 min read

From buzzing cities to serene forest walks, these are our favorite places to visit in Japan © Taiyou Nomachi / Getty Images

Japan offers up a real feast for travelers, with mountainside onsen (hot spring) villages, beach-lined islands and buzzing megacities all on the menu.

You could arguably spend a lifetime sampling the country’s delights, but some towns and sights are staples – core ingredients to any great Japan trip. Here’s our pick of the 10 best places to visit in Japan .

Best for contemporary culture

Tokyo is a city forever reaching into the future, pushing the boundaries of what's possible on densely populated, earthquake-prone land, and building ever taller, sleeker structures.

It's Japan's top spot for contemporary art and architecture, pop culture, shopping, drinking and entertainment (and a tie with Kyoto for dining). But more than any other sight, it's the city itself that enchants visitors.

It's a sprawling, organic thing, stretching as far as the eye can see. Constantly changing with a diverse collection of neighborhoods , no two experiences of Tokyo are ever the same.

Planning tip: Tickets for sumo, kabuki and Giants baseball games usually go on sale one to two months in advance. The Imperial Palace and Ghibli Museum are other popular attractions that require prior planning.

Best for traditional experiences

Kyoto , Japan's imperial capital for a thousand years, is home to more than a thousand temples. Among them are the monumental, like Kinkaku-ji (an exquisite pavilion sheathed entirely in gold leaf), and the meditative, like Ryōan-ji , with its stark Zen rock garden.

And temples are only the beginning. There's the culture of tea, which you can appreciate at one of the city's many elegant teahouses; the art of the geisha, those iconic performers of traditional music and dance; and also a rich food culture, including kaiseki (Japanese haute cuisine).

3. Naoshima

Best for architecture

Naoshima is one of Japan's great success stories: once a rural island on the verge of becoming a ghost town, it's now a world-class center for contemporary art.

Many of Japan's most lauded architects have contributed structures, including museums, a boutique hotel and even a bathhouse – all designed to enhance the island's natural beauty and complement its existing settlements.

The resulting blend of avant-garde and rural Japan is captivating. It has also inspired some Japanese to pursue a slower life outside the big cities, relocating to Naoshima to open cafes and inns.

Planning tip: Try to plan your visit during one of the three exhibitions of the  Setouchi Triennale festival, which happens during the spring, summer and fall every three years – the most recent was in 2022. Naoshima hosts various art, drama, music and dance events that make this festival really special.

Best for views and pilgrimages

Even from a distance,  Mt Fuji will take your breath away. Close up, the perfectly symmetrical cone of Japan's highest peak is nothing short of incredible. Dawn from the summit? Pure magic.

Fuji-san is among Japan's most revered and timeless attractions. Hundreds of thousands of people climb it every year, continuing a centuries-old tradition of pilgrimages up the sacred volcano.

Those who'd rather search for picture-perfect views from the less-daunting peaks nearby will be following in the steps of Japan's most famous painters and poets.

Planning tip: The best time to climb Mt Fuji is during its official season, from July 1 through mid-September, which avoids the rainy season and snowfall. Always check for typhoon warnings before hiking in Japan.

5. Hiroshima

Best for introspection

Hiroshima today is a forward-thinking city with attractive, leafy boulevards. It's not until you visit the Peace Memorial Museum that the true extent of human tragedy wreaked by the atomic bomb becomes vividly clear.

A visit here is a heartbreaking, important history lesson. The  park around the museum , much of which was designed by Japan's great modernist architect Tange Kenzō, offers many opportunities for reflection.

But the city's spirit of determination – as well as its food – will ensure that you'll have good memories to take with you when you leave.

6. Yakushima

Best for forest bathing

Yakushima, a small island off the coast of southern Kyūshū , is often described as magical and enchanting – otherworldly even. It's a place where words fail and clichés step in.

Home to some of Japan's last primeval forests, you'll find the yakusugi , an ancient cedar native to the island whose giant roots seem to form alien tentacles.

Hiking trails underneath them cover craggy terrain, often fuzzy with moss. The landscape here is believed to have inspired the iconic Studio Ghibli animated film,  Princess Mononoke .

Detour: When you're not hiking, stop by the  Yakusugi Museum to learn more about the importance of yakusugi  to the islanders of Yakushima. An English audio guide is available.

7. Koya-san

Best for exploring temples

Riding the funicular up to the sacred Buddhist monastic complex of Kōya-san feels, appropriately, like ascending to another world.

There are over a hundred temples here, the highlight of which is Oku-no-in , where paths weave their way among towering cryptomeria trees and time-worn stone stupas covered in moss and lichen.

Other temples offer a different experience: the chance to spend the night, dine on traditional vegetarian Buddhist cuisine and wake up early for morning meditation with the resident monks.

Planning tip: Though Japanese temples and shrines do not have established dress codes, visitors are expected to stay relatively quiet in these sacred spaces.

8. Okinawa and the Southwest Islands

Best for beaches

Okinawa and the Southwest Islands offer a totally different experience from the rest of Japan. This semi-tropical archipelago forms an arch between Kyūshū and Taiwan .

Until the islands were annexed by Japan in the 19th century, they formed their own kingdom – the Ryūkyū Empire – and the cultural differences are apparent in everything from the architecture to the food.

This is where you'll find Japan's best beaches, like those on the Yaeyama Islands  and the Kerama Islands, with sugar-white sand fringed with palms and turquoise waters. Bask in the sun, or snorkel and scuba dive.

Best for street food and nightlife

Tokyo doesn't nab all the superlatives when it comes to urban experiences. Osaka , Japan's third-largest city, is tops for street food: don't miss its signature dish, takoyaki (grilled octopus dumplings).

It also has the most dramatic of nightscapes: a dazzling display of LED lights, animated signage and flashing video screens along the canalside strip Dōtombori .

The city, Japan's oldest merchant center, has a pace, spirit and zest for life all of its own; its unofficial slogan is kuidaore (eat until you drop).

Planning tip: In addition to nightly accommodation fees, Osaka hotels will typically charge an accommodation tax that varies depending on the standard nightly rate.

10. Kamikōchi

Best for mountain hikes

One of Japan's most stunning natural vistas, Kamikōchi is a highland river valley enveloped by the soaring peaks of the Northern Japan Alps .

Easy day hikes are possible along the Azusa-gawa, following the pristine river through tranquil forests of willow, larch and elm.

The birthplace of Japanese alpinism, Kamikōchi is also the gateway for more challenging treks up some of the country's tallest mountains, such as Yari-ga-take (3180m/10,433ft). Private cars are banned from Kamikōchi, which lessens the impact of the crowds.

This article was first published Apr 29, 2021 and updated Mar 28, 2024.

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May 3, 2024 • 14 min read

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What’s it Like to Travel in Japan?

I thought I had finished writing about Japan, but it turns out I was wrong.

My posts about Japan  have quickly become my most-read of all time and I’m now starting to receive a hell of a lot of questions about how to make the most of a trip to this wonderful country. I’m diving back into my time in the Land of the Rising Sun , then, and planning on sharing a ton of resources over the next couple of weeks.

Up first: what it’s like to travel in Japan! These are my favourite type of blog posts to write — you can browse my growing collection of them on my What’s It Like to Travel In? page — as they allow me to blend a detailed travel guide with random observations, fun stories, and first impressions.

Let’s get stuck in!

It’s Going to Be Overwhelming for the First Few Days

Does that photo make you feel like having a panic attack and hiding away from the world? Me too.

Most people kick off their Japan adventure in Tokyo or Osaka, both of which are large cities full of bright lights, flashing signs, loud noises, unfamiliar smells, crowds of people, and plenty of chaos. When you throw a hefty case of jetlag into the mix, visitors often end up feeling as though they’re walking around in a bubble, unable to process what on earth is going on.

Arriving in Japan is culture shock to the extreme. I’ve been to 80-odd countries and I’ve never experienced it to the extent that I did here.

But the good news is that the sensory overload doesn’t last for long.

While you’ll never fully understand what’s happening as you travel around the country, the differences become less overwhelming and you quickly learn to embrace Japan’s unique mix of order and chaos.

But it Really Wasn’t That Weird?

Now, I don’t know about you, but when I first started planning my trip to Japan, I prepared myself to see   things . Strange things. Unexplainable things. Extraordinary things.

And… I didn’t.

I arrived in Tokyo, fully expecting to hit the ground and start taking photos of a thousand peculiar sights. I planned on barely sleeping during my trip, because I thought there’d be so much unfamiliarity to absorb.

Nope. 

I landed in Tokyo and it felt like a big city. A regular city. A familiar city.

Which isn’t to say it wasn’t special — I adored Tokyo — but just that it felt like a normal city filled with normal people. I didn’t run into people cosplaying on the streets, I wasn’t served by robots in restaurants, I wasn’t surrounded by outlandish fashion choices, I didn’t spot vending machines filled with used underwear on every street.

My preconceived notions of Japan were based on bad stereotypes that have been perpetuated by Western society and I felt like a dumbass for buying into them.

Japan was no more “weird” than any other country I’ve been to.  It has its quirks, sure, but what country doesn’t?

The Food is Going to Blow Your Mind

I’m  still talking about the incredible meals I devoured in Japan!

Whether it was the pork rib ramen in Osaka, the crispy takoyaki in Tokyo, or the fresh as hell sushi in Kyoto, I couldn’t get enough of the food in Japan. There was plenty of interesting foods to try for the first time, like pufferfish jerky and pickled quail eggs, and experiencing my first  kaiseki  (a traditional multi-course Japanese meal) was one of the highlights of my entire trip.

After visiting Japan, I can easily place Japanese food in my top 5 cuisines in the world, along with Mexican, Vietnamese, Greek, and Spanish. I even wrote a blog post about my favourite meals in Japan  because I was so enamoured with the food.

Train is the Best Way to See the Country

If you’re planning a trip to Japan, the first thing you should be doing is buying a Japan Rail Pass .

While the rail passes seem like a fairly large expense to pay up-front (I paid $420 for my two-week pass), they’ll more than likely save you money on your trip.

I’ll confess I was skeptical the passes would be as much of a necessity as people said, so picked one up then made a note of the cost of every train we took in the country. It turned out that my  14-day JR pass  saved me a whopping ¥19,000/$175! That’s a huge amount of money, so I’m firmly of the belief that this is an investment you’ll want to make.

Travelling by train across Japan is such an iconic experience, too. The trains are incredibly fast and punctual, the rail network is extensive, and it’s altogether a comfortable and convenient way to get around. It’s a huge expense if you’re going to be travelling in Japan on a budget, but I think it’s a cultural experience that’s worth splurging for.

Confession: I Was Baffled by Tokyo’s Metro

On our first day in Japan, my partner tweeted: “If you think you’re a competent traveller and would like to be very humbled, can I suggest trying to figure out the Tokyo metro?”

I’ve muddled my way around a hell of a lot of subway systems around the world, but Tokyo’s was the first to leave me well and truly flummoxed.

To start with, the stations are enormous. I was staying beside Shibuya station and it would regularly take me a solid 30-60 minutes to figure out where on earth my platform was even located. It was just as complicated trying to find the right exit!

The stations are hyper-busy, too. The top 20 busiest train stations in the world are all found in Japan. Shinjuku station — the busiest — sees 3.6 million people transiting through it every single day . I can’t even comprehend that many people passing through a single building, let alone every day!

Oh, and here’s a map of the Tokyo metro and train lines:

For some reason, buying the correct ticket seemed to be impossible for us to do correctly! The Tokyo subway system is operated by three separate companies, and you’ll need different tickets for the lines that each company owns.

If our route required us to change stations, we simply could not buy the right ticket. I don’t think we succeeded even once! Even when we were convinced we finally understood where we were going, our ticket would invariably fail in the machines when we went to change lines and we’d need to find help from a member of staff. It’s probably no great surprise that we ended up walking around Tokyo for most of our time there and only used the subway three times.

What we should have done, however, was buy a SUICA card, rather than bothering with single tickets. It’s a rechargeable travel card that’s valid on all of the metro and train lines across Japan, and it would have saved us a hell of a lot of time, confusion, and hassle.

It’s Worth Getting Out of the Main Cities While You’re There

A lot of people devise an itinerary that’ll take them to the three big hitters in Japan tourism: Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. And while those cities are undoubtedly most popular for a reason, I found myself really enjoying the lesser-known spots just as much.

Wandering around the town of Yamanouchi in freshly-fallen snow was a wonderful experience, Takayama was the perfect place to learn about traditional Japanese architecture, and beautiful Miyajima Island was the most relaxing stop on my trip.

Even if you don’t have a huge amount of time in Japan, I’d still recommend jumping on a day trip or two to explore outside of the huge cities. Hit up Nara as a day trip from Kyoto, head to Hakone to see Mount Fuji as a day trip from Tokyo, or set off for Myajima Island for some respite on a day trip from Hiroshima.

During my next visit to Japan, I’d like to get further away from the beaten track and explore a bunch of places I haven’t even heard of right now. Which, yes, is essentially me admitting to being too lazy to research lesser-known places in Japan to include here.

There’s a Lot of Animal Attractions… Most of Which Exhibit Dubious Ethics

Japan is the land of animals being treated badly, unfortunately.

As you travel across the country, you’ll be struck by how many animal cafes you can visit. There’s hedgehog cafes, otter cafes, owl cafes, alpaca cafes, ferret cafes, penguin bars, and the vast majority of them are not doing great things for the animals’ health.

In Japan, owl cafes offer the chance to sit beside  a tethered owl  that’s been forcibly domesticated and will never be allowed the opportunity to fly. In 2016, a cat cafe in Tokyo was shut down after  it was discovered  owners were keeping 60 cats within a 30 square metre rom. The penguin bar in Tokyo  keeps four penguins captive  in a tiny enclosure at the back of a smoky bar.

I went to a hedgehog cafe in Tokyo and came away  feeling conflicted by the ethics of me having done so, and decided I wouldn’t repeat the experience.

Even the snow monkeys ended up being a disappointment for me. The animals were herded towards tourists by staff, fed in order to keep them from leaving the hot springs, encouraged to fight with each other, and generally seemed to be distressed that they couldn’t get away.

And this was just what I personally experienced. Japan has also experienced international condemnation for a whole host of animal welfare violations, from whaling to the Taiji dolphin hunt.

If in doubt, steer clear of any animal-based attractions in Japan.

Japan’s Vending Machines are the Bomb

I loved the vending machines in Japan! They’re everywhere, sometimes dozens of them in a row, and they’re standing on practically every street. There’s over 5 million of them — one for every 23 people in the country — and they’ll be one of the first things you notice when you first arrive.

The vast majority of them sell drinks — hundreds of varieties, from the delicious-but-gross-sounding electrolyte-filled Pocari Sweat to hot coffee in a can — and they’re a fantastic way to stay refreshed while you’re exploring

And, of course, there’s a whole bunch of unusual stuff you can buy from them, too, like actual puppies, live lobsters and beetles, a Coke that freezes into a slushy when you open it, umbrellas, surgical masks, mystery boxes, pizzas, ties, wigs for dogs, origami, and yes, used women’s underwear. I even ordered several meals from a vending machine in Japan!

And You’ll Probably Get Weirdly Excited Over the Toilets

Everybody falls in love with Japanese toilets! I feel like such a predictable beast for even including this in my post, but let’s face it: Japan’s toilets are in a whole other league.

So what’s so life-changing about them? They have so many features! As someone who visited the country during winter, I loved that there was a seat warmer. On top of that, there’s a built-in bidet that self-cleans between each use and a blow-dryer for afterwards. You can adjust where the water sprays, the temperature of it, and the amount of pressure it applies. You can even play music from the toilet if you don’t want anybody to hear what you’re doing in there, and some feature a deodoriser, too.

The buttons on the toilet are fairly self-explanatory, but every one I used had a slightly different design and set of features, which kept things fun. Mystery toilet!

As I begin contemplating buying a house within the next couple of years, let me tell you that I’m already thinking about how I’m going to get myself a Japanese toilet for it!

Why Are There So Many Ugly Cars?

Why are the cars in Japan so squished and blocky?!

One of the first things I noticed after arriving in the country was how many odd-looking cars there were. There were so many that looked like this photo: like they’d been plopped into a car crusher for a second, then removed and placed on the streets.

Yeah, It’s Fairly Expensive, But Also Not That Expensive

I put off travelling to Japan for years due to one simple reason: I didn’t think I could afford it.

To my great surprise, it ended up being much more affordable than I expected! In total, I paid just under $100 a day while travelling as part of a couple on a mid-range budget. That included my rail pass, accommodation in hotels and guesthouses, entrance tickets to temples and attractions, food and drink, and travel insurance. I’ve definitely visited more expensive countries in the world.

For more information on my expenses, check out my detailed guide on how much it costs to travel in Japan .

There Are So Many Different Types of Accommodation

One aspect I loved about Japan travel is how many different types of accommodation there are to stay in. I tried to check out as many of them as possible.

I stayed in a capsule hotel, spent a night in a ryokan, slept on a tatami mat floor, hung out in family-run guesthouses, and checked out some pretty hipster hostels.

My biggest surprise was learning that sleeping on a tatami mat was so comfortable! I often opted for the tatami mat rooms over Western-style bedrooms, as they’re usually a couple of dollars cheaper, and they worked out to be just as comfortable. I actually found it super cool to be staying in a minimalist room without any furniture! My only complaint was the smell of the tatami mats — most people love it, but I just couldn’t get used to it.

Staying in a ryokan was another exciting accommodation experience. These Japanese inns are generally known for being super-expensive, giving you the opportunity to experience a traditional local lifestyle. You’ll stay in a tatami mat room, bathe in a communal onsen, and tuck into a kaiseki with the other guests during dinner and breakfast. It was one of the coolest experiences I had in the country.

My final accommodation standout was a capsule hotel. I stayed here more for the novelty than the comfort levels, but it ended up being surprisingly cosy. My room had around 20 beds in small pods, all packed in together, but you still had a lot of privacy. I had my own little light in my capsule, my own power sockets, temperature control, and a curtain to close to keep people from peering in. These are a great way to save money in Japan, so I’d recommend trying them out if you’re going to be visiting on a budget.

I Felt Super-Safe in Japan

Japan has a reputation for being one of the safest countries in the world, and I certainly never felt in any danger while I was there. I felt perfectly safe exploring the country alone, walking around at night on my own, sleeping on the train with my bags at my feet, and carrying my expensive camera in the open. I felt safer in Japan than anywhere else I’ve been in the world.

Still, that doesn’t mean that you should grow complacent and let your guard down. As with any country in the world, you should still keep watch over your belongings, be wary of complete strangers that are taking a sudden interest in you, and be careful with your alcohol consumption. All that good stuff.

Oh, and you should probably refresh your knowledge on what to do if there’s an earthquake before you get there. I experienced my first earthquake in Taiwan and because I grew up in the U.K., had no idea what to do. I remember feeling my bunkbed rattle beneath me as I frantically googled what to do in an earthquake. I should have been better prepared.

My fellow female travellers out there may want to utilise the women-only train carriages during peak travel times to ensure you’re away from any wandering hands — this is likely the only safety issue you’ll encounter in the country.

Keep your wits about you, take common sense safety measures, and you’ll have a wonderful time.

Winter is Going to Be Cold

Japan gets freezing in the winter and scorching in the summer.

I visited in December and was so cold. So much colder than I thought I would be. Although I confess to having little tolerance to the cold, so you’ll probably think I was being pathetic. Temperatures hovered around the freezing mark, and it snowed in Hiroshima and Yamanouchi. I regularly wore five layers of clothing and still spent most of my time shivering.

Visiting during summer takes you to the other end of the temperature spectrum. It gets super-hot in the summer months, with temperatures hitting as much 40 degrees (100°F) some years.

This is a destination that’s best visited in the spring or autumn.

But the Bonus with that is the Onsens!

One of the huge bonuses to visiting in the winter is getting to dive into Japan’s onsen culture. Onsen is the Japanese word for hot spring, and you’ll find them scattered all over this volcanic country. Some are outdoors, some are inside, some are found in guesthouses, ryokans, and hotels, some are in public bathhouses, some are public, some are private, some are same sex, some are mixed gender. The only rule is that you have to be naked.

I jumped in an onsen almost every night of my trip and it was so relaxing and comforting to do so. I highly recommend looking for accommodation with on-site onsens, as it allows you a little more privacy. At my hostel in Hakone and my ryokan in Yamanouchi, I got to jump in the private couples onsen with my boyfriend, which was so much fun!

In theory, you’re not supposed to use the onsens in Japan if you have tattoos, although the rules have relaxed in recent years. If you have one that can’t be covered up with a bandaid, I’d recommend checking out Tattoo Friendly , which lists hundreds of Japanese onsens you can visit if you’re inked.

And that was Japan!

This post was so much fun to write! If I’m being honest, I think I could have sat down and written another 3,000 words about my time in Japan — there’s just so much to learn from this country.

I can’t wait to return.

Have you been to Japan? If not, do you dream of visiting one day?

Related Articles on Japan 🏯 How to Spend Two Weeks in Japan: An Itinerary for First-Time Visitors 💴 The Cost of Travel in Japan: My Budget Breakdown 🍣 15 Weird and Wonderful Things to Eat in Japan 🎌 23 Incredible Things to Do in Osaka, Japan 😎 Hipster Harajuku: The Coolest Neighbourhood in Tokyo 🦔 Should You Go to a Hedgehog Cafe? My Experience in Japan 🐒 Why Seeing the Snow Monkeys in Japan Sucked

Lauren Juliff

Lauren Juliff is a published author and travel expert who founded Never Ending Footsteps in 2011. She has spent over 12 years travelling the world, sharing in-depth advice from more than 100 countries across six continents. Lauren's travel advice has been featured in publications like the BBC, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Cosmopolitan, and her work is read by 200,000 readers each month. Her travel memoir can be found in bookstores across the planet.

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25 comments.

Japan sounds fascinating on so many levels. I think I would feel overwhelmed at first, but reading your post has made me think that going here is still achievable for us. I would love to experience a capsule hotel and their crazy vending machines as well as the cultural side of the country

This is a very useful post, Lauren! Elliot and I are most likely going to go to Japan next year (we’re thinking autumn), and I’m already overwhelmed thinking about planning it. So hearing helpful tips about trains (and that SUICA card!) and tattoo-friendly onsens is great!

I went to Japan last year for the first time and I feel like we barely scratched the surface! My favourite dish was pork ramen, it was the first meal I had in Kyoto and it was absolutely delicious. I can’t wait to go back!

Good point about being prepared for earthquakes. I’ve never experienced one, but if I continue traveling the way I do now, then maybe it’s just a matter of time. It makes me kind of nervous. You wrote it was your first earthquake, have you experienced many? And in that case, where? In Asia?

I never been drawn to Japan but as usual after reading your blog posts about a destination I feel an urge to go there NOW. You’re such a good writer!

Cool post Lauren. Did you take any of the high-speed trains while you were there? One of the best parts of my trip to Japan was experiencing the fast bullet trains. They go 320 km/h!

I’ve been staring at that metro map for the last 5 minutes trying to figure it out! :D Thank you for sharing this. I’m planning on heading to Japan soon, hopefully in a few months, and this definitely helps get me prepared for it, at least mentally :)

It’s true that Japan is not as expensive as everyone seems to think. Of course it’s a country with a high standard of living, but there are many ways for the budget traveler to get around that. For instance, most supermarkets have a cook preparing fresh food to sell. It’s usually quite good and way cheaper than restaurants. Plus, if you come 1 hour or so before they close, they’ll offer big discounts on the last meals available!

When is the best time to travel to Japan? You would say April/May or September/October? Which is the perfect month in your opinion?

This post really reminds me of the one have years I spent living in Japan. Japan is such a unique and special country in so many ways but it was difficult to live there.

I used to always hate Shibuya station. I don’t was trying avoid getting off there are changing there because I would inevitably get lost. One thing that I did live about Japan now is that sometimes you could find Beer vending machines I found that so cool.

Oh and then the small cars are called K cars. They have cheaper insurance. I think people like them because of the limited parking space, you even have to pay extra to park your car outside your apartment.

I really love Japan! I always make sure to eat my fave Japanese Food when I’m there and yes, the Metro gave me a headache too!

The map of local trains actually scared me haha. Surely I’d get lost in this mess. Off great post as always ;)

This is not appropriate for school children in the beginning It said a very naughty word in the very beginning I’m Offended. and It also said Dumba**

Why on earth would you think my site was written for kids?

Wow! I’m a lazy person Lauren, but you make travel seem so awesome! I love your writing- your words are clear and your voice is really articulate. You’re an image for women all around the world- follow your dreams!

The key to the Tokyo subway system is to focus on the Yamanote Line, which is the main loop around central Tokyo. From there, you can connect to other lines to take you where you want to go.

We love Tokyo and my daughter and I have even done a 72 hours in Tokyo trip! She still talks about Tokyo and a recent trip to Hong Kong was a good comparison for her, but she still likes Tokyo better.

Piss Alley was a blast – mostly Yakitori stands are what is mostly there now – but there is a good little Ramen joint, and another we really liked is gone now.

There are also a ton (no kidding!) of great sushi places – web search for cheap sushi in Tokyo for lots of options.

Another great place we loved to eat at was Pepper Lunch – they serve the food to you on a flat-iron cooker that comes straight out of the oven – and you cook your food and eat it!

Tokyo is not intimidating – it’s a great place to visit and signs are in English (mostly) and the city is pretty easy to navigate.

Thanks so much for sharing, Brent!

The picture telling people to not poke the face of Sarubobo is so typically Japan, I love it!! I recently moved to Tokyo to take a break from backpacking and I have to pinch myself every day that I get to live in this hectic and beautiful city. You’ve captured Tokyo and Japan’s quirks really well!

Good article. Visited Japan last year for ten days and absolutely loved it. Like many people, I also postponed visiting due to fears about very high cost, but once there I realize it is not that bad- how much you spend is really dependant on your tastes and how much luxury you require. It is very possible to do Japan on a budget, you just have to know ways to save money. Fore example, many corner stores sell packaged, relatively inexpensive meals that tasty and healthy for only a fraction of the price of what you would pay in a restaurant.

Hi, I enjoyed reading your article. The pics are beautiful, especially the one with the train on the bridge. I have to mention a few things that stuck with me. First…OMG! I got vertigo just by looking at the metro map. Used women’s underwear!? Really??? I laughed when I read your description of the cars “squished and blocky”. Yup! I will go to Japan just to use the toilets. LOL! Great post. Can’t wait to go there.

Hope you have a wonderful time there! :-)

I am going to Japan at the end of december, 1. I really tought it wasnt going to be that cold, but you now scare me a little :P. I live in Medellin now (70F all year) but I use to live in upstate NY, how come I can get so scare about cold? ehehe 2. I really wanted to see the snow money park. In the pictures, the mokeys look so Zen :(. But after reading your post, I am for sure not going. I love animals, but I dont want to see them being misstreated or in distress

Oh, don’t be scared of the cold in Japan! I’m super sensitive to it after spending seven-odd years travelling in mostly tropical places.

Really appreciated this post! I can’t wait to get to Japan :)

One of the best articles I’ve read on Japan that shows me exactly what to expect as a traveler.

I highly recommend using google maps while riding public transportation in Japan. With Tokyo’s subway systems, it offers detailed instruction for transferring plus giving you the exact exit numbers to use to reach your destination. One warning, Japanese people walk about twice faster than me, the estimated transfer time is usually not enough for me. However, the next one is usually minutes away. I have used it successfully in other parts of Japan with public transportation systems that will link all options in Osaka, Nara, Fukuoka and Kanazawa. I am not 100% sure about very rural area which I usually get to by car.

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Meet Lauren Juliff

A complete 7 day itinerary for Japan

Japan is a country I have long wanted to visit, with incredible mountain scenery, one of the world’s most chaotic & quirky cities (Tokyo), a long history of culture & tradition, and of course incredible cuisine with authentic sushi on offer everywhere you turn.

I have been asked many times over the past few years of blogging why I have not yet been to Japan, with the answer being that I was just waiting for a time that was right. This is a country I wanted to see as a whole over at least 2 weeks, instead of just flying in for a quick city trip to Tokyo or a ski trip in one of Japan’s famous ski resorts.

When I came across the Splendours of Japan Tour with Trafalgar (who I have travelled with previously in Peru ), it seemed like a great opportunity to take one of my parents overseas to visit Japan, as I knew either of them would appreciate the culture and history unlike anyone else I knew – so I booked my dad a plane ticket, told him to pack his bags, and we were off!

My Trip to Japan: Tokyo

Japan’s capital Tokyo is weird, wonderful, and at time completely whacky – but that is precisely what makes it such a sought after city for international visitors.

Our trip started in Tokyo as it is the main gateway to Japan and a great city to spend a few days discovering its many pockets – from the hustle and bustle of Shibuya & Shinjuku, over to the quiet peace and serenity of Japan’s public parks, and all the way through to Tokyo’s gaming district; Akihabara.

Be sure to allow yourself at least 3-5 days in this city as there is much to see and do – including tourist hot spots like the Mieji Shrine; Sensō-ji temple; Ueno Park for remarkable cherry blossom viewing in Spring; Harajuku for young fashion, nearby Omotesando for grown-up fashion, Tokyo Tower for impressive views at sunset, and if you have more time, day trips to Tokyo Disneyland, Disney Sea, or nearby Mt. Fuji.

For our Tokyo hotel we stayed at New Hotel Otani and I would highly recommend it, though for location I would have preferred to be position in Shibuya or Shinjuku.

Further reading:

A Quick Guide to Tokyo

Mt. Fuji Day Trip

After enjoying all of the chaos and craziness that is Tokyo, allow yourself one day to get out of the hustle and bustle and escape to nearby Mt. Fuji to view the impressive mountain where many Japanese and foreign guests make their climb to the summit each year.

Whilst here enjoy great views (weather dependent) from Lake Kawaguchi and enjoy a delightful blueberry + vanilla soft serve from the gift store.

Onwards from Mt. Fuji we proceeded to visit Hakone, a small village on lake Ashi, which also offers great views of Mt. Fuji from afar by taking the cable car to the viewing platform.

Further Reading:

Matsumoto Castle (En route to Takayama)

After 3 nights in Tokyo (I would suggest booking at least 1-2 more nights to allow time to see/do everything in Tokyo), we made our way by bus to Takayama via Matsumoto Castle – one of Japan’s most picturesque castle. Also known as crow’s castle due to its black exterior, this castle is entirely built of wood and as per Japanese tradition, built completely without nails (it pieces together like a jigsaw puzzle and can be entirely pulled apart and put back together).

There isn’t a great deal to see beyond the castle, so after a quick look inside and walk around the grounds, it was onwards to Takayama in the same day!

This gorgeous little city known as Takayama is the gateway to the Hida region. One day to explore this city is enough time to see most points of interest, though if time is on your side this would be a great town to slow down and spend a couple days immersed in Japanese culture and traditions.

Soft serve ice cream plays a big role in Takayama with many flavours available on the many street – don’t be afraid to try them all! There are also some great Izakaya restaurants here (casual Japanese food), offering a great chance to try regional food.

For our hotel in Takayama we stayed at the three-star Hida Plaza Hotel . I wouldn’t particularly recommend it and I believe Takayama is a great location to try a traditional Ryokan whilst in Japan.

A Quick Guide to Takayama

Gokoyama & Shirakawago

After two nights in Takayama, we made our way through countryside villages toward the busy city of Kanazawa – but as is often the case, today was all about the journey to get there.

En route we stopped at two traditional villages – characterised by thatched roofs and traditional wooden houses. These two villages are UNESCO World Heritage listed as they portray Japanese traditional in its truest form – so be sure to take plenty of photos!

Onwards we stopped at a Nomura House, a traditional samurai house where we learned the history of the local region, ongoing traditions and the history of the samurai.

Sadly I have only a couple of rainy, not-so-clear photos to show from our time in Kanazawa, as we experience rained for the two days we were though and thus mostly stayed indoors.

Should you be received in Kanazawa with sunshine, be sure to visit Kenroku-en, regarded as one of Japan’s three most beautiful gardens and just next door is Kanazawa castle, which is also worthy of a visit.

Kanazawa is a larger city (with multiple Starbucks and McDonalds if that gives any indication!), so I would recommend just one day to explore here, to allow for more time in the countryside or cities that have more to offer in terms of sightseeing and culture – like the next stop; Kyoto!

For our hotel in Kanazawa we stayed at the Kanazawa Tokyu Hotel , which I would highly recommend for both location & a fantastic buffet breakfast!

Once the capital of Japan, Kyoto is as idyllic as one could ever imagine Japan to be. Although the charm of Kyoto lies beneath the bustling city that it is today, when you take the back streets you soon begin to discover the history, culture and traditions that live on in Japan to this day.

Be sure to wander through Gion, Kyoto’s most renowned Geisha district and an absolute mecca for green tea (matcha) lovers! Here green tea comes in any and all forms – ice cream, parfaits, frappes, hot lattes and more!

Kyoto is also home to the famous Fushimi Inari Taira – an incredible shrine of thousands of red torii gates that line the 4 kilometre stretch to the sacred Mt. Inari. Nature lovers will enjoy the bamboo groves, whilst those looking for a city escape can always make a quick trip to Osaka – just a 30 minute express train ride away!

For our hotel in Kyoto we stayed at the  Hotel Nikko Princess  which I would highly recommend due to the large rooms, amazing service (particularly from the concierge), great location and a great breakfast buffet.

A Quick Guide to Kyoto

Although Osaka wasn’t on our itinerary for the tour, we had an extended stay at the end in Kyoto, which allowed for a spontaneous trip to nearby Osaka (30 minutes by express train from Kyoto). The trip happened completely by chance, as we were sat in our hotel room making a plan for the following two days, deciding when would be best to visit each location for less crowds, particularly as it was a public holiday that day. All of a sudden we made the decision to head out of Kyoto to nearby Osaka and experience the hustle and bustle of now my absolute favourite city in Japan.

My favourite areas to explore in Osaka were Shinsekai and Dotonbori. Shinsekai felt like a time warp as you quite literally step back in time to a Japan that time forgot, but of course with the added colour and livelihood of the 21st Century! Dotonbori is the main tourist thoroughfare in Osaka which is also home to the best street food in Osaka (and some of the best in Japan), whilst allowing plenty of opportunities to spend some cash.

A Quick Guide to Osaka

World of Wanderlust experience the Splendours of Japan Tour as a guest, however my opinions and oodles of photos are all my own!

Brooke Saward founded World of Wanderlust as a place to share inspiration from her travels and to inspire others to see our world. She now divides her time between adventures abroad and adventures in the kitchen, with a particular weakness for French pastries.

Find me on: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

*early next year

Hi Brooke! I love your Japan travel blog! Planning to go there early next week. Btw, may I ask what camera do you use? Your photos are fantastic!

Great post, japan is so calming even though i haven’t been there by reading your post i feels like i was also there. hope i can visit there soon and try alot of ramen, thankyou!

Great blog! Thanks for sharing informative and complete japan itinerary.

Japan always make me dream…and you made that too with your post and pictures!! I really can’t wait for restrictions to go away, the first place i’m gonna visit are Gokoyama e Shirakawago for sure!

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How Two Weeks in Tokyo Helped Me Rediscover My Personal Style

By Michelle Li

Back in April, I landed in Japan at 3 a.m. after a long flight from New York—and awoke three hours later to begin my first (jetlagged) day in Tokyo. Thankfully, more than any other destination, Tokyo has always had the remarkable ability to reinvigorate me—and just as importantly, how I get dressed. It’s a city of contradictions, with subway supermalls only a few steps away from a serene neighborhood shrine, or charming streets with local ramen and third-floor monjayaki spots located across from a seven-floor TGI Fridays. Which instead of confusing me, makes complete sense—contradictions and contrasts have always been the bedrock of my approach to style.

Recontextualizing an item in an unexpected way was how I originally found my place within the fashion industry. A pair of track pants with a ruffled feminine top, an anorak with a soft chiffon skirt, pastels with a hint of neon. It’s a delicate balancing act that I felt I’d lost over the past few years in New York City. I had started to question if I was overcomplicating the items in my closet—even pieces I loved—after spending too much time on social media.

So, I started planning this trip. There are some vacations that are meant for relaxing (by the beach, cocktail in hand) and other vacations that are meant for challenging yourself. Historically, Tokyo has pushed me out of my comfort zone—but I’ve always come home feeling reinvigorated creatively.

This would be my third trip to Japan. The last time I visited was in 2019: I was a fashion assistant at a magazine, my hair was pink, and in all honesty, I still didn’t have my personal style quite figured out. I packed my usual everyday items: a puffer coat, some easy comfortable pants, a few sweatshirts, and a pair of Skechers. But after returning home, I felt a sartorial shift after observing how authentically everyone dressed for themselves in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. People dressed in outfits that felt truly lived in. Thoughtfully tailored to be worn for a lifetime. Making a convincing case for putting care into the clothing you already own. I remember clearly thinking: This is how you translate those fashion editorials into your real, everyday life.

By Daniel Rodgers

By Christian Allaire

So it was that spirit I tried to reconnect with when I began packing my suitcase for two weeks in Tokyo. It forced me to get creative with how I built my outfits, and to see the clothing I own in a new context. When in Tokyo, my “boring” everyday denim and leather jackets looked shiny and new. My two pairs of shoes seemed to be the only shoes I would ever need! I packed some wild-card-last-minute-decision items, like a pair of green lace-up leather pants and a striped Kiko Kostadinov dress. These pieces—that see the light of day only a few times every year in New York City—somehow became staple items in Tokyo. I started brainstorming outfits around the daunting pieces in my closet at home that I loved but had neglected. It could even be the simple process of adding a belt, or trying a different pair of shoes to bring out a different texture. It reminded me that an outfit doesn’t have to go big to be good.

In Tokyo, where overstimulation is only a subway ride away (if that), instead of feeling panicked when I got out of Shibuya station, I felt a sense of calm and curiosity. I could process it all on my own time. I was staying at K5 Hotel in Kabutocho, formerly the financial district and home to the Tokyo Stock Exchange, and housed in a bank building that dates back to 1923. My everyday routine was simple: I woke up and read a few chapters of My Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion (I try to read a book every vacation so that I can associate the book with the trip), then headed out for the day to find breakfast (a surprisingly difficult task because a lot of places in Tokyo don’t open until 11 a.m.), then took my time popping into shops in various neighborhoods. By 8 p.m., I was exhausted and ready to go to the local sento —or neighborhood communal bathhouse—and give myself time to fully process everything I saw that day.

Instead of “decompressing” by scrolling mindlessly on TikTok and Instagram, I would reflect on the outfits I saw that day. I especially loved seeing the unique styles of the salarymen on their way to work, with the subtlest winks to their own personal style. Like the guy I sat across from on the train with a Comme des Garcons multi-pocket briefcase reading manga on his way to work, or the elderly man I spotted in one of the city’s smoking sections wearing a leather Bottega Veneta tie. Beautiful pieces of clothing brought to life by the authenticity of how they were worn. The kind of thing you can only appreciate when you see it in real life.

On my final days in Tokyo, I began to find myself mentally removing items that I had previously put in the box of “things I would never wear.” (V-neck sweaters, collared shirts, bomber jackets, anything yellow—the list goes on.) I asked myself why I felt so inspired and excited to dress up every day in Tokyo, but couldn’t bring that same energy to my day-to-day life in New York City? For some reason, after two weeks here, getting dressed here felt like an opportunity, not an obligation.

Now that I’m back home, I’ve been inspired to undergo a massive closet overhaul. But instead of waving items of clothing goodbye, I’ve been trying everything on, thinking about the fit, and finding new places for it in my wardrobe. It’s challenging to find ways to grow with your clothing (trust me and my green leather lace-up pants) but as I’ve learned from my trip to Tokyo, it’s worth it. Sometimes all it takes is getting dressed in a new city to get you excited again about the clothes you already own.

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JRailPass.com » Japan Travel Blog » Why travel to Japan? 20 best reasons to visit it

Why travel to Japan? 20 best reasons to visit it

June 15, 2022

There are a endless number of reasons to visit Japan , as the country has something to entice almost every kind of traveler.

Whether you’re dying to explore Japanese history and culture at the variety of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the country, indulge in diverse Japanese cuisine, or experience a ride on the lighting-fast Shinkansen trains, a trip to Japanese promises adventure around every corner.

From the chance to visit some of the many impressive temples and castles around the country, to the opportunity to take a dip in an Onsen hot spring, below you’ll find the 20 best reasons why you should visit Japan .

It’s easy to get around on public transportation

Japan has one of the most efficient and reliable public transport systems in the world, with a wide range of travel options including bus, train, and subway services across the country.

One of the best ways to get between cities is to ride the Shinkansen bullet trains , which can reach a speed of up to 300 km/h and boast a range of luxury services onboard. The most cost-efficient way to travel by Shinkansen is to buy a JR Pass online before traveling to Japan.

Book your Japan Rail Pass now

Japan is very clean

The Japanese really pride themselves on their cleanliness , and upon first arrival in the country you may be surprised by how sparkling clean the streets are.

Hotels and restaurants tend to be absolutely spotless , filled with pleasant smells, and regularly and efficiently cleaned. One downside is that there tends to be a total absence of trash cans in public spaces. However, you can just follow the Japanese example and carry garbage with you until you find a place to get rid of it later on.

Japanese people are polite and friendly

The Japanese have a worldwide reputation for being uncommonly polite, friendly, and welcoming. Although the language barrier may prove a challenge at times, people in Japan usually try to be as helpful as possible if you ask anything of them.

It’s a good idea to brush up on Japanese etiquette tips before traveling: locals will appreciate your efforts to respect local customs!

The incredible natural landscapes

Although Japan is perhaps best known internationally for its technologically advanced cities, the majority of the country is actually taken up by a vast expanse of forested hills and mountains , and there is lots of nature to explore.

One of the most obvious beauty spots to visit is the iconic Mount Fuji , but you shouldn’t rule out a visit to lesser known natural gems such as the Arashiyama bamboo forest or the Ritsurin landscape gardens on Shikoku Island .

The large number of UNESCO sites

Japan boasts a total of 21 World Heritage Sites , including 17 cultural monuments and 4 natural landscapes, and there are currently 8 more sites pending UNESCO classification.

Travelers interested in Japanese history should definitely pay a visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial , which commemorates the victims of the 1945 atomic bomb, as well as Shirakawago and Gokayama , historic villages which feature unique thatched-roof dwellings.

The majestic temples in Japan

There are number of stunning historic temples and shrines in almost every town and city in Japan, while larger cultural centers can have up to 1,000 temples within their municipality.

One of the most impressive temples in Japan is the Byodoin Buddhist temple in Uji, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that dates back over a thousand years. The Toji temple in Kyoto , which boasts the tallest wooden pagoda in Japan and an extensive garden full of cherry trees, is also well worth visiting.

The unique castles

Visitors to Japan can dig deep into the country’s history by exploring the elegant architecture and fascinating family legacies of Japanese castles.

Primarily serving as the homes for local feudal lords and their family during the Sengoku period of Japanese history, the castles in Japan are defined by their elegant façades and interiors, as well as extensive defensive features.

Some of the most impressive castles in Japan include the well-preserved Hikone castle , which dates back to 1622, and the castle in Himeji .

The spectacular cherry blossom season

Japan is one of the best places in the world to view the spring cherry blossom and attend a Cherry blossom festival.

Once the cherry blossom season peaks in April , locals and visitors alike flock to Japanese parks and gardens to engage in hanami (picnics beneath the cherry trees). Some of the best places to experience the blooming flowers include Hirosaki Castle Park and Shinjuku Gyoen, located in the heart of Tokyo.

The exciting summer festivals

If you’re visiting Japan during the summer months, you should plan to experience some of the colourful Matsuri festivals which take place all over the country.

These traditional celebrations pay tribute to legendary historical events and different deities connected to an individual shrine in the towns where they take place. Many Matsuri festivals feature processions of enormous floats , colorful parades, and spectacular fireworks shows.

Christmas in Japan is magical

Spending in Christmas in Japan is worth the effort just to experience the range of extravagant winter illuminations that saturate the city streets during the festive period.

Those planning to spend winter in Japan are also advised to visit the Sapporo snow festival in Hokkaido, where you can see a range of incredible ice sculptures , many based on well-known pop culture characters.

The world-class powder snow

Winter sports enthusiasts shouldn’t miss the chance to go snowboarding and skiing in Japan at one of the many resorts across the country, as Japanese powder snow is considered some of the best in the world.

Many of the best ski resorts in Japan are located on the northernmost island of Hokkaido, such as Furano, Rusutsu, and Niseko, as well as in the Japanese Alps on Honshu.

The chance to bathe in a natural hot spring

Onsens are Japanese hot spring baths filled with mineral-rich spring water heated by geothermal forces , somewhat like a natural Jacuzzi.

Onsen baths have been present all over Japan since at least the 8th Century , when the belief that hot springs had curative and rejuvenating powers was at its height. Taking a bath in an onsen is an incredibly relaxing experience , and popular with both Japanese locals and tourists.

The superb Japanese cuisine

Food is incredibly important in Japanese culture , and while in the country you’ll be able to sample a huge range of the many delicious dishes that make up Japanese cuisine.

From worldwide favorites like sushi and ramen , to Sukiyaki (beef hot pot) and Yakiniku (Japanese barbeque), there are an endless number of dishes in Japan guaranteed to make your mouth water.

Japan is also the country with the most 3-star Michelin restaurants in the world , and there are are also a number of Matsuri food and drink festivals you can experience during your trip.

The fantastic architecture

You’ll be able to take in some incredible modern architecture while in the major Japanese cities, such as the Tokyo Skytree , the tallest building in the capital.

You can also find some exquisite examples of traditional Japanese architecture all over the country, such as the majestic Ise shrines on the Shima Peninsula.

The advanced technology

From futuristic capsule hotels with complimentary tablets, to high-tech public toilets , advanced technology is in full display in every corner of Japan’s cities.

If you feel like getting an inside look at technological advancements in Japan, pay a visit to the permanent robotics exhibitions at Miraikan – The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo’s Odaiba district .

Japan is a Mecca for manga and anime lovers

If you first fell in love with Japan through manga and anime , you’re bound to be in heaven during a visit to Tokyo, which boasts a number of anime-themed experiences .

Visit J-World Tokyo , an indoor amusement park based around popular manga characters, the One Piece Tower, or the Pokémon Mega Center Tokyo , a huge store which offers a range of Pokémon merchandise exclusive to Japan.

It’s the home of Studio Ghibli

Fans of classic Japanese animation films like Princess Mononoke (1997) and Spirited Away (2001) shouldn’t miss the chance to see some of celebrated director Hayao Miyazaki’s creations at the Studio Ghibli museum in Mitaka .

Children can play on a huge replica of the Catbus from My Neighbor Totoro (1988) and watch animated shorts exclusive to the museum. There is also an ever-changing range of exhibitions exploring Ghibli’s creative process.

Japan is the birthplace of karaoke

If you love belting out your favorite songs, whether in front of a small group of friends or a crowd of random strangers, then you’ll want to take advantage of the huge karaoke culture while in Japan.

You might not be aware that Karaoke actually originated in Japan and continues to be incredibly popular: there are currently around 100,000 karaoke boxes and bars across the country.

The fashion

Fashion lovers arriving in Japan should head directly to Tokyo’s most stylish area , Harajuku , where most of the biggest Japanese trendsetters set up shop.

Those more interested in traditional Japanese fashion may want to pay a visit to Kyoto and try on one of the elegant kimonos or yukatas the city is famous for.

Japan is very safe

Japan is considered to be one of the safest countries in the world, and has one of the lowest global crime rates .

Japanese people often leave their doors unlocked, children are perfectly safe traveling on the subway by themselves , and visitors are able to walk around the cities at night without having to worry.

Nevertheless,as when traveling to any foreign destination, visitors to Japan should still exercise caution in crowded places and use common sense.

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What’s It Really Like to Travel Japan?

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How do I even begin to describe what it’s like to travel in Japan?

It is an experience . It surrounds you. Every moment of every day is filled with new discoveries and cultural difference and utter delights. I can’t describe it beyond that, but everyone who has been knows exactly what I’m talking about.

If there were a word to describe Japan as a whole, it would be reverent. This is a nation where every action displays a culture of deference, respect and obedience. It encompasses daily life.

Some examples?

Reverence of food. The food here is prepared and delivered with such deep respect and meticulous care, even in fast food joints. Anything else would be anti-Japanese. I didn’t have a single bad meal in Japan.

Reverence of manners.  Japan has a longstanding reputation of politeness. One place where this was most evident was on trains. Whenever a conductor entered a car, he would enter and exit the car with an energetic yet crisp bow before attending to passengers.

Reverence of nature. Nature receives the utmost respect here, and you’ll often find that everything from architecture to food plays into an overall respect of the natural environment of Japan.

Reverence of rules. Japan is a rules-based culture. There are lots of written and unwritten rules – the Japanese wouldn’t dream of throwing recyclables in the trash, or acting rude to a stranger, or dressing like a slob. The list of taboos here is extensive.

Yes, most than anything else, it’s reverence that defines Japan. But beyond that, here are a few of the idiosyncrasies I noticed in the Land of the Rising Sun:

English is used for style, not function.

See English lettering somewhere? Chances are it’s not used for the purpose of communicating with non-Japanese speakers. Again and again, I noticed that English was used for little more than decoration.

On my first night in Tokyo, I was looking for a restaurant in a mall and I was delighted to find a pamphlet emblazoned with Mall Directory in ornate script. I opened it up…and it was all in Japanese. The English was just used for stylistic purposes.

Sex is overt — except when it’s not.

If there’s any neighborhood you must visit in Tokyo, make it Akihabara. I planned to check out the electronics stores, seeing the newest innovations years before they hit the western market.

Instead, I found myself in the center for otaku (super-geek) culture. Electronics stores held court next to porn shops, crammed with sex toys and hentai (anime porn) comic books. Arcades were filled with nipple-baring figurines in sexual poses as prizes. Throughout the neighborhood, girls dressed as sexy maids advertised their cafes.

Now — the strange thing is that actual sex is kept under lock and key. While seeing men reading porn on the subway is a common occurrence, you wouldn’t see a couple making out and borderline dry humping in Tokyo. You barely saw people even holding hands. As I mentioned in my geisha post , there are clear boundaries between actual, consensual, conventional, relationship-based sex and just about everything else.

It’s not as expensive as you think.

Japan has long held a reputation as being one of the most expensive countries in the world to visit, with Tokyo holding the crown as one of the world’s most expensive cities.

After my visit, I think that reputation is a bit undeserved . Two things in Japan are quite expensive: lodging and long-distance transportation. But beyond that, prices aren’t that bad. I’d compare them to prices in London, Paris or New York.

Food, in particular, can be done on the cheap. Almost all of our meals cost less than 1000 yen ($10). My splurge meals actually weren’t that painful – I had a seafood feast in Kyoto for 3500 yen each ($35), a Kobe beef lunch in Kobe for 2950 yen each ($29.50), and a selection of sushi at a nice sushi bar in the pricey Tokyo neighborhood of Ginza – plus sake – for about 2100 yen ($21).

Subway rides in Tokyo cost 100-200 yen each ($1-2). Vending machine beverages cost 80-200 yen ($0.80-2). I even bought a Kindle Paperwhite from a discount camera shop in Shibuya for 8200 yen ($82) when it currently retails on Amazon for $139 !

I found Japan to be much cheaper overall than Australia or Switzerland, countries where everything is expensive.

Food is theater.

One night in Kyoto, my new friends Michael from the Deep Kyoto blog and his girlfriend Miu took me out for a seafood feast at a fun, wild and cheap seafood restaurant called  Asahi Suisan . Halfway through our meal, a badass fishmonger (and the most muscular Japanese guy I’ve ever seen) brought out an enormous bluefin tuna and butchered it with gusto to cheers throughout the restaurant and squeals from a table of nearby girls.

And while he did it, video played in the background of the same fishmonger on a reality show in Japan, competing for his region in the field of tuna butchering!

It was a fabulous night of entertainment and it was another side of seeing how reverent the Japanese are toward the preparation of food.

Everything is marvelously efficient.

One of the greatest performances was when my  nozomi train to Kyoto pulled in. A fleet of women dressed in salmon uniforms, down to matching sneakers (!), entered the car and performed identical movements, taking out the trash bags and turning the seats around to face the other way, preparing them for the next influx of passengers.

In Japan, I would constantly think to myself, Oh. That makes sense . In the West, when presented with a more efficient solution, people would give reasons why not to implement it — that doing so would cost too much time or money that could be spent elsewhere. In Japan, they just do it, no questions asked.

The best-dressed women in the world live in Tokyo.

Sure, Italian and Parisian women dress beautifully, and London and New York women have a lot of style, but it’s nothing like the women in Tokyo. From perfectly tailored short dresses to their understated but highly functional designer flats, I gawked at the fashion in Tokyo.

Where to Stay in Tokyo: Best Areas and Accommodation

Kimonos are still very much worn.

I had the idea that Japanese women only wore kimonos for special occasions or times when traditional wear was best. Well, that’s not the case — I saw plenty of kimono-clad women (and men wearing the more plain yakuta ) throughout Tokyo and Kyoto!

In Kyoto, some temples allow women in for free if they’re wearing a kimono. That will actually save you a fair amount of cash, as most Kyoto temples charge around 400-600 yen ($4-6) entry. But in other cases, they’re simply what is worn for formalwear. I would love to get a formal kimono of my own someday.

Japan is HOT!

I thought August would be the perfect time to travel through Japan, with nice summer sunshine – no way, Jose! It gets unbearably hot with very high humidity. People in Kyoto actually walked around with towels around their necks to mop up their ever-dripping brows.

It’s too bad, because the heat put a damper on a lot of our sightseeing in Kyoto in particular, when I was visiting lots of outdoor temples.

While I was in Tokyo, the mercury actually hit 42 C (106 F), breaking records. People told me again and again that I was traveling at the worst time possible. My advice to you? Visit Japan in the spring or fall if you can.

Japanese toilets really are that amazing.

Believe it or not, those fancy Japanese toilets with all the push buttons aren’t only found in luxury establishments. You’ll even find fancy Japanese toilets at cheap ramen joints and Starbucks. Once you figure out which button performs the “rear cleansing”, you’ll never go back.

Incidentally, Japanese women take longer in the bathroom than anyone I’ve ever met.

These facts may or may not be related.

Cute rules.

You know all about Hello Kitty — but there’s so much cutesiness throughout Japan! Mascots for everything from companies to products often involve little furry cartoon characters holding hands and playing together. Cute little tunes, the kind you’d expect on a children’s show, play throughout Japan as well.

One might start thinking about the psychological implications of that – the Japanese work so hard that they enjoy their childhood wherever they can — but I just found it fun to bop along with the little animals.

Everyone is incredibly helpful.

Do you look lost? You won’t be for long. Japanese people are exceedingly helpful and even if they don’t speak English, they will drop everything to help you find your way.

I first noticed the exceptional level of helpfulness when I entered an electronics store. I asked about Kindles and the man replied that they didn’t have any, but another store might, and he’d be happy to give them a call and check.

This wasn’t another branch of their stores – this was a competitor. And he offered to call them for me. In the US, the most I would get from a salesperson would be, “You could try Best Buy.”

Japanese people love to photobomb.

Do they EVER love to photobomb!

But what is the single most shocking aspect of all?

You turn into a Japanese tourist.

Ah, Japanese tourists. The older ladies are decked out in visors and Keds, the teenagers with cameras worth thousands of dollars, the groups being led around by an umbrella. I squeezed through huge Japanese crowds on my way to class in Florence each morning, as they took up entire piazzas on their own.

And the Japanese tourists take pictures of absolutely everything .

Well. You know what I took pictures of in Japan? Toilets. Trash cans. Vending machines.

Yes, I became a Japanese tourist myself – because everything here really is so different and I couldn’t stop marveling at it all.

I get it now, Japanese tourists. I’m sorry I’ve made fun of you.

Japan is all-encompassing.

Even though Japan is on the pricier side, I consider it an extremely high value destination. Like Paris and New York, just walking down the street is a fascinating experience in Japan. Every moment, you will be stunned and amazed at the world that surrounds you.

Japan is delicious. Japan is kind. Japan is ridiculously clean. Japan is freaky and cute.

More than anywhere else I’ve been, I feel like Japan is the kind of destination that every traveler must experience at least once in his or her lifetime. I loved my two weeks there and I can’t wait to return.

Just one thing – don’t forget to buy travel insurance before you travel to Japan! I never travel without it and always use World Nomads.

20 Reasons Why You Should Visit Japan

Japan is the most amazing tourist destination and it offers many unique experiences that you cannot find in any other part of the world. The culture of this country is an interesting blend of Eastern traditions and Western modernity that can be seen everywhere. Japan is one of the oldest civilizations and has a beautiful and diverse history. The stunning, diverse scenery with mountains and breathtaking views, which are much appreciated by the Japanese, offers so many different experiences that attract tourists from all corners of the world. In this article we give you our best reasons why you should make a trip to this amazing country at least once in your lifetime.

1. Pristine natural scenery

2. mount fuji , 4. incredible food, 5. beautiful temples, shrines, and zen gardens, 6. friendly people, 7. efficient public transportation, 8. thrilling experiences , 9. festivals/matsuri, 10. clean country, 11. shopper’s paradise, 12. weird stuff, 13. sakura (cherry blossoms), 15. onsen & sento , 16. unesco world heritage sites, 17. japanese castles , 18. sumo & sport events, 19. traditional arts and crafts, 20. unique accommodation, tour packages, other articles you might like.

The first reason to visit is obviously the natural beauty of the country. Even though many people think of Japan as a highly modern country with flashy neon lights and advanced technology, shopping malls and high-end stores, there are many ways in which Japan is a nature lover’s paradise as well!

As soon as you travel outside of the big and modern cities you will discover that the country is home to some of the best natural scenery in the world . From the wilderness in Hokkaido to the white pristine beaches of Okinawa , Japan’s nature is incredibly diverse. The rugged mountains, rocky coastlines, pristine white beaches, bamboo forests and some of the world’s most beautiful waterfalls are just some of the natural beauty to be enjoyed all year round. 

Mount Fuji is famous all over the world as a place to visit during any season of the year. But the majestic Fujisan is not ‘just a mountain’ as it takes a very special, sacred place in the Japanese culture. Since the 7th century it has been a sacred site for Shintoism, the indigenous religion of Japan . Japanese people have always held Mount Fuji close to their heart and Mount Fuji is displayed in many artistic outings, including (ancient) pottery, calligraphy, ukiyo-e paintings and woodblock prints.

Climbing Mount Fuji is at the top of many people’s bucket list and an estimated 400,000 people climb the volcano each year. The climbing season of the highest peak (3,776 m) in Japan lasts from early July to early September. Though, even if you are not keen on making your way to the summit, Mount Fuji is a sight to behold .

▼Book our tour to the 5th station of Mt. Fuji!

Japan is amongst the safest countries in the world , with an extremely low crime rate. This is something the Japanese are, understandably, quite proud of. Japanese people often leave their doors unlocked, children are perfectly safe traveling on the subway by themselves, and visitors are able to walk around the cities at night without having to worry. Japan’s low crime rate is partly due to the cultural belief in Japan where they always prioritize the common good above their own needs. You will likely come across some situations that you might think of as dangerous or stupid behaviour, but are perfectly normal in Japan. Japan is so safe, you can fall asleep on the train in Tokyo, the world’s biggest city, and wake up with your wallet and phone still in your possession. Or even on the street, you might see some salaryman passed out after 1 or 2 drinks too many but they won’t be robbed of their valuables. When you do forget something in a restaurant or on the train, always try to go back, it is highly likely that someone kept it for you or brought it to the police! 

Even though Japanese cuisine is available around the world, the country attracts millions of tourists every year just to experience authentic Japanese food . Some of the usual experiences are the sushi conveyor belt and sake bars and don’t forget to try some fresh sushi at Tsukiji Fish Market or the delicious street food like takoyaki in Osaka.

For many visitors, a trip to Japan provides the opportunity to indulge in some authentic Kaiseki food. Kaiseki is a traditional form of cuisine that has evolved over a period of thousands of years, using ingredients that are hardly found in any other part of the world. Any random, shady looking place makes the best sushi, ramen or tempura. Even the konbini food is tasty and freshly prepared on a daily basis. Tokyo has more Michelin stars than any other city in the world , with also the most three-star restaurants (12) in the world! Add to it a variety of traditional Japanese drinks and you have an experience of a lifetime waiting for you!

Are you hoping to try all the best food in Japan but don’t know where to start? Don’t worry, you can book a fun and delicious food and drink tour with us! We will assure that you will hit all the best spots that you would never normally stumble upon.

There are an estimated 80,000 temples and shrines in Japan of all sizes and some are over 1,000 years old! The Buddhist temples and zen gardens are incredibly beautiful and if you enter them you really can experience how peaceful and magical these places actually are.

Inari Shrines are the most familiar Shinto shrines to Japanese people and they are also known as “o-inari-san”. Thousands of them are spread all over the country. One of the most important Inari Shrine is Fushimi Inari in Kyoto, which is dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice. It is famous for its thousands of vermilion Torii gates and definitely something you have to see with your own eyes.

Even if you are not visiting Kyoto, you will have the opportunity to visit shrines with rows of torii gates throughout the country , even in the centre of Tokyo!

When you’re visiting Japan you will quickly find out that Japanese behavior is completely different to how people behave in Western countries. People in japan have the attitude to bother the people in their environment as little as possible. You will notice it as soon as you enter the train because it is amazing how silent it is in the train! Everyone is as respectful as possible and also incredibly helpful. If you have a question or seem to be confused about something you will always find someone who can help you! The language barrier is difficult at times, but Japanese people will always try to help you. It is difficult to describe a feeling like this with words so you should definitely experience on your own.

Recommended article: Why You Should Learn Japanese

The public transportation network in Japan is simply amazing . Especially when you are in the bigger cities, the system is just incredible. With trains or metro’s departing every few minutes (during the day) it is amazing how fast you can commute from one part of the city to another part within a short period of time. 

The famous shinkansen, also known as the bullet train, takes you to all parts of the country. The extensive high-speed train network in Japan, connecting Hokkaido, Honshu and Kyushu, is extremely reliable with frequent departures throughout the day. The Tokaido Shinkansen line, connecting Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto, is Japan’s busiest and most popular line with 370 departures each day! As a tourist it is definitely the most convenient, reliable, fastest way of discovering Japan . The best part for international tourists is that they can purchase a Japan Rail Pass that will give them unlimited travel for a designated period of time throughout the country!

Adventure tourism is not something that one would associate with Japan, but the truth is that you can find many exciting experiences in this country. Whether it is snowboarding or skiing in Hokkaido or Nagano , or cycling along the Seto Inland Sea , catching a glimpse of Mount Fuji from the rollercoasters of FujiQ Highlands or sand-boarding in Japan’s desert of Tottori , the options for thrill-seekers are endless.

With about 75% of Japan covered in mountainous landscape you can embark on some amazing multi-day hikes or walk the steps of ancient pilgrimage routes like the Kumano Kodo Trail or the Shikoku 88 Temples Pilgrimage and witness the perfect mixture of nature and culture. At many tourist spots like Arashiyama or Asakusa you can also actively explore the area while riding a traditional Japanese rickshaw. 

At any time of the year, Japan hosts a number of events and matsuri for anyone to enjoy . Matsuri are traditional Japanese events where often floats, called mikoshi, are carried around between temples and shrines. They often take place in the summer and attract thousands or even millions of visitors with their energetic atmosphere, and amazing street food activities for everyone to enjoy. 

In wintertime you will find some unique and great festivals too, like the Kamakura snow hut festivals that are held around the country. There are also several illumination festivals with spectacular light shows and decorations, some only over the Christmas period where others last well into spring. Another world famous festival is Sapporo’s Snow Festival that attracts millions of visitors each year with spectacular ice sculptures and cozy winter scenes. 

Something that you will soon notice after your arrival; Japan is extremely clean ! Even in the metropole of Tokyo you will not often see trash laying around, no cigarette butts on the curbs and streets smell nice. The lack of garbage bins available in the cities might make you wonder how is this even possible? The answer is simple, Japanese people respect their surroundings, clean up after themselves and take their trash home. A cultural principle that is highly valued in the Japanese society is mottainai , which can be freely translated as nothing goes to waste. When something is broken, it is not immediately replaced but often repaired and re-used.

Shopping is another reason why you should visit Japan, more so for the local brands than for the international ones. Tokyo and other major cities have world-class shopping centers as well as traditional markets where you can shop for local handicrafts and souvenirs. Often cities, small or big, have their own local shopping street.

These shopping streets full of small stalls and local vendors are known as a Shotengai. If you are travelling to Tokyo, then you should visit the popular areas in Harajuku, Ginza and Akihabara. If you go to Osaka, Umeda and Shinsaibashi are also popular shopping destinations. For gaming and anime lovers, shopping in Tokyo will be an unforgettable experience, Nakano would be the best destination for you .

Square watermelons, washing toilets that blow-dry and play music, plastic food menus, cartoon versions and mascottes of everything, maid cafe etc, Japan has all kinds of unique things.

Walk around in Harajuku to experience the famous Japanese kawaii culture , it is literally everywhere! Cute girls, kawaii food, mascottes, the kawaiiness in Japan knows no limits! Another unique popular culture is Japan’s otaku or geek culture. Otaku refers to pop culture fans who are obsessed with manga or anime. Best places to experience some of Japan’s otaku culture are Akihabara and Nakano in Tokyo.

▼Explore all the weird that Harajuku has to offer with the tour below!

No visit to Japan in spring is complete without sakura. For two weeks, everyone and everything in the spirit of the beautiful flowers. Everyone wants to see this million dollar view and hanami (blossom viewing parties) are everywhere. Japan is very passionate about picnicking under the cherry trees in full blossom.

Sakura presents the arrival of spring, a time for renewal and optimism and because of the short blooming season (about two weeks), the cherry blossoms also symbolize the transience of life, a major theme in Buddhism. During the sakura season you will see limited edition sakura (flavoured) treats and souvenirs everywhere.

One of the biggest contributors to Japan’s famous anime culture is the Ghibli movies. Have you ever seen My Neighbor Totoro or Spirited Away? They are some of the world’s most famous anime movies produced by the renowned Studio Ghibli, the animation and art producer founded by Hayao Miyazaki. In Tokyo, you can visit the Ghibli Museum , home to drawings of Studio Ghibli movies, models of how animations are made, and a small theater showing a special short film. Also, Japan opened the Ghibli-themed park in Aichi prefecture in 2022. A must visit if you are a Ghibli fan! If you want something extra, you may want to visit some of the locations which were used in Ghibli movies ! 

When asked about their favourite thing in Japan, many people will (amongst others) answer onsen. Taking an onsen, a hot spring filled with mineral-rich spring water heated by geothermal forces that contains several minerals beneficial to the body, is a must-try activity for tourists as it is completely different from taking a bath in other countries around the world. It is also a big part of the Japanese culture and the ultimate activity to relax after a day filled with discovering the nature and culture of Japan. There are several written and unwritten rules to respect when taking an onsen, a ritual that dates back to at least the 8th century. Famous onsen destinations are Kusatsu Onsen, Hakone Onsen and Beppu Onsen .

Sento are communal bath houses where people pay for their entrance. These bath houses were traditionally used by households that did not have their own bath and could be found in big cities and small villages. Today, the number of sento is decreasing as the number of houses with bathing facilities is increasing. 

By now you should know Japan is home to some of the world’s most picturesque places, a rich culture and a long history.  Indeed, Japan is home to no less than 23 UNESCO World Heritage Sites ; 19 Cultural Heritage Sites and 4 Natural Heritage Sites. Ranging from historically important shrines like Itsukushima Shinto Shrine on Miyajima to unique natural ecological treasures like Mount Fuji or Shiretoko National Park. 

In the history of Japan, a large number of castles were built, many of which were destroyed during the many battles or natural disasters like earthquakes. But there are some beautiful castles in Japan that still exist and can be visited, some of which are also designated UNESCO sites. A total number of 12 original castles , meaning they have a castle tower (or main keep) that was built during the Edo period or earlier, are located around the country. 

Another type of unique cultural event are the Grand Sumo Tournaments that take place at each odd-numbered month and last for two weeks. Sumo is Japan’s national sport, but not just a sport. In act, sumo is full of shinto rituals and watching a sumo match with a guide will help you to understand this ancient sport even better. Watching a sumo game is definitely an experience you should have at least once in your life! 

Baseball is Japan’s most popular sport, first introduced in 1872 by an American college professor. Whether you are a baseball fan or not, watching a baseball game will be an exciting experience for anyone ! It is good fun to join the Japanese baseball spectators and cheer on the teams. The games usually start from 2pm or 6pm and last for about 3.5 hrs.

Craft in Japan has a long history and has played an important role in the Japanese culture. From the more famous ones such as knives, pottery, kimono, yukata, and tatami, to lesser-known ones such as kokeshi dolls, fireworks, kendama, origami, daruma dolls , Woodblock Prints , Nambu Ironware, and rounded and folding fans, there is a large list of traditional japanese crafts. Each region has its own local specialties. Some of the craft and art is more valuable in price since they are handmade by professional craftsmen but all make for a great souvenir to take home ! There are many places that offer craft and art experiences like pottery workshops and tea ceremonies.

Purchase your own beautiful Japanese crafts  here!

Japan is home to a large number of Western-style hotels, but something that you should not miss out on is staying at the traditional Japanese ryokan. A ryokan is a type of Japanese inn that has been around since the 8th century. It often features tatami-floor rooms, onsen, and other public areas where visitors wear yukata, the traditional more casual kimono. Often an overnight stay comes with a delicious, large, Japanese dinner and breakfast made from seasonal and locally produced products. Staying at a ryokan is a great place to enjoy onsen (privately) and experience some of the traditional elements of Japanese culture. 

If you are interested in experiencing the simple and traditional lifestyle of Buddhist monks, temple lodging known as shukubo is an excellent option. Shukubo literally means “sleeping with the monks” and besides a great night’s rest and delicious shojin-ryori, the Buddhist vegan cuisine, you can join the monks for morning prayers.

Originating in Osaka, capsule hotels have made their advance in Japan. These hotels, usually found in the larger cities, originally targeted individuals looking for a cheaper alternative for single nights stay. Recently there are also more luxurious alternatives of the pod hotel that are more comfortable, though not as cheap as you might think.

These are just 20 reasons why you should visit Japan, but the list is endless. We haven’t even talked about the beautiful autumn colors, the cute deers, animal cafes, and love hotels amongst other things. Nowhere else on earth will you find a country like Japan, with its unique blend of long standing traditions and modern rituals, century old buildings and peaceful gardens sandwiched between the city’s modern highrises. Incredible fresh food, domestic drinks, sake and local specialties that you can get from any hole in the wall spot. Friendly people that will go out of their way to make you comfortable and require as much as a simple thank you. Reliable and punctual public transportation in a country that is among the safest in the world. The list of reasons for you to come to Japan is simply endless. Conclusion: plan your trip to Japan as soon as possible, you are in for a treat!

Japan Wonder Travel Tours 

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▶ Mt. Fuji Day Trip Bus Tour from Tokyo Experience the breathtaking views of Mt. Fuji by visiting the highlights of the area on our guided sightseeing bus tour! Departing from Shinjuku in central Tokyo, you can travel comfortably to all of the best spots in the area by bus.

If you want to make travel easier, click here to find the best tour package from various operators!

These are just 20 reasons why you should visit Japan, but the list is endless. We haven’t even talked about the beautiful autumn colors, the cute deers, animal cafes, and love hotels amongst other things. Nowhere else on earth you will find a country like Japan, the unique blend of long standing traditions and modern rituals, century old buildings and peaceful gardens sandwiched between the city’s present-time highrise. Incredible fresh food, domestic drinks, sake and local specialties that you can get from any hole in the wall place. Friendly people that will go out of their way to make you comfortable and require as much as a simple thank you. Reliable and punctual public transportation in a country that is among the safest in the world. The list of reasons for you to come to Japan is simply endless. Conclusion: plan your trip to Japan as soon as possible, you are in for a treat!

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30 Reasons to visit Japan – Why you should visit Japan once in your life

Are you still not sure why you should visit Japan at least once in your life? In this post you can find 30 reasons to visit Japan! It’s one of our favourite destinations in Asia. Probably because it has the perfect mix of culture, history and modern comfort. And lets not forget the amazing food they have! Japan is a unique country, and even though you might have an image of how it will be, this beautiful country will definitely still surprise you!

Below you can read 30 reasons why you should visit Japan. If you’ve been persuaded already, be sure to check our other articles of Japan and keep your eyes peeled for more on this blog! 

30 Reasons to visit Japan at least once in your life

1. japan has some of the most beautiful places.

Japan offers a lot of beautiful places. There are a lot of popular and unique, of the beaten track destinations that you should include in your itinerary. This means there is so much to explore and there really is something for anybody! From nature, such as beautiful blue ponds, waterfalls and bamboo forests to culture, with amazing temples and shrines.

Read more of our Japan blogs! 25 Most Beautiful Places in Japan to include in your itinerary A Day Trip to Mount Fuji from Tokyo 8 Fun things to do in Osaka

2. japan is a very safe country.

Japan is one of the safest countries to travel in the world. According to Worldatlas.com, Japan was in the top 10 of the World’s Safest Countries in 2017 . What makes Japan so safe? For one thing, Japan puts a strong focus on crime prevention, with measurements such as ATM’s inside buildings or banks and the fact that firearms aren’t readily available.

During our time in Japan we also felt incredibly safe and didn’t have any problems whatsoever.

3. There is a lot of history to discover in Japan

The ancient Japanese culture is really interesting, and it has been around for thousands of years. Even now the culture and heritage is very prominent in the country. During your visit in Japan you can learn a lot about the history by visiting castles, temples, shrines and more. Especially Kyoto is a perfect destination if you want to experience the ancient Japanese culture.

4. There are countless of beautiful temples and shrines in Japan

Japan offers countless of beautiful Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines throughout the country. The above photo was taken at the Fushimi Inari shrine and is a gorgeous spot in Kyoto. But also in Osaka, Tokyo, Mount Fuji and almost every city and town in Japan you can find temples and shrines that are worth a visit.

5. Japan is also very modern

Like I’ve mentioned before, Japan is a perfect mix culture, history and modern comfort. There are skyscrapers, modern restaurants and everything else you can come across in the modern world. But, Japan does have it’s own unique, modern style and can’t be compared with any other modern country.

6. It’s very easy to travel around Japan

The public transport in Japan is very efficient! It’s so easy to travel from one destination to another in this country. In just a few days time you can see a lot! Plus, the trains in Japan are super punctual. It’s almost not possible for them to have a delay.

7. Japan is a super clean country

Everything in Japan is super, super clean. You’ll never find any litter on the streets anywhere for that matter. Every hotel and accommodation we stayed at always smelled rosy clean and every restaurant table is efficiently cleaned before we sit down.

8. Everything is so kawaii in Japan

How can everything in Japan be so freakin’ cute?! You’ll be surprised to see the biggest companies having advertising with the most cute characters. It’s just part of the Japanese culture that everything should be adorable. If you’re a sucker for kawaii, then you just have to visit Japan!

9. Japan has some of the most amazing food

Japan has more amazing food than only ramen or sushi! For instance, try the Okonomiyaki pancakes, made with cabbage and topped with a variety of options. This can be anything from meat to seafood! Other food to try in Japan are Soba noodles, Yakiniku barbecue, Tempura, Sukiyaki, Yakitori and much, much more…

10. Eat all the Matcha in Japan!

One thing we absolutely love is matcha-flavoured sweets. And in Japan you can really eat anything in matcha flavour: chocolate, cookies, ice-cream and even in burgers. For those of you that don’t know: matcha is green tea, made from the finest tea leafs. The leafs are steamed, dried and made into a powder. It’s super healthy and delicious!

11. The KitKats in Japan come in countless of flavours

Lets keep talking about food a bit longer… Because, well, I love food and Japan is an excellent place for foodies. KitKats are available in all kinds of flavours in Japan. Strawberry, pear, citrus golden blend, cinnamon cookie, strawberry cheesecake, wasabi and many more! Yes, also matcha! Really try out some of those crazy flavours!

12. It’s easier to stick to your budget in Japan than you would think!

We expected Japan to be very expensive and compared to most Asian countries, it is. Luckily, we still found that Japan can easily be explored on a budget! Of course, it really depends what your budget is… But we managed with a budget of approximately 30 euros per person a day. For accomodation, we stayed in an Airbnb, mostly ate a lot of ramen (and even sushi!) and still did a lot of activities. Many touristic attractions in Japan are free!

We found the transport in Japan to be the most expensive. We eventually decided to travel by train and always looked for the most affordable train ticket.

13. There is definitely a weird, but cool, side to Japan

To us Japan was a bit weird at times. We can’t ignore the fact that it’s a bit different than, let’s say, Western Europe. All those big blown up signs and other 3D models in the streets, maid cafes and grown ups in game halls. But all this actually makes Japan so cool!

14. Japan offers the most beautiful cherry blossoms

Yoshinoyama, Nara, Japan in spring season.

One of the most popular times to visit Japan is during spring. This is, of course, because of the amazing pink cherry blossoms that cover the streets. But not only the trees start to blossom when spring approaches, everything else in Japan turns into “sakura” mode. Think fake cherry blossom flowers in stores, cherry blossom drinks and even food.

15. You can enjoy nature in Japan

Although Japan has big, heavily urbanised cities such as Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, there is also a lot of nature to explore. In fact, two thirds of Japan is actually covered by forested mountains and hills ! But in Japan you also have waterfalls, volcanoes, mountains and more.

16. It’s possible to visit the incredible Mount Fuji

One of our favourite places in Japan is Mount Fuji. It’s such an iconic landmark and an Cultural Site on the UNESCO’s World Heritage List. It’s possible to enjoy the beauty of Mount Fuji from different places, and you can also climb Mount Fuji.

17. Japan has some of the most amazing architecture

Are you a sucker for architecture? Well, in Japan you can find beautiful architecture. Especially the traditional Japanese style is unique and very aesthetically pleasing. You’ll definitely enjoy the castles, temples and shrines.

18. You can encounter beautiful wildlife

In Nara Park you can find deer roaming the streets freely and in the forest of Jigokudani valley you can find the Snow Monkeys. But there is a lot more wild life in Japan, such as tanuki (sort of raccoon), wild boars, squirrels and more!

19. In Japan you can feel like a kid in Disney World

The last time I felt the same way as in Japan was when I was a little kid in Disney World. Not only are there toys everywhere, just walking around on the streets you won’t know where to look! There is something to see anywhere. One day we were walking around in Osaka and suddenly saw people driving around in Mario Kart cars on the streets. Adult people feeling like kids again!

20. Japan is perfect if you’re an anime lover…

Book your ticket to Japan right now if you’re an anime fan. Japan is the birthplace of anime, manga and video games. Some of the best places to enjoy anime in Japan are the Tokyo Anime Center, Akihabara, J-World Tokyo and Pokémon Mega Center Tokyo.

21. … And if you still love toys, no matter what age

Don’t be embarrassed.. Just buy that Pokémon toy, no matter what age you are. Like I said before, Japan makes you feel like a kid again. Enjoy it!

Read more of our Japan blogs! 14 Fun things to do in Kyoto 10 Fun things to do in Tokyo

22. you can play videogames in cool game arcades in japan.

We went to Kawasaki Warehouse Arcade in Tokyo and had a lot of fun. It was really one of the coolest places ever. And in Japan you can find a lot more game arcades and other places where you can play games.

23. Have some karaoke fun in Japan!

The fun doesn’t stop at toys and game arcades, you can also have karaoke fun in Japan! Karaoke actually originated in Japan and is enjoyed by people of all ages in the country.

24. Japanese fashion is trendsetting

The fashion in Japan is really better than the clothes in this photo, I promise.  

Of course the traditional clothing in Japan is absolutely beautiful. Just think of the details of the Geisha outfit or all the beautiful fabrics they use for kimono’s. But in Japanese big cities, such as Tokyo, there is a lot of trendsetting fashion. In areas such as Harajuku or Shibuya you can see many locals walking around in great styles.

25. You can try on a kimono and other Japanese traditional clothing

Dress up as a geisha or buy your own kimono or yukata. One of the best places to dress up in Japanese traditional clothing is Kyoto. You rent a beautiful kimono and walk around in the city.

26. Experience the most busy intersection in the world at Shibuya

Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo is a very cool, exciting place. It’s actually claimed to be one of the busiest intersection in the world. It’s really cool to see thousand people crossing the streets at once.

27. There are many themed restaurants in Japan

There are very adorable themed restaurants in Japan, such as Pompompurin Café that you can see on the photo above. In addition, there are themed restaurants that are a bit weird or crazy. For instance, the Robot restaurant in Tokyo or Kawaii Monster Café Harajuku (cute and crazy!).

28. There are 21 World Heritage Sites in Japan

Himeji, Japan at Himeji Castle in spring season.

There are 21 World Heritage Sites in Japan, with 17 cultural sites and four natural sites. Plus, there are actually eight more sites that might become World Heritage Sites. The photo above is of the gorgeous Himeji castle that is also a World Heritage Site.

29. In Japan there are vending machines for anything

Japan has the highest density of vending machines in the whole world. The country has about 5.52 million vending machines! And you can get almost anything from them: coffee, tea, candy, soup, hot food, and much more.

30. It’s probably one of the most awesome countries in the world

This list can go on and on. There is so much to see, so much to do and it’s such a unique country. Trust me, Japan really should be on your list!

That were 30 reasons why you should visit Japan at least once in your life! Have you ever been to Japan? Let us know in the comments!

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This is an awesome post! I had already thought about visiting Japan and now I reaaally want to go! Beautiful photos!

I absolutely loved Japan for many of these reasons! If I had the time, I would definitely go back there. I also have many ice cream photos too! Haha!

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Leading a short-term study trip for students in japan.

The best way for students to study the history, culture, and livelihoods of another country is through an organized in-country experience. There are various benefits that can accrue through such an endeavor. One can learn about a part of the world away from home while at the same time gaining a deeper appreciation of one’s own culture by looking at it from the outside. Ideally, a student will spend a full semester or year studying abroad, but that is a luxury that many cannot afford in terms of time or money. Another possibility is a carefully orchestrated group trip of ten to fifteen college-age students who travel with an informed instructor to a specific locale for two or three weeks of intensive study. The instruction should include the study of the host nation’s history, culture, and contemporary institutions and population. Efforts must be made to visit important historical or cultural sites, and to mingle with and especially have the chance for conversations with residents of the country. A short visit of two to three weeks can produce a fairly superficial view of another people and their culture, but even a brief encounter can give students a greater appreciation of the world around them.

Taking student groups abroad for short study courses was the most satisfying experience in my almost four decades of teaching at Mary Baldwin University (MBU) in Virginia. MBU has a short three-week “May term” every spring where it is possible for professors to take small groups of students abroad for mini-study tours. Over the years, I took students to Japan, China, Korea, Russia, Australia and New Zealand, Israel–Palestine, and all over Europe, including Switzerland, Italy, and Croatia. Because I am a Japan specialist who lived, worked, and studied in that country for several years as a student and young scholar, my most effective study abroad courses involved a dozen or more experiences in Japan from the early 1980s through 2015. The major goal of the essay that follows is to provide a nonspecialist undergraduate or high school instructor who might have the opportunity to take students to Japan (or visit Japan alone or with a partner) with what I believe to be an optimal Japan experience given limited time.

Developing a Brief Study Visit to Japan

A meaningful study trip to Japan must incorporate three elements: introducing the student to the natural beauty of the land, visiting important historical and cultural sites, and encountering modern institutions such as schools and government buildings. My colleagues and I also included visits to various businesses to allow students to see Japanese at work. Such visits included a stop at the news office of a major television station where students could watch a full noon news broadcast. We also included visits to a major Tokyo newspaper, department stores, and a recruiting office for Japanese students who wish to study in the United States.

Planning a study tour involves visits to many sites of interest, but there is also a realization that the students need at least two or three free days spread out throughout the trip to allow them to rest or go out on their own individually crafted experiences. Japan, with its justly deserved reputation as a safe place to travel and urban areas that consistently provide English-language signs for public transport and tourist attractions, is particularly appropriate for student-generated side trips. Students looked forward to these days off and found their own way to such places as Tokyo Disneyland, the Ghibli Art Museum in the Tokyo suburb of Mitaka to study Japanese animation, and Tokyo’s early morning fish market.

Each of these Japan study tours was listed in my college’s catalog as a three-credit-hour May term course titled Introduction to Asia. Students had to register for the course and subsequent trip by the beginning of February. The faculty included myself and another colleague who went on all Japan study tours with me. We met with our ten to fourteen students for six two-hour sessions during the spring semester, where we got to know each other as a group and we familiarized the students with the dynamics of the trip. Students received a brief overview of traditional and modern Japanese history, religion, and aspects of modern culture, including the role of education, the changing status of women, and modern Japanese pop culture. Students gained a lot by viewing the 2005 movie Nana about contemporary pop stars in Japan. Given the continued popularity of Japanese popular culture, more recent movies might be substituted for the one we used. We always invited exchange students from Japan to visit the class to talk about youth culture in Japan.

We also assigned students various readings on Japanese history and culture, and required a series of essays responding to questions concerning the readings. Students read Christopher Goto’s excellent 2009 book Modern Japan: A Very Short Introduction , my own 2001 book Under the Gaijin Gaze about education and the changing status of women, and selected articles on Japanese culture from past issues of Education About Asia . We developed essay questions asking students to discuss various Japan topics such as the role of Shinto as a religion of thanksgiving, who the students felt was responsible for Pearl Harbor, and to compare and contrast the worldviews of young women in Japan and the United States. Since the course was open to all Mary Baldwin students, including those who had never taken a course in Asian studies, this preparatory work meant that every participant had some background understanding of Japan before going there.

Another advantage of our six meetings before the actual trip was that we got to know each other as a group. We spent a lot of time with group discussions and listening to student questions, which always created a greater sense of group cohesion, which is vital for the success of the trip. By the end of this preparatory class, everybody knew each other’s names and personalities, which allowed us to work more as a cohesive group when in Japan.

Travel and Lodging

Taking off from Dulles International Airport was always an exciting time, especially for those two or three students who had never flown before and who, when they arrived in Japan, were riding trains for the first time. There were always students who had never really been away from Virginia but who were on their way to Tokyo. We always tried to travel on a Japanese airline, where our students could become acquainted with Japanese service and watch select Japanese movies en route.

When we began making these study trips to Japan in the mid-1980s, we found that it was most economical in terms of cost and time to choose one base of operations rather than moving students from one hotel to another. This led to our decision to focus our trips on Tokyo, which offered, along with some day trips, all the sites that we wanted students to experience while in Japan: nearby historical sites such as Kamakura, Hakone, and Nikkō would give students a sense of Japan’s heritage and natural beauty, while Tokyo itself would provide opportunities to visit museums, a couple of schools, the National Diet (parliament), and various Tokyo-area businesses.

There are many fine, efficient hotels in central Tokyo that cater to foreign student groups. We always chose the Hotel Asia Center of Japan ( Ajia Kaikan ) in Akasaka, very close to the Roppongi area of central Tokyo. The Hotel Asia Center of Japan still caters to foreign study tour groups with inexpensive but clean rooms and individual baths. We got double and triple rooms at very reasonable rates, which included a sumptuous breakfast that always included fresh fruit and some of the best croissants I have ever eaten. The center was very near several major subway lines that could take us anywhere we wished to travel in the city. Students soon became quite adept at using the Tokyo subways and made full use of them on their own during their free days.

We always timed our trips for May just after the crush of the national holiday Golden Week (late April and early May) and before the dreary and muggy monsoon rainy season that makes portions of summers so wet and miserable in Japan. May in Japan offers cool, sunny days and the glory of beautiful gardens in full bloom.

Historic and Scenic Sites Relatively Near Tokyo

The Tokyo area is blessed with a number of important cultural and historic sites that were not destroyed during the Pacific War. The most important of these places is the coastal city of Kamakura, which from 1185 to 1333 was the shogunal capital of Japan. Visitors to Kamakura, only about an hour from Tokyo station by train, can see a great number of stunning Buddhist temples and shrines that rival many of those found in Nara and Kyoto. I always took my students to the Hase temple complex, which includes caves, beautiful gardens, historic temples, and stunning mountain views of Kamakura’s beaches and harbor. We also visited the big Buddha (daibutsu) and Hachimangu Shrine, and hiked across the island of Enoshima to enjoy the caves, rocky coastline, and crashing waves on the far side of the island. Enoshima is connected to the mainland by a short causeway and is located just west of Kamakura, a few minutes by train from Kamakura station.

Another historic site that all visitors to Japan should visit is Nikko National Park deep in the mountains of central Japan but only two hours one way from downtown Tokyo. There is a large temple and Shinto shrine complex that honors the Tokugawa shoguns, as well as spectacular natural scenery, including Lake Chuzenji with its famous waterfall, which enthralled each of my student groups.

Students always got a thrill when we traveled from Tokyo to nearby Fuji Hakone National Park, roughly ninety minutes, and about fifty miles west by train from Shinjuku station in Tokyo. The trip includes a good haul on the Hakone Tozan railway, several cable car rides, and a lengthy boat ride across Lake Ashinoko with spectacular views of Mount Fuji. This trip also includes a visit to various thermal hot springs, where tourists can experience the beauty of Japan’s mountain scenery.

Opportunities in Tokyo

Tokyo is a vast, very modern city with a virtually infinite number of interesting opportunities to pursue. In order to deepen historical understanding of the city, I always took my students first to the outer moat and views of the Imperial Palace (once the residence of the Tokugawa Era shoguns from 1600 to 1868), which are spectacular. Another must-visit is the Meiji Shrine in the Harajuku section of Tokyo. Students always took a special liking for the Inner Garden, with its beautiful iris garden that was always in full bloom when we visited. I always took the students to the huge Edo Museum, which gives a very colorful and comprehensive view of Tokyo history from the Edo period (1600–1868) to the Pacific War bombing and rebirth of Tokyo after the war.

Some students always asked me to take them to the Yasukuni War Memorial Shrine and associated war museum. Before visiting Yasukuni Shrine, I explained that it was a memorial to honor Japanese war dead and that several of Japan’s notorious wartime leaders were honored there. The adjoining museum’s focus is Japan’s modern military history and includes a brief movie honoring Japan’s war dead.

When I was a full-time faculty member, Mary Baldwin College had two sister school relationships with a small college outside of Tokyo and with Soka University in Hachioji, a Tokyo suburb. Instructors and students on a study tour of Japan should make every effort to visit one or more Japanese schools. We spent a full day visiting the Soka primary, middle, and high schools in Tokyo, which gave my students ample time to meet and mingle with Japanese students of all ages. There was also a visit with students at our other sister school.

Another must-visit is the National Diet in Tokyo. I had long ago befriended a leading member of the Diet, who always met with our students and personally guided them through some of the inner sanctums of Japan’s parliament. This is not a likely one-to-one relationship many study tour leaders might have, but there are also public tours that foreigners are welcome to join. Lunch in the parliamentary dining room is also highly recommended.

Nara and Kyoto

As described earlier, because of severe time limits and the abundance of things to see and do in Tokyo, we made the Tokyo (Kantō) region the hub of our activities. However, I offered an optional one-day trip to Nara and Kyoto for those students interested in getting a glimpse of these historic cities. We left on the first morning shinkansen (bullet train) headed to Kyoto from Tokyo Station, arrived at 8:30 a.m. We spent a full morning in Nara visiting Tōdaiji temple and associated temples and shrines in the morning, as well as a variety of temples and Nijo Palace in the afternoon, in Kyoto, we paid a courtesy visit to our sister college in Kyoto, Doshisha Women’s College. We caught the last train back to Tokyo after dinner.

Our students got a very good taste of Japan in two and a half weeks and were always reluctant to leave. It was fascinating to learn what they had done on their free days. A number always made the trek to Tokyo Disneyland or went with me to see a Japanese baseball game at the Tokyo Dome or at Meiji Jingu Stadium near our hotel. Others found their way to the morning fish market, and all of them spent countless hours in various large department stores in Shinjuku and Harajuku and at various youth hangouts in Shibuya. I was always amazed at how adept even the shiest student became at mastering the maze of Tokyo subways.

Students were obliged to keep a detailed journal of their impressions of Japanese life, which also became the basis of their final grade for the Introduction to Asia course.

Two to three weeks is a very short time to visit another country, but it was a very welcome opportunity for students with limited time and budgets. They always commented that their own culture was in itself unique, and they expressed greater respect and tolerance for people from other places. A number of these students later returned to Japan to spend a full semester at one of our sister schools in Japan. Many became teachers in Japan’s JET Program, and even today, years after my retirement from full- time teaching, there are a half-dozen or more former students who have made Japan their permanent homes.

Mary Baldwin’s unique relationship with Japanese schools has brought dozens of Japanese students to study at our Virginia campus for a semester or a full year. We also receive students from India, Taiwan, China, and Korea, which allows American students to encounter young Asians on their own turf. I am grateful to have been part of the international exchanges that have occurred because of the college.

I also hope this essay is helpful to those instructors and students who wish to maximize their opportunities in Japan given limited time.

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Article contents

The culture of travel in edo-period japan.

• Robert Goree Robert Goree Wellesley College
• https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277727.013.72
• Published online: 19 November 2020

The expansion of travel transformed Japanese culture during the Edo period (1603–1867). After well over a century of political turmoil, unprecedented stability under Tokugawa rule established the conditions for men and women from all levels of the hierarchical society to travel safely for purposes as varied as the cultural consequences of a country increasingly on the move. Starting in the first half of the 17th century, institutionalized forms of compulsory travel for the highest-ranking samurai and a limited number of elite foreigners made for conspicuous political spectacle and prompted the Tokugawa shogunate to develop and maintain an extensive system of roads, post-towns, checkpoints, and sea routes. Prompted by the economic prosperity of the Genroku era (1688–1704) in the late 17th century, an ever-growing portion of the population, including commoners from cities and villages, took advantage of newfound leisure to embark on journeys for pilgrimage, medical treatment, and sightseeing. This change was accompanied by the expansion of tourism, which grew into a sophisticated commercial enterprise in the 18th century. Poets, writers, painters, performers, and scholars took to the road throughout the Edo period for artistic and intellectual pursuits, often as teachers or students, generating and spreading culture where they went. With an astonishing output of travel literature, guidebooks, maps, and woodblock prints featuring landscapes, a thriving commercial publishing industry, which first blossomed in the Genroku era, used woodblock printing technology to popularize travel in increasingly diverse ways. Together with such influential forms of print, the things that people wore, packed, bought, enjoyed, and rode while traveling formed a rich body of material culture that reveals the lived experience of travel for the duration of Tokugawa rule.

• material culture
• performance
• print culture
• processions
• travel literature

The Spectacle of Official Travel

In 1639 , the Tokugawa shogunate issued edicts prohibiting Portuguese merchants from entering Japan, effectively eliminating the threat of subversive Christian missionaries and sealing a foreign policy commonly referred to as national seclusion ( sakoku ). 1 For the remainder of the period, the shogunate rigorously controlled the movement of all foreigners and Japanese subjects in and out of the archipelago. Japan became isolated from the Western world, save for direct contact with traders from the Dutch East India Company stationed on Deshima, a small island in Nagasaki. 2 By contrast, the shogunate continued to maintain a relatively open if very strictly regulated trade policy with its Asian neighbors. The policy permitted Chinese traders entry to Nagasaki, where they were sequestered in a factory near Deshima and required to offer gifts to the city magistrate. Successive shoguns maintained diplomatic and trade relations with Ryukyu (modern Okinawa) through Satsuma domain, which compelled the island kingdom into vassalage in 1609 . 3 This political arrangement benefited the shogunate with indirect trade and contact with China, since Ryukyu maintained its status as a tributary state of the Qing dynasty after the fall of the Ming dynasty in 1644 . 4 The shogunate also enjoyed diplomatic and trade relations with Korea through the mediation of the island domain of Tsushima, which administered the movement of Japanese subjects to its permanent trading factory and ceramics manufactory in Pusan from 1611 to the end of the period. Matsumae domain orchestrated the colonial movement of Japanese traders and fishery bosses deep into Ezo (modern Hokkaido), which effectively became an appendage of the Tokugawa state after Shakushain’s War of 1669 . 5 Apart from such rare examples, the Japanese did not travel abroad for official reasons during the period. Moreover, despite the shogunate’s general ban on crossing national borders for the population at large, it nonetheless authorized repatriation of Japanese subjects in special circumstances throughout the archipelago—namely when fisherman returned after storms accidentally landed them on foreign shores. 6

Figure 1. Nishimura Shigenaga (1697–1756), The Korean Ambassador on His Way to the Capital , 18th century, woodblock print, ink and color on paper. Metropolitan Museum of Art, JP1618. Havemeyer Collection, bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929.

All foreigners who traveled in Japan did so at the pleasure of the shogun, whose administrations dictated the purpose, times, and manner of their journeys, which entailed appearances before him in Edo Castle. Escorted by watchful Japanese minders, the chief officer ( opperhoofden ) of the Dutch factory and his attendants made a total of 166 tribute missions from Nagasaki to Edo. 7 The kingdom of Ryukyu sent twenty-one diplomatic missions of an average of one hundred men from its capital Shuri to Edo between 1610 and 1850 . 8 The twelve Korean diplomatic missions between 1607 and 1811 were larger, involving four hundred to five hundred men, but like those from Ryukyu represented sovereign rulers and therefore held greater prestige than the Dutch missions (see figure 1 ). 9 These ritualized forms of travel by foreigners to Edo not only supported foreign relations and trade, but they also contributed to the substance and optics of shogunal supremacy at home. The passage of such politically important junkets, which might include courtiers, scholars, and artists wearing curious garments and speaking foreign languages, was an impressive sight for countless Japanese spectators lining the roads—one with cultural impact magnified by the circulation of stories and artwork by eyewitnesses.

The daimyo who governed the 260-odd domains making up the Japanese polity also traveled at the shogun’s bidding. Under the policy of alternate attendance ( sankin kōtai ), they spent half their time at his court by shifting residences between their home domains and Edo as frequently as every other year, starting in 1635 for tozama daimyo, the least-trusted domainal hegemons (see figure 2 ). 10 By 1642 , fudai daimyo, who were trusted more, were also required to travel to and from Edo in elaborate processions with retinues numbering into the hundreds on average and in some cases reaching three thousand men, all in accordance with schedules, routes, and budgets determined by the shogunate. 11 Established to constrain the political ambition and financial resources of daimyo, the perpetual spectacle of these highly choreographed fast-paced marches was a grand performance of fealty to the shogun for all to behold. Incorporating dance-like movements and displays of military preparedness and material finery, the processions exhibited the varied statuses of daimyo and the distinctiveness of their respective domainal cultures, but only as a theatrical measure of the shogun’s power to ensure their good behavior. Spectators experienced the processions reverentially as grand spectacle, and artists captured the pageantry in scroll paintings and woodblock prints. A lynchpin for shogunal governance, alternate attendance stimulated the growth of rural economies and cultures along the roads through the development of post-stations with inns and services appropriate for daimyo and their long retinues. Until its abolishment in 1862 , the policy also encouraged cultural integration because domainal samurai became vehicles for the flow of goods, practices, and knowledge across regional boundaries, turning Edo and other cities into nexuses for exchange of geographically specific customs and material culture. 12

Figure 2. Hishikawa School, Daimyo Procession to Edo , c . 1700, handscroll (detail), ink, color, and gold on silk. Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2019.447.1. Gift of Lee E. Dirks, 2019.

As fixed points around which daimyo, foreigners, and the imperial court revolved, shoguns typically traveled only for inspection tours and ceremonial purposes. The trip to Nikkō north of Edo was the largest of all ceremonial shogunal processions, its purpose to honor the memory of the shogunate’s founder, Tokugawa Ieyasu ( 1543–1616 ), at the Tōshō-gū where he was enshrined in 1636 . 13 Six different shoguns made the trip a total of eighteen times, taking about five days for the extremely large retinues, which swelled to an astonishing 230,000 people and 305,000 horses for Tokugawa Ieharu ( 1737–1786 ). 14 By contrast, imperial processions from Kyoto to Nikkō, which consisted of fifty to one hundred courtiers and occurred annually from 1646 , were much more modest and frequent. 15 Regular entourages of courtiers and occasional high-profile wedding processions from Kyoto to Edo also signaled the imperial court’s de facto subordination under the shogun. In 1861 , Princess Kazu ( 1846–1877 ) traveled to Edo to marry the shogun Tokugawa Iemochi ( 1846–1866 ) in a procession as massive as it was quiet. Measuring over thirty miles, the procession moved solemnly on roads where all travel, business, temple bells, animals, and babies had been hushed. 16 By contrast, not one shogun traveled to Kyoto between 1643 and 1863 .

By the end of the 1630s, the shogunate completed development of an extensive and reliable system of centrally administered roads to support official transportation. At its core, the Five Routes ( gokaidō ) radiated from “the Bridge of Japan” (Nihonbashi) in Edo: the Tōkaidō, which followed the eastern coast of Honshū and terminated in Kyoto, was the most developed thanks to heavy traffic from alternate attendance; the slightly longer Nakasendō also linked Edo and Kyoto, but by an inland mountainous route; the Kōshū Dōchū, a much shorter road, passed through Kai Province and intersected the Nakasendō; the Ōshū Dōchū headed north from Edo and terminated at Shirakawa in Mutsu Province; and the Nikkō Dōchū, the shortest of the Five Routes, was a spur route connecting the Ōshū Dōchū to Nikkō. Eight official auxiliary routes extended the Five Routes to more peripheral destinations, and many more sub-routes ( waki kaidō ) maintained by local daimyo enabled access to castle towns and deeper regional penetration. 17 The shogunate staffed guards at fifty-three barrier stations ( sekisho ) along the Five Routes to monitor travelers, primarily to prevent weapons from entering Edo and high-ranking samurai women from leaving Edo without permission. 18 In particular, officials closely scrutinized daimyo wives because they were required to live permanently in Edo as a measure to keep their husbands in check, but all women regardless of status seem to have regarded the barrier stations with some degree of trepidation. 19 Unofficial roads often called princess routes ( hime kaidō ) provided detours around barrier stations, daunting mountain passes, and difficult river crossings throughout the transportation network. 20 To facilitate smoothly flowing traffic, all official roads were unpaved for optimal drainage, cleaned regularly, off limits to wheeled vehicles as a rule, and lined with trees and shrubs for shade in summer and windbreaks in winter. 21 To make the transportation system even more robust, the shogunate administered a comprehensive network of sea routes linking major islands and coastal cities.

Pilgrimage and Leisure Travel for the Masses

Due to intense urbanization in the late 16th and early 17th centuries , large cities like Kyoto, Osaka, and Edo, as well as relatively smaller castle towns in each domain began to stimulate unprecedented demand for many kinds of goods among the samurai required to live in them. 22 These urban markets drove rapid growth in interregional trade, which occurred in tandem with the development of complex marketing systems and sophisticated commercial practices. By the late 17th century , the townspeople ( chōnin ) who brought about this transformational commercial expansion for their samurai masters had begun to grow prosperous despite their inferior social status. 23 These merchants and artisans enjoyed much freedom of movement because of their societal role in distributing and retailing rice and other goods needed in both cities and the countryside. Exemplifying such movement, itinerant peddlers traveled trade routes to sell goods as varied as medicine, cooking utensils, farm tools, and books. 24 By contrast, the authorities restricted travel among samurai to official shogunal and domain business. Those wishing to take leave of their posts to travel for medical treatment or sightseeing might be able to do so but only after obtaining special permission through a tedious application process. 25

The samurai authorities officially discouraged non-utilitarian travel for everyone, regardless of social status, since mobility might threaten the fulfillment of duty to lord, family, or occupation. However, commoners moved about with relative freedom for reasons other than work provided they obtained documents stating their purpose was religious pilgrimage or medical treatment. In the early 18th century , many townspeople and farmers, including both men and women, took to the road with such documents in hand, igniting a boom in travel among the masses that included decidedly non-utilitarian activities like sightseeing, shopping, and culinary tourism. 26 This remarkable surge in leisure travel peaked from the 1780s to the 1840s due in large part to the accumulated economic effects of dramatic population growth and the commercialization of agricultural production from the 17th century onward. 27 By the time production of agricultural commodities sold on the open market had become widespread and highly efficient in the late 18th century , many farmers in the Kansai region around Osaka and Kyoto had attained sufficient wherewithal to take to the road for pilgrimage and other non-utilitarian reasons.

The Ise Shrine was the most popular pilgrimage destination (see figure 3 ). Dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu, the ancient shrine drew hundreds of thousands of pilgrims annually and many more during pilgrimages of thanksgiving ( okagemairi )—the periodic mass pilgrimages that took place after particularly bountiful harvests starting in 1638 . In 1830 , one such pilgrimage swelled to an estimated five million people, including large numbers of women and children under the age of sixteen. 28 The overlapping phenomenon of fleeing to Ise shrine without permission ( nukemairi )—when pilgrims spontaneously left behind home, work, and duty to make the trek—also helps account for the large number of people traveling regardless of age, gender, or social status. Ise pilgrims frequently made side trips to other ancient sacred sites further south on the Kii Peninsula, namely Mount Koya, the headquarters of Shingon Buddhism, and the Kumano Shrine, which consists of three scenic holy mountains. It was not uncommon for the same pilgrims to extend their trips to Kyoto, which was home to over one thousand Buddhist temples. 29 Located more remotely and requiring a boat ride across the Seto Inland Sea, the Konpira Shrine on Shikoku, which was dedicated to the eponymous god associated with seafaring, crowned an eighty-eight-site pilgrimage that rivaled the Ise Shrine in popularity, both places becoming the subjects of songs sung throughout the land. Many more pilgrimage destinations reveal the cultural prominence of religiously motivated travel. Regional circuits like the thirty-three sites associated with Kannon in the Kansai region were traversed annually by as many as one hundred thousand people in the mid- 18th century . The enormous temple Zenkōji in Shinano (modern Nagano) attracted as many as two hundred thousand pilgrims with its hidden Buddhist icon in the final two decades of the period. 30 The overwhelming enthusiasm for pilgrimage in general manifested in the use of proxies when one could not personally go, such as setting adrift small sake barrels called nagashidaru on the Seto Inland Sea for fishermen to find and offer at the Konpira Shrine; or, sending a dog to the Ise Shrine with food money and an offering tied around its neck. 31

Figure 3. Chōgō (active 18th century), Pilgrims Traveling to Ise , 18th century, hanging scroll (detail); ink and color on paper. Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2015.300.223. Mary Griggs Burke Collection, gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, 2015.

Pilgrimages took place almost exclusively on foot, except when boats were necessary, and could last longer than two months depending on overall distance traveled and side trips taken. But the cost of lodging, food, and souvenirs associated with long trips could make even relatively short excursions prohibitively expensive for all but wealthy merchants and samurai with generous stipends. Economically disadvantaged farmers and townspeople responded to the high cost of travel by forming mutual-aid confraternities ( kō ) that funded pilgrimages for one or more representatives each year from a pool of member donations—a practice that contributed to the large number of commoners on the road for non-utilitarian travel. These confraternities underwrote pilgrimages to the most popular destinations, but they also sent members to sacred sites for emerging religious cults, such as those associated with mountains like Fuji, Hakusan, and Tateyama, and those linked to fashionable gods ( hayarigami ) such as Inari and Jizō. 32 Itinerant proselytizers representing specific temples and shrines (called onshi in the case of Ise Shrine and oshi for other sites) made the rounds of villages and cities in the winter off-season to support confraternities and recruit new pilgrims—another crucial factor in the popularity of pilgrimage in the period. These professional proselytizers also acted as travel agents by arranging lodging for confraternities and working as tour guides at pilgrimage destinations. By 1777 , Ise onshi effectively had the entire country covered with patrons in roughly five million households (out of a total population of approximately twenty-six million people). 33 In the case of Mount Tateyama, oshi raised the number of pilgrims to about six thousand annually by traveling the country and explicating mandalas representing the remote mountain. 34 Playing a similar role, some temples attracted visitors with kaichō : public displays of paintings, sculptures, and holy relics that occasionally became traveling exhibitions. 35

Shorter outings were an option when lengthy pilgrimages proved unfeasible. Reachable within days rather than weeks and requiring much less expense and planning, popular pilgrimage destinations within striking distance of Edo included Shinshō-ji temple on Mount Narita to the east, Tōshō-gū shrine in Nikkō to the north, the thirty-four temples associated with Kannon in Chichibu to the northwest, and Mount Ōyama and the shrine to Benzaiten on the small island Enoshima to the southwest. Women gravitated to these relatively nearby places because they did not require passage through barrier stations, in particular the Hakone checkpoint, which stood as a carefully policed gateway to the major pilgrimages further west. 36 Much shorter trips taken within and around cities also grew popular. In Edo, day-trippers visited the one hundred Konpira sub-shrines linked to the main shrine on Shikoku or miniature replicas of Mount Fuji, which female members of the popular Mount Fuji cult climbed as a substitute for summiting the real mountain, which they were prohibited to do. 37 Similarly, residents of Kyoto often visited the many temples and shrines throughout their city and just beyond for unexacting sojourns.

Like pilgrimage, travel to hot springs ( onsen ) was an ancient practice that expanded considerably during the period because the authorities considered soaking in geothermal waters a legitimate medical treatment for various illnesses and ailments. The cure typically involved dipping in several different baths each day for up to twenty-one days in mountain hamlets. Like post-stations along major roads, these hamlets offered lodging and other amenities keyed to the various status levels of customers, from poor townspeople to high-ranking samurai. In the 1640s, shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu ( 1604–1651 ) regarded the therapeutic practice highly enough to order onsen water from the Seven Hot Springs of Hakone (Hakone Shichiyu) transported in wooden casks to Edo. And in 1656 , 119 shogunal officials traveled to the source to experience the therapeutic waters firsthand. 38

Although the authorities did not officially permit sightseeing because of its perceived lack of utility, travelers routinely used onsen treatments and pilgrimages as opportunities for recreational purposes, much like Japanese people continue to do in the 21st century . Pilgrims to sacred sites might make side trips to nearby hot springs to dine on soba noodles, smoke tobacco, read books, and play shōgi in well-appointed inns, skipping the baths altogether. 39 In general, pilgrims may have undertaken journeys as acts of religious devotion with potential spiritual and health benefits, but they were just as likely motivated by opportunities to indulge in local food and sake. Consequently, with the expansion of pilgrimage as a cultural practice in the 18th century came the growth of tourism at sacred sites and along roads. Temples and shrines sponsored this growth for the sake of economic advantage by making recreational goods and services available within or just beyond their gates. Notwithstanding the efforts of some Buddhist sects like Jodō Shinshū and Nichiren to preserve the sacredness of pilgrimages, most sacred destinations drew income from food stalls, teahouses, and theatrical performances, and nearby pleasure quarters offered dancing, singing, and prostitution to those in search of more revelry. 40 At large and small post-stations along well-traveled roads, inns and teahouses competed for customers by posting women called tomeonna outside their doors to entice travelers inside, sometimes quite aggressively; once inside, travelers would likely encounter serving girls ( meshimori onna ), who in addition to waiting on them might offer sexual services. 41 By 1844 , there were 1,348 serving girls employed at Shinagawa, the first post-station on the Tōkaidō departing Edo, which highlights the reality of fierce competition. 42 Another form of leisure travel reflected growing enthusiasm for cultural geography. Travelers everywhere eagerly sought out famous places ( meisho ), which in addition to celebrated temples and shrines included tens of thousands of landmarks with historical, literary, and scenic significance throughout the country. Many famous places were widely known, such as Matsushima, Hashidate, and Itsukushima, but others were obscure enough to require the guide services of itinerant monks, mountain ascetics, and entrepreneurial locals. Exposure to local culture through visits to these culturally significant sites, as well as more ludic attractions, contributed to the pilgrim’s sense of temporary freedom from the constraints of everyday life, namely one’s occupation, social status, and gender—and helps explain why the sacred and profane intermingled so freely in the context of Edo-period travel. 43

Cultural Production on the Road

Prior to masses of people traveling for spiritual, medical, and recreational purposes, a smaller number of amateurs and professionals took to the road to engage in artistic and scholarly pursuits from the 17th century onward, continuing an old tradition but now with far greater ease and safety. Keeping a practical diary on trips became a widespread practice, but among those with literary inclinations writing finely crafted travel literature ( kikōbun ) was a high-minded practice entailing historically sensitive engagement with geography. For literati ( bunjin ), such writing fueled the pursuit of countercultural identities involving poetic composition, painting, and reclusive wandering as an aesthetic pastime with spiritual meaning. Exceeding 2,500 works, much of this writing was pursued for personal gratification and circulated as manuscripts within small social circles. 44 However, some works were published to considerable acclaim and had much bigger readerships. In the Genroku era, Matsuo Bashō ( 1644–1694 ), the most famous poet of the Edo period if not all of Japanese literary history, published several hokku -studded prose accounts describing the long journeys he took to places made famous in waka , thereby extending an ancient practice of literary pilgrimage. 45 Examples include Bones Bleaching in the Fields ( Nozarashi kikō , 1684 ), Record of a Travel-Worn Satchel ( Oi no Kobumi , 1688 ), and his most famous, Narrow Road to the Deep North ( Oku no hosomichi , 1694 ). Also of considerable significance in their time and later on for the historical insights they provide were the travel writings of scholars, such as Account of a Journey in the Year of Heishin ( Heishin kikō , 1616 ) by Hayashi Razan ( 1583–1657 ), Tour of Yamato ( Yamato meguri , 1696 ) by Kaibara Ekiken ( 1630–1714 ), and Journey to the West ( Saiyūki , 1795 ) and Journey to the East ( Tōyūki , 1795 ) by Tachibana Nankei ( 1753–1805 ). These works might contain poetically inflected reflections of landscape, but they were also grounded in empirical observation associated with the specific intellectual interests of their authors. Many such travelogues were written by highly educated women and shed light on their interests and gendered experiences of travel, locating them in a longstanding tradition of travel writing by Japanese women. 46

Making visual art was another strong motivation for travel. Continuing a notable practice of the Azuchi-Momoyama period ( 1568–1603 ), painters from the Kano School in Kyoto took commissions from the shogun and daimyo located throughout the land in the early 17th century to decorate castle interiors with screen paintings, panel paintings, and hanging scrolls, often taking up residence under samurai patronage. In the 18th century , some of the most innovative painters of the period diverged from the conservative tendency among Kano painters of painting conventional motifs from models. For example, Ike no Taiga ( 1723–1776 ) and Maruyama Ōkyo ( 1733–1795 ) were driven by empirical inclinations to capture the physical dimensions of place firsthand in personally distinctive ways. In the 19th century , the Dutch employed Kawahara Keiga ( 1786–1860 ) to travel broadly from Nagasaki to make accurate drawings of flora and fauna, topography, and people, including the Ainu in Ezo. 47 By contrast, literati painters of the 18th century pursued an ideal of Chinese-inflected subjectivity as they retraced the footsteps of earlier literati, making paintings and poems along the way. For example, Yosa Buson ( 1716–1784 ) traced itineraries traveled by Bashō, his teacher in poetic composition, composing poetry and making paintings en route. Throughout the period itinerant monk-artists such as Enkū ( 1632–1695 ) and Mokujiki ( 1718–1810 ) also exhibited idiosyncratic subjectivities in the distinctive wooden carvings they made and sold while traveling great distances. 48

Itinerant performers of all sorts flourished, especially in the 18th century . Kabuki actors and jōruri chanters were welcome emissaries of urban culture and traveled broadly to perform (see figure 4 ). 49 Performers of manzai , a form of humorous dialogue with regional variations, brought smiles to the faces of daimyo and other high-ranking samurai, including sequestered women of high rank. 50 Biwa hōshi , who resembled monks and were often blind, toured widely to recite The Tales of the Heike ( c . 1240 ) to the accompaniment of lutes ( biwa ), much as they had done since the Genpei War ( 1180–1185 ) upon which the story was based. 51 Troupes of goze —blind women who sang and played the samisen—had fixed territories where they performed, spreading urban culture where they went. 52 Many forms of performance with religious roots flourished and evolved in the period, their practitioners setting forth from humble temporary abodes to perform and collect donations door to door in villages and urban areas, especially on New Year’s Day. Many of these end-of-year performances were put on by itinerant exorcists and diviners who, respectively, banished evil spirits and brought good fortune with singing and dancing. 53 Other traveling performers were solicited to bring about bountiful harvests with auspicious dances linked to popular gods like Ebisu and Daikoku. 54 Lion dances ( shishi-mai ) and acrobatics of various kinds likewise entertained people in cities and villages. 55 Mendicant Zen monks called komusō , who wore large straw basket hats low over their heads, traveled around collecting alms as they played the bamboo flute ( shakuhachi ). 56

Figure 4. Katsukawa Shunshō (1726–1792), The Actor Danjuro III as an Itinerant Peddler , 1726–1792, woodblock print, ink and color on paper. Metropolitan Museum of Art, JP2888. Henry L. Phillips Collection, bequest of Henry L. Phillips, 1939.

The demand for itinerant teachers grew as increasing prosperity led to greater leisure for self-cultivation in the arts. Beginning in the Genroku period, townspeople sought out instruction in refined skills from visiting teachers, many of whom served as conduits for sharing the hitherto secret court culture of Kyoto, such as waka composition. Other teachers toured villages and smaller castle towns, especially in the Kansai region and along the coast of the Seto Inland sea, to offer samurai, townspeople, and well-to-do farmers remunerated instruction in refined skills, which included calligraphy, painting, poetic composition, and musical instruments like the Chinese qin . 57 Itinerant experts in the composition of poetry, such as Bashō and his many disciples, presided over local literati gatherings as judges, offering evaluation and encouragement to far-flung students, and in the process stimulated the growth of networks linking literati across regional boundaries. 58 Talented women from various social backgrounds traveled in order to tutor women in samurai, daimyo, and shogunal households—some returning home periodically to visit their natal families. 59 Scholars on the road taught the methods of philologically adept readings of old Japanese and Chinese texts, stimulating the growth of intellectual movements like “ancient learning” ( kogaku ) in the 17th century and “native studies” ( kokugaku ) in the 18th and 19th centuries . From the second half of the 18th century , scholars of Dutch studies ( rangaku ), such as Hiraga Gennai ( 1728–1780 ), popularized Western ideas, objects, and artistic techniques in areas as remote as Akita domain. 60 Throughout the period, many notable travel writers, such as Ekiken and Nankei, were multi-talented scholars who taught and learned in a variety of subjects while in transit. Experts in lacquerware and porcelain production traveled to domains to share their know-how under daimyo patronage, stimulating the growth of local industries. 61

As travel became more and more feasible in the 18th century , students began to travel in greater numbers. Visual artists from all over Japan went to Nagasaki for access to instruction in Chinese and Western techniques. Sō Shiseki ( 1715–1786 ) left his home in Edo to study with Shen Quan ( 1682–1760 ), a relatively obscure painter and calligrapher from China, and subsequently became an influential instructor of bird-and-flower painting ( kachōga ) in his own right. 62 Influential figures like Gennai and Shiba Kōkan ( 1747–1818 ) traveled to Nagasaki to study Western optical instruments, oil painting, and copperplate engraving. 63 For his part, Kōkan paid for his subsequent travels with demonstrations of painting and devices like the camera obscura. 64 He and other polymaths traveled to gatherings of artists and scholars held throughout the country to exchange ideas, techniques, and artwork, most notably at the influential salon of Kimura Kenkadō ( 1736–1802 ), a wealthy sake brewer and skilled amateur artist. 65 Toward the end of the period, daimyo increased sponsorship of travel study ( yūgaku ), dispatching talented samurai from their home domains to train in official and private samurai academies in other domains, with the expectation that they would return as more capable scholars, administrators, and martial artists. 66

Travel and Print Culture

During the 17th century , the expansion of samurai administrative duties and commercial activity among townspeople in large cities and castle towns raised literacy, which then gradually spread to villages and rural towns in the 18th century . 67 As a consequence, demand for printed material of practical use as well as entertainment value intensified, to which commercial publishers in the Genroku era responded with an extraordinary output of printed material. Henceforth, a thriving publishing industry and broad interest in travel were mutually reinforcing engines of cultural growth.

Readers eagerly purchased published travelogues by well-known figures. Some of the most popular literary works were illustrated editions of stories from earlier eras, many of which featured travel, as with the tactical movements of warriors in Tales of the Heike and the wanderings of Ariwara no Narihira in The Tales of Ise ( c . 980). Newly published fiction in the period frequently used travel as a vehicle for plot and characterization. Works by Ihara Saikaku ( 1642–1693 ) feature characters constantly on the move, including the libidinous protagonists of Life of an Amorous Man ( Kōshoku ichidai otoko , 1682 ) and Life of an Amorous Woman ( Kōshoku ichidai onna , 1686 ), fiercely loyal samurai in Tales of Samurai Honor ( Buke giri monogatari , 1688 ), and business-savvy commoners in The Eternal Storehouse of Japan ( Nippon Eitaigura , 1688 ). Even the erudite fiction of Ueda Akinari ( 1734–1809 ), such as Tales of Moonlight and Rain ( Ugetsu monogatari , 1776 ), features characters as varied as farmers, artists, and scholars encountering supernatural phenomena on journeys near and far. Shank’s Mare ( Tōkaidōchū hizakurige , 1802–1822 ) by Jippensha Ikku ( 1765–1831 ) took travel as its central theme by following the comical missteps of the bumbling duo Yaji and Kita on the Tōkaidō from their home in Edo to the Ise Shrine. Serialized in eight volumes, the humorous book ( kokkeibon ) was such a hit that Ikku wrote twelve volumes of sequels tracing the duo’s further travels to the Kiso valley, Zenkōji temple, Miyajima, and Konpira Shrine. Regardless of genre, much of the period’s popular fiction showcased travel, such as vendetta stories ( katakiuchimono ) that explored the legal practice of apprehending enemies—and became a staple subject on the Kabuki stage. Travel stories ( tabibanashi ) were an especially popular subgenre of rakugo , a genre of oral comic storytelling that influenced published literary works. 68

Kabuki actors were familiar with travel from portraying it onstage in journey scenes ( michiyuki ), during which they traversed the hanamichi , a walkway extending into the audience, in stylized emulation of momentous trips. These theatrical journeys were a popular theme in ukiyo-e, as was the depiction of Kabuki actors more generally. The most widely known expressions of the intersection of travel and print culture were polychromatic ukiyo-e depicting landscapes and the pleasures of travel in the last century of Tokugawa rule. The celebrated artist Katsushika Hokusai ( 1760–1849 ) led the way in extending the range of ukiyo-e subjects from actors and courtesans to the natural world and the pleasures of travel, as seen in Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji ( Fugaku sanjūrokkei , 1826–1833 ), A Tour of the Waterfalls of the Provinces ( Shokoku taki meguri , c . 1832 ), and One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji ( Fugaku hyakkei , 1834 ), widely considered his masterpiece (see figure 5 ). Hokusai’s treatment of Mount Fuji exerted a strong influence on Andō Hiroshige ( 1797–1858 ), whose atmospheric depictions of the mountain and other landscapes were shaped by extensive travel and are best appreciated in The Fifty-Three Stations of the Tōkaidō ( Tōkaidō gojūsan-tsugi , 1833–1834 ), One Hundred Famous Views of Edo ( Meisho Edo hyakkei , 1856–1859 ), and Famous Views of the Sixty-Odd Provinces ( Rokujūyoshū meisho zue , 1853–1856 ). People purchased as inexpensive souvenirs such wanderlust-inspiring evocations of place by these and other artists of the 19th century . 69 And travelers to cities, temples, and shrines throughout Japan could often find woodblock prints of lesser quality depicting local culture and scenery, as in the case of prints depicting foreign men and women available in Nagasaki. 70

Figure 5. Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849), Hodogaya on the Tōkaidō , from the series Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji, c . 1830–1832, woodblock print, ink and color on paper. Metropolitan Museum of Art, JP2973. Henry L. Phillips Collection, bequest of Henry L. Phillips, 1939.

An unprecedented outpouring of woodblock printed maps beginning in the Genroku era reveals a society increasingly on the move. The shogunate paved the way with comprehensive maps of roads and geographical features in large provinces for official use early in the period. Soon commercial publishers were printing ambitious route maps ( dōchū-zu ), such as A Measured Pictorial Map of the Tōkaidō ( Tokaido bunken ezu , 1690 ), drafted by Ochikochi Dōin (b. 1628 ), who had made maps for the shogunate, and illustrated by Hishikawa Moronobu ( 1618–1694 ). The map scrupulously charts the approximately 300 miles of the Tōkaidō Road at a scale of 1:12,000 in a five-part accordion-style book ( orihon ). 71 Republished three times, it exerted tremendous influence on other maps made in the period, not only hundreds of route maps depicting post-stations, distance markers, and famous places, but also highly portable maps of cities, provinces, and the entire country (see figure 6 ). In the 19th century , extensive section maps ( kiriezu ) of Edo epitomized the sophistication of commercial mapmaking with its granular detail of the city’s political and cultural geography in orthogonal perspective and color. Hundreds more maps with much narrower scope appeared for specific places, including licensed pleasure districts in cities, pilgrimage destinations, and onsen resorts. Even when drafted to facilitate wayfinding, such commercially published maps tended to incorporate pictorial elements, resulting in practically useful tools with aesthetically pleasing displays of topography.

Figure 6. Akisato Ritō, fl. 1780–1814, Nihon kairiku hayabiki dōchūki (Easy reference route map of Japan’s lands and seas), 1830, woodblock printed map, ink and color on paper. C. V. Starr East Asian Library, University of California, Berkeley, J4.1.

Like maps, books supporting travel were in high demand. Some provided information on specialized topics of interest to travelers, such as post-station inns on major routes, shopping in cities, and famous places organized thematically. Takizawa Bakin ( 1767–1848 ) and other writers in the 18th century wrote practical travel guidebooks, but one of the most illuminating examples was A Collection of Travel Precautions ( Ryokō yōjinshū , 1810 ) by Yasumi Roan (n.d.), which offers an abundance of advice; for example, lodge only at well-established thriving inns, do not sing if someone ahead is singing lest a fight break out, make noise when traveling at night to scare off wolves and bears, and apply ox dung to the soles of sandals to ward off snakes and poisonous insects. 72 Such guidebooks contained illustrations for conveying readily accessible information about specific places, situations, and objects. Among the more culturally oriented publications, illustrated guidebooks to famous places ( meisho annai-ki ) helped travelers appreciate the poetic, religious, and historical dimensions of the places they visited. Multivolume illustrated books depicting famous places ( meisho zue ) provided a virtual alternative to actual travel with prose and pictorial representations of many different kinds of cultural landmarks. Prominent examples include Illustrated Collection of Famous Places in the Imperial Capital ( Miyako meisho zue , 1780 ), compiled by Akisato Ritō ( c . 1733–1812 ) and illustrated by Takehara Shunchōsai (fl. 1772–1801 ); and Illustrated Collection of Famous Places in Edo ( Edo meisho zue , 1829–1836 ), compiled by Saitō Gesshin ( 1804–1878 ) and illustrated by Hasegawa Settan ( 1778–1843 ). Enormously popular, these comprehensive surveys of roads, cities, and regions were produced by intrepid editors and artists who traveled extensively for years if not decades to gather local knowledge and depict places faithfully. 73 Complementing these books in less ambitious ways, an abundance of printed ephemera dealt with travel themes, such as board games ( dōchū sugoroku ) that took players on journeys through famous places.

The Material Culture of Travel

Together with printed matter, a variety of objects associated with travel make up a distinctive repository of material culture and include what travelers wore, packed, bought, and rode. Travelers dressed not only for the demands of the road in general but also in ways appropriate for their social status and travel purpose. Participants in alternate attendance processions donned fine black and brightly colored garments and carried an array of weapons and banners in a display of unity, military preparedness, and local culture that signaled the prestige of their daimyo and reverence for the shogun. 74 Fleet-footed couriers known as hikyaku ran relays to deliver mail rapidly—from Edo to Osaka in as little as sixty-six hours—sporting loin cloths, fingerless gloves made of stiff fabric, and sandals with cords laced up the calves. 75 Itinerant ascetics also wore a kind of uniform; for example, Konpira shrine priests wore all white and displayed large masks of tengu (mountain goblins) in boxes strapped to their backs. 76 Pilgrims in general wore simple kimono with hems fastened snugly around the legs, protective leggings, and straw sandals that required regular repair if they were to last. To protect the head and face from sun, snow, and rain, pilgrims also wore a stiffened hat called a kasa , secured by a chinstrap and made from a variety of plant fibers including igusa , sedge, and bamboo. Pilgrims wore conical kasa called sugegasa or more rounded ones with flattened tops called sandogasa , often written on to indicate their destination and group size. Samurai in transit customarily donned “war hats” ( jingasa ), which were made of lacquered wood, sat higher on the head, and indicated clan affiliation with a small emblem called a mon . Itinerant monks often hid some or all of their faces in the wickerwork basket hats most closely associated with komusō —headgear that suggested mendicant modesty appropriated at times for concealment purposes by master-less samurai ( rōnin ) and, according to legend, ninja. 77

Depending on the length and purpose of the journey, travelers packed their belongings in kimono sleeves, large squares of cloth ( furoshiki ), satchels ( dōran ), bamboo backpacks ( oi ), or cases of different sizes and materials. Besides maps and books, the bare essentials included a travel document, a wallet, cash in the form of coins, and a personal seal ( hanko ) for cashing promissory notes ( tegata ) en route. Writing paper and a portable brush and ink set were desirable accoutrements, as were a change of clothing, an all-purpose hand-towel ( tenugui ), and tissue paper. Personal comfort at inns improved if one brought along a paper fan, candles, and a pillow. Small mirrors, hair combs and oil, and haircutting blades kept up appearances when hairdressers were unavailable. In preparation for predictable problems, travelers packed needle and thread to repair clothing, medicines for stomach ailments, rice or barley flour as a backup for purchasable meals, and abacuses ( soroban ) for complicated commercial transactions. Many wayfarers toted pipes and tobacco, lighting up at teahouses and inns. Depending on the season, the prudent traveler had at the ready padded outer garments for warmth as well as paper umbrellas and rain capes rubbed with oil or persimmon juice for water repellency. While in transit, they also made use of pocket compasses, walking sticks, and long bamboo staffs for carrying bundles tied at each end. 78 Portable lamps brightened the way between post-towns when a day’s progress lasted into the pitch-black night.

While the possible unavailability of necessities on the road made packing them prudent, the appeal of unique items for sale prompted travelers to leave extra room for souvenirs and gifts. At shrines and temples, pilgrims invariably bought inexpensive amulets with talismanic powers made of hemp, cloth, or wood called ofuda , to be hung in one’s home upon return; or omamori , which were similar amulets made of paper or cloth and worn or carried by an individual for personal protection. For similar reasons, pilgrims might also buy small figurines made of bamboo and willow branches, such as beckoning cats ( maneki-neko ) and popular gods like Daikoku, one of the seven gods of good luck. Single-sheet pictorial maps of temples and shrines ( keidaizu ) made for highly packable mementos of destinations reached. Women browsed shops near pilgrimage sites for souvenirs such as white face powder and hair pins. Travelers in general spent a good deal of money on local specialty products ( meibutsu ), which handy guidebooks helped to popularize. Travelers sought out finely crafted wooden combs in the mountains of Shinano Province, intricately patterned tie-died fabric called arimatsu shibori in Owari Province, and brightly colored porcelain called Imari ware in Hizen Province. Anonymous folk artists along the Tōkaidō near Lake Biwa in Ōmi Province sold passersby inexpensive paintings called otsu-e , which depicted themes drawn from Buddhism and folklore, often in a satirical manner. Some local specialty products were normally consumed on site, such as green tea in Suruga Province, Itami-zake (a type of sake) in Settsu Province, and abalone in Ise Province. With many regions boasting unique rice cakes ( mochi ), soups ( shiru ), and dumplings ( dango ), culinary tourism formed part of most trips made during the period. 79 Without the overall commercialization of the economy and diversification of agricultural commodification in the 17th and 18th centuries , the wide availability of such products by the end of the 18th century would not have been possible.

Figure 7. Utagawa Toyokuni I (1769–1825), Fair Travelers Fording the River Oi , c . 1800, triptych of woodblock prints, ink and color on paper. Metropolitan Museum of Art, JP202. Rogers Fund, 1914.

The material culture of travel also included objects made to facilitate transportation. The overwhelming majority of travelers walked, but some opted to pay high prices to ride pack horses led by handlers, sitting in saddles designed for one to three people. High-ranking samurai frequently rode in palanquins ( norimono ), typically with room for only one person and carried on long beams by two or more men. Fully enclosed with sliding doors, these cramped but luxurious sedan chairs could be richly lacquered on the outside and lavishly painted with landscapes by Kano School painters on the inside. The shogunate repeatedly issued sumptuary laws prohibiting wealthy merchants from riding in palanquins since it was a status marker for samurai, but only infrequently enforced them. Merchants and other well-off commoners more frequently, and legally, opted for conveyance in simple unenclosed litters made of wood or bamboo called kago , which hung from a long pole borne by two men. For ascents up mountain roads too steep for horses or intimidating for travelers to climb, open swinging seats called mountain palanquins ( yamakago ) were a welcome option. 80 For long journeys, travelers could hire notoriously surly porters to carry baggage between post-stations; for daytrips like cherry-blossom viewing, they might pay them to carry picnic boxes and fabrics to mark off semi-private spaces. 81 The shogunate restricted permanent bridge construction for military purposes and due to frequently flooding rivers, but ferries were widely available in the form of small boats, temporary floating bridges, and, in the case of broad shallow rivers like Ōi River, platforms shouldered by as many as twenty wading men (see figure 7 ). 82 Whatever the trip’s length, travelers and the laborers who supported them benefited from abundant signage, including earthen mounds marking distances of approximately 2.5 miles ( ichirizuka ), stone markers for crossroads, and wooden signs indicating political boundaries. 83 Stone statues of road gods ( dōsojin ) appeared frequently on roadsides to safeguard safe passage for all. 84

Discussion of the Literature

Scholarship on the culture of travel in Edo-period Japan is abundant and multidisciplinary, spanning the fields of history, geography, literature, art, religion, and anthropology. In addition to studies narrowly focused on the topic, those devoted to other subjects frequently deal with the cultural implications of travel because of their relevance to understanding broader social, political, and economic phenomena. As a result, an abiding interest in the causes, consequences, and representations of people moving from one place to another for specific reasons runs through the secondary literature.

Useful historical overviews published from the 1980s by Konno and Kanzaki explore the cultural consequences of travel as an institution shaped by the state. 85 Their tendency to approach the topic through the lens of political administration is more pronounced in an earlier generation of scholars, including Kodama, Maruyama, and Igarashi, who dwell on how the shogunate regulated travel through transportation infrastructure, such as road systems, barrier checkpoints, and post-stations. 86 In the 1980s and 1990s, a growing number of scholars began to approach institutional history as a way to link travel to political developments. In studies about alternate attendance and recreational travel, Constantine Vaporis challenges the view that the authorities fully controlled travel, stimulating new directions in research that account for travel from the perspective of travelers. 87 Representing a different strain of institutional history, Ronald Toby and Gregory Smits analyze the movements of foreigners in and around Japan to demonstrate the complexity of foreign relations in the region and critique the still-persistent notion that Japan was completely closed off from the rest of the world during the period. 88

Much of the scholarship linked to travel and culture in the period concerns pilgrimage and pilgrimage sites. There remains little debate about whether the sacred and profane blended in the act of pilgrimage, as seen in the work of Nelson Graburn and Susanne Formanek, but there are diverging interpretations about how and why this occurred. 89 Under the influence of modernization theory, Nishiyama Matsunosuke theorizes a process of evolution by which the religious act became increasingly secular, culminating in full-blown recreational travel with devotional elements by the end of the period. 90 Challenging this teleological view, Higuchi Kiyoyuki, Shinno Toshikazu, and Nam-lin Hur argue for the complementarity of religious devotion and recreational pleasure during the entire period. 91 Sarah Thal, Max Moerman, and Barbara Ambros enter into the debate with in-depth studies of specific temples and shrines, analyzing them as layered landscapes with cultural, devotional, socioeconomic, and political dimensions. 92 Laura Nenzi’s contribution is to account for identity, gender, and the commodification of culture in the lived experience of travelers. 93

Scholarship on recreational travel in the final decades of the 20th century was accompanied by an increase in the number of studies about representations of travel and geography, reflecting the so-called spatial turn in the humanities and social sciences starting in the 1980s. In Mary Elizabeth Berry’s comprehensive account of print culture and information flows in the Edo period, special attention is given to maps and travel-related publications. 94 Marcia Yonemoto and Jilly Traganou discuss maps and other visual representations of space as complex languages with competing agendas, fluid meanings, and tremendous cultural impact. 95 Fumiko Sugimoto, Kären Wigen, Tetsuya Shirai, and Nobuko Toyosawa each in their own way explore the period’s outpouring of maps, both printed and manuscript, as indicators of regional and national change. 96 Starting with the pioneering work of Unno Kazutaka in the second half of the 20th century and occurring in 2016 with a collection of short essays about maps by forty-seven scholars, compiled by Wigen, Sugimoto, and Cary Karacas, the publication of general cartographic histories showcases the wide variety of Japanese maps. 97 In art history, studies by Narazaki Muneshige, Melinda Takeuchi, and John Carpenter explore the form and style of landscape painting and woodblock prints by well-known artists, offering insights into how travel impacted the production of visual art, especially in the second half of the period. 98

Scholarship on travel literature has been steady since the 1980s, with analysis and translation of works by well-known literary figures taking center stage. The writings of Bashō alone make up an important sub-field, with important contributions by Donald Keene, Haruo Shirane, and Steven Carter. 99 At the same time, scholars have become increasingly interested in examining travelogues written by other prominent intellectuals, lesser known figures, and obscure writers of both genders. Itasaka Yōko leads this effort by approaching printed and manuscript travelogues less as evidence for understanding the intellectual lives of their writers and more as literary texts revealing the experience of travel. 100 In addition to Itasaka, Shiba Keiko illuminates the characteristics of travel literature by women in particular. 101 Harold Bolitho, Herbert Plutschow, and Nenzi contribute to this effort with studies of the content, form, and historical significance of a wide range of travelogues by writers from different social and occupational backgrounds. 102 In addition, literary historians have given increasing attention to various popular literary genres, often with analysis of the movements of bodies and plotlines over distances. 103

Primary Sources

Relevant primary sources vary according to what one wishes to investigate about the relationship between travel and culture. With few materials accessible online, most are available as original manuscripts and as facsimile reproductions and typeset versions in book collections at libraries and museums in Japan (and outside Japan to a far lesser extent), many of which have a narrow regional focus. Broadly speaking, there are three categories of sources: writing by travelers, printed materials, and archived records. What follows is a sampling of materials in each category.

Plutschow’s A Reader in Edo Period Travel is an excellent introduction to kikōbun (travelogues) by way of annotated excerpts translated into English and an extensive bibliography of primary texts and relevant secondary sources. 104 The full range of kikōbun can be gauged in collections compiled by Takada Mamoru, Hara Michio, and Itasaka. 105 Maeda Yoshi’s collection of travel writing by women is an invaluable source for investigating gender dynamics and travel. 106 For a modern reprint of an example of kikōbun in full, see Katsuichirō Oyamatsu’s annotated edition of Kiyokawa Hachirō’s Journey to the West ( Saiyūsō , 1855). 107 Although not kikōbun per se, English translations of travel accounts by Westerners such as Engelbert Kaempfer (1651–1716) and Jan Cock Blomhoff (1779–1853) offer outsider perspectives on travel in the period. 108

Waseda University Library’s Comprehensive Database of Japanese and Chinese Classics ( Kotenseki sōgō dētabēsu ) provides online access to full-text downloadable PDFs in color for some three hundred thousand items in every conceivable genre, including many printed books, maps, and ephemera related to travel (all searchable in romanized Japanese). More generally, there are hundreds of multi-volume book collections of printed materials in typeset or facsimile versions organized by genre, such as road records ( dōchūki ), local geography ( chishi ), and illustrated collections of famous places ( meisho zue ). 109 Moreover, original editions of the latter are widely available at major research universities in Japan, North America, and Europe. Place is the organizing principle for many other book collections of various print genres related to travel and geography, such as those for cities like Kyoto, Edo, and Osaka. 110 Collections pertaining to other cities, domains, provinces, and specific roads are reliably available at regional libraries throughout Japan, many of which are also accessible at the National Diet Library in Tokyo. Given the centrality of travel in many print genres, relevant sources can also be found, but with less ease, in many collections not organized around the themes of travel or geography. 111 For examples of travel fiction and illustrated guidebooks in English translation, see, respectively, Ikku’s Shank’s Mare , translated by Thomas Satchell, and extensive excerpts of Roan’s Collection of Travel Precautions , translated by Vaporis. 112

Visual sources also abound. Reproductions of maps frequently appear in place-based book collections, but for online access to large collections of printed and manuscript maps with English descriptions, see the Tokugawa Map Collection at the University of British Columbia Library and the Japanese Historical Map Collection at the East Asian Library at the University of California, Berkeley. Comprehensive collections of maps are available in book sets edited by Akioka Takejirō and Nakamura Hiroshi. 113 Reprints of ukiyo-e featuring landscapes are widely available online and in exhibition catalogues but also exist in annotated editions of reprints, especially of works by Hiroshige and Hokusai. 114 There are also collections of printed ephemera, which contain travel-related materials such as board games ( dōchū sugoroku ) and souvenir rankings ( meibutsu hyōbanki ). 115

Archival materials pertaining to travel are plentiful because of the disciplined record-keeping of administrators at the shogunal, domainal, city, and village levels; the widespread practice of record-keeping in families; and the work of scholars and librarians to collect much of this material from the Meiji period (1868–1912) onward. The problem lies not in finding materials, but in finding too many. A handy source reader in English is Voices of Early Modern Japan: Contemporary Accounts of Daily Life during the Age of the Shoguns , compiled by Vaporis, which includes foreign relations edicts, travel accounts by Dutch and Korean travelers, and travel documentation for commoners (as well as references to the Japanese sources from which they are taken). 116 The bibliography in Vaporis’s Tour of Duty: Samurai, Military Service in Edo, and the Culture of Early Modern Japan provides extensive references to the wide range of archival sources relevant to travel and culture available in Japan at the national and regional levels. 117 For an exhaustive bibliography of pertinent official, semi-official, legal, and private documents from the Edo period, see Japanese History : A Guide to Japanese Reference and Research Materials , compiled by John Whitney Hall. 118 Although originally published in 1954, the sources listed remain invaluable and in many cases are compiled in newer editions devoted to topics germane to the study of travel, including foreign relations, administrative law, transportation, and religious life. 119 For a monumental collection of documents produced by the shogunate, domains, and imperial court, many of which pertain to regional geography and history, consult Dai Nihon kinsei shiryō , compiled by Tokyo University’s Historiographical Institute. 120

Links to Digital Materials

• Japanese Maps of the Tokugawa Era, Rare Books and Special Collections, University of British Columbia Library
• Japanese Historical Map Collection, East Asian Library, University of California, Berkeley (also known as the Donald Rumsey Map Collection)
• Historical maps at the National Diet Library, Tokyo (in Japanese)
• Comprehensive Database of Japanese and Chinese Classics (Kotenseki Sōgō Dētabēsu)
• Illustrated Books about Famous Places in Kyoto (in Japanese)
• Peter Kornicki’s Bibliography of “Towns and Travel” (under section titled “Tokugawa Period Social History”)
• Daniel Botsman’s Bibliography of Western Accounts of Travel to Japan in the Edo Period
• Official Website of the Ise Shrine
• Edo Tokyo-Museum
• The Hakone Sekisho Museum

Further Reading

• Berry, Mary Elizabeth . Japan in Print: Information and Nation in the Early Modern Period . Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006.
• Goree, Robert . Printing Landmarks: Popular Geography and Meisho Zue in Late Tokugawa Japan . Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Asia Center, 2020.
• Jippensha Ikku . Shank’s Mare: Japan’s Great Comic Novel of Travel and Ribaldry . Translated by Thomas Satchell . Boston: Tuttle, 2001.
• Kaempfer, Engelbert . Kaempfer’s Japan: Tokugawa Culture Observed . Translated by Beatrice M. Bodart-Bailey . Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 1999.
• Matsuo Bashō . Travel Writings . Edited and translated by Steven Carter . Cambridge, MA: Hackett, 2020.
• Miyazaki Fumiko . “Female Pilgrims and Mt. Fuji: Changing Perspectives on the Exclusion of Women.” Monumenta Nipponica 60, no. 3 (Autumn 2005): 339–391.
• Nenzi, Laura . Excursions in Identity: Travel and the Intersection of Place, Gender, and Status in Edo Japan . Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 2008.
• Plutschow, Herbert . A Reader in Edo Period Travel . Kent: Global Oriental, 2006.
• Shiba Keiko . Literary Creations on the Road: Women’s Travel Diaries in Early Modern Japan . Translated by Ezaki Motoko . Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 2012.
• Thal, Sarah . Rearranging the Landscape of the Gods: The Politics of a Pilgrimage Site in Japan, 1573–1912 . Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005.
• Thompson, Sarah , ed. Hokusai’s Landscapes: The Complete Series . Boston: MFA, 2019.
• Toby, Ronald . “Carnival of the Aliens: Korean Embassies in Edo-Period Art and Popular Culture.” Monumenta Nipponica 41, no. 4 (1986): 415–456.
• Traganou, Jilly . The Tōkaidō Road: Traveling and Representation in Edo and Meiji Japan . New York and London: Routledge Curzon, 2004.
• Vaporis, Constantine . “ Caveat Viator : Advice to Travelers in the Edo Period.” Monumenta Nipponica 44, no. 4 (1989): 461–483.
• Vaporis, Constantine . Tour of Duty: Samurai, Military Service in Edo, and the Culture of Early Modern Japan . Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 2008.
• Wigen, Kären , Sugimoto Fumiko , and Cary Karacas , eds. Cartographic Japan: A History in Maps . Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2016.
• Yonemoto, Marcia . Mapping Early Modern Japan: Space, Place, and Culture in the Tokugawa Period, 1603–1868 . Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003.
• Yonemoto, Marcia . “Outside the Inner Quarters: Sociability, Mobility, and Narration in Early Edo-Period Women’s Diaries.” Japan Forum 21, no. 3 (2010): 389–401.

1. Ronald Toby, State and Diplomacy in Early Modern Japan: Asia in the Development of the Tokugawa Bakufu (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1984), 1.

2. Toby, State and Diplomacy , 1.

3. Toby, State and Diplomacy , 45–52.

4. Gregory Smits, Visions of Ryukyu: Identity and Ideology in Early-Modern Thought and Politics (Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 1999), 20–23.

5. David Howell, Geographies of Identity in Nineteenth-Century Japan (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005), 112–118.

6. Toby, State and Diplomacy , 6–7.

7. Itazawa Takeo, Nihon to Oranda (Tokyo: Shibundō, 1955), 128–132.

8. Toby, State and Diplomacy , 48–49.

9. Ronald Toby, “Carnival of the Aliens: Korean Embassies in Edo-Period Art and Popular Culture,” Monumenta Nipponica 41, no. 4 (1986): 35 .

10. Constantine Vaporis, Tour of Duty: Samurai, Military Service in Edo, and the Culture of Early Modern Japan (Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 2008), 12 .

11. Vaporis, Tour of Duty , 72.

12. Vaporis, Tour of Duty , 205–236.

13. Konno Nobu, Edo no tabi (Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 1986), 68.

14. Konno, Edo no tabi , 69.

15. Konno, Edo no tabi , 64.

16. Konno, Edo no tabi , 55.

17. Constantine Vaporis, “Linking the Realm: The Gokaidō Highway Network in Early Modern Japan (1603–1868),” in Highways, Byways, and Road Systems in the Pre-Modern World , ed. Susan E. Alcock, John Bodel, and Richard J. A. Talbert (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2012), 94. See for a map of the route network and names of the eight auxiliary routes. For more about sub-routes, see Takebe Ken’ichi, Dōro no nihonshi: Kodai ekiro kara kōzokudōro e (Tokyo: Chūkō Shinsho, 2015).

18. Konno, Edo no tabi , 124.

19. Itasaka Yōko, Edo no tabi o yomu (Tokyo: Perikansha, 2002), 91–98.

20. Kuzuto Yoshiaki, Tanbō Nihon no rekishi kaidō (Tokyo: Sanshūsha, 2006), 76–80.

21. Kuzuto, Tanbō Nihon , 28.

22. Susan Hanley, “Tokugawa Society: Material Culture, Standard of Living, and Life-Styles,” in The Cambridge History of Japan , vol. 4, ed. John Whitney Hall (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1991), 663–664.

23. Donald H. Shively, “Popular Culture,” in The Cambridge History of Japan , vol. 4, ed. John Whitney Hall (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1991), 706–707.

24. Nishiyama Matsunosuke, Edo Culture: Daily Life and Diversions in Urban Japan, 1600–1868 , ed. and trans. Gerald Groemer (Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 1997), 141; and James L. McClain, Japan: A Modern History (New York: W. W. Norton, 2002), 74.

25. Satō Yōjin and Fujiwara Chieko, Zusetsu ukiyoe ni miru Edo no tabi (Tokyo: Kawade Shobō Shinsha, 2000), 10.

26. Constantine Vaporis, “ Caveat Viator : Advice to Travelers in the Edo Period,” Monumenta Nipponica 44, no. 4 (1989): 462 .

27. McClain, Japan , 60–64.

28. McClain, Japan , 51; and Konno, Edo no tabi , 79.

29. Satō, Zusetsu ukiyoe , 56.

30. Konno, Edo no tabi , 78.

31. Konno, Edo no tabi , 95–96.

32. Miyata Noboru, Edo no hayarigami (Tokyo: Chikuma shobō, 1993).

33. This figure for the average total population of Japan between 1721 and 1846 is from Hayami Akira, Population, Family, and Society in Pre-Modern Japan (Amsterdam: Brill, 2010), 99.

34. Konno, Edo no tabi , 72–75.

35. For a study of the practice at a single temple, see Nam-lin Hur, “Invitation to the Secret Buddha of Zenkōji: Kaichō and Religious Culture in Early Modern Japan,” Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 36, no. 1 (2009): 45–64.

36. For a study of Kikuchi Tamiko’s visit to Mt. Ōyama and Enoshima in 1821, see Laura Nenzi, “Cultured Travelers and Consumer Tourists in Edo-Period Sagami,” Monumenta Nipponica 59, no. 3 (2004): 235–319.

37. For a study of Hiroshige’s representation of these miniature mountains, see Melinda Takeuchi, “Making Mountains: Mini-Fujis, Edo Popular Religion, and Hiroshige’s ‘One Hundred Famous Views of Edo,’” Impressions 24 (2002): 24–47. For the reasons why women were barred from climbing to the top of Mount Fuji, see Miyazaki Fumiko, “Female Pilgrims and Mt. Fuji: Changing Perspectives on the Exclusion of Women,” Monumenta Nipponica 10, no. 3 (2005): 339–391 .

38. Konno, Edo no tabi , 102–106.

39. Konno, Edo no tabi , 104.

40. Satō, Zusetsu ukiyoe , 51–52.

41. Satō, Zusetsu ukiyoe , 37–41.

42. Satō, Zusetsu ukiyoe , 37, 102.

43. Laura Nenzi, Excursions in Identity: Travel and the Intersection of Place, Gender, and Status in Edo Japan (Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 2008), 71–91 .

44. Itasaka Yōko, Edo no kikōbun (Tokyo: Chūō Kōron Shinsha, 2011).

45. The term haiku replaced hokku in the late 19th century for the familiar 5-7-5 syllable poetic form. Waka is an older form with a 5-7-5-7-7 syllabic pattern.

46. Itasaka, Edo no tabi , 56.

47. Christine Guth, Art of Edo Japan: The Artist and the City, 1615–1868 (New York: H. N. Abrams, 1996), 146–147.

48. Guth, Art of Edo , 154–155.

49. Konno, Edo no tabi , 111–114.

50. Nishiyama, Edo Culture , 120–121.

51. Gerald Groemer, Street Performers and Society in Urban Japan, 1600–1900: The Beggar’s Gift (New York: Routledge, 2016), 120–121.

52. Satō, Zusetsu ukiyoe , 18.

53. Nishiyama, Edo Culture , 114–120.

54. Nishiyama, Edo Culture , 116, 142.

55. Nishiyama, Edo Culture , 121–122.

56. Nishiyama, Edo Culture , 122–124.

57. For biographical details of many itinerant teachers and students, see Anna Beerens, Friends, Acquaintances, Pupils and Patrons: Japanese Intellectual Life in the Late Eighteenth Century; A Prosopographical Approach (Leiden, The Netherlands: Leiden University Press, 2006), 47–163.

58. Haruo Shirane, Traces of Dreams: Landscape, Cultural Memory, and the Poetry of Bashō (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1998).

59. Marcia Yonemoto, “Outside the Inner Quarters: Sociability, Mobility, and Narration in Early Edo-Period Women’s Diaries,” Japan Forum 21, no. 3 (2010): 389–401 ; and Marcia Yonemoto, The Problem of Women in Early Modern Japan (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2016), 38–41, 83–91.

60. Hiroko Johnson, Western Influences on Japanese Art: The Akita Ranga Art School and Foreign Books (Amsterdam: Hotei, 2005), 30.

61. Guth, Art of Edo , 165–166.

62. Guth, Art of Edo , 142–143.

63. Johnson, Western Influences , 31.

64. Guth, Art of Edo , 146.

65. Guth, Art of Edo , 130–131.

66. Konno, Edo no tabi , 106–111.

67. Shively, “Popular Culture,” 706–708.

68. Matthew W. Shores, “Travel and Tabibanashi in the Early Modern Period: Forming Japanese Geographic Identity,” Asian Theatre Journal 25, no. 1 (2008): 101–121.

69. Guth, Art of Edo , 113–117.

70. Guth, Art of Edo , 144.

71. Konno, Edo no tabi , 151.

72. Vaporis, “ Caveat Viator ,” 461–462, 472, 478, 480.

73. Robert Goree, Printing Landmarks: Popular Geography and Meisho Zue in Late Tokugawa Japan (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Asia Center, 2020) .

74. Vaporis, Tour of Duty , 78–82.

75. Konno, Edo no tabi , 46.

76. Konno, Edo no tabi , 93–94.

77. Nihon dai hyakka zensho (Tokyo: Shōgakkan, 1984–1989).

78. This description of baggage is taken from, Nihon dai hyakka zensho , 125, 170–178; Satō, Zusetsu ukiyoe , 94–96; and Itasaka, Edo no tabi , 23–30.

79. This description of souvenirs and gifts is from Konno, Edo no tabi , 79, 177; and Satō, Zusetsu ukiyoe , 98–101.

80. Konno, Edo no tabi , 29, 35, 141; and Satō, Zusetsu ukiyoe , 38–43.

81. Itasaka, Edo no tabi , 23–42.

82. Konno, Edo no tabi , 133–136; and Satō, Zusetsu ukiyoe , 44–47.

83. Satō, Zusetsu ukiyoe , 34.

84. Satō, Zusetsu ukiyoe , 35.

85. Konno, Edo no tabi ; and Kanzaki Noritake, Edo no tabi bunka (Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 2004).

86. Kodama Kōta, Kinsei shukueki seido no kenkyū (Tokyo: Yoshikawa Kōbunkan, 1957); Maruyama Yasunari, Kinsei shukueki no kisoteki kenkyū (Tokyo: Yoshikawa Kōbunkan, 1975); and Igarashi Tomio, Kinsei sekisho no kisoteki kenkyū: Nakasendō Usui sekisho o chūshin to shite (Tokyo: Taga Shuppan, 1986).

87. Vaporis, Tour of Duty ; and Constantine Vaporis, Breaking Barriers: Travel and the State in Early Modern Japan (Cambridge, MA: Council on East Asian Studies, Harvard University, 1994).

88. Toby, State and Diplomacy ; and Smits, Visions of Ryukyu .

89. Nelson Graburn, To Pray, Pay and Play: The Cultural Structure of Japanese Tourism (Aix-en-Provence: Centre des Hautes Études Touristiques, 1983); and Susanne Formanek, “Pilgrimage in the Edo Period, Forerunner of Modern Domestic Tourism? The Example of the Pilgrimage to Mount Tateyama,” in The Culture of Japan as Seen through Its Leisure , ed. Sabine Frühstück and Sepp Linhart (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1998), 165–193.

90. Nishiyama, Edo Culture ; and Nishiyama Matsunosuke, “ Edo bunka to chihō bunka ,” in Iwanami kōza Nihon rekishi , vol. 13, eds. Ōtsu Tōru, Sakurai Eiji, Fujii Jōji, Yoshida Yutaka, and Ri Sonshi (Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 1963), 161–207.

91. Higuchi Kiyoyuki, Tabi to Nihonjin (Tokyo: Kōdansha, 1980); Higuchi Kiyoyuki, Asobi to Nihonjin (Tokyo: Kōdansha, 1980); Shinno Toshikazu, “Journeys, Pilgrimages, Excursions: Religious Travels in the Early Modern Period,” trans. Laura Nenzi, Monumenta Nipponica 57, no. 4 (Winter 2002): 447–471; and Nam-lin Hur, Prayer and Play in Late Tokugawa Japan : Asakusa Sensōji and Edo Society (Cambridge, MA: Harvard East Asian Monographs, 2000).

92. Sarah Thal, Rearranging the Landscape of the Gods: The Politics of a Pilgrimage Site in Japan, 1573–1912 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005) ; Max Moerman, Localizing Paradise: Kumano Pilgrimage and the Religious Landscape of Premodern Japan (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Asia Center, 2005); and Barbara Ambros, Emplacing a Pilgrimage: The Ōyama Cult and Regional Religion in Early Modern Japan (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Asia Center, 2008).

93. Nenzi, Excursions .

94. Mary Elizabeth Berry, Japan in Print: Information and Nation in the Early Modern Period (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006) .

95. Marcia Yonemoto, Mapping Early Modern Japan: Space, Place, and Culture in the Tokugawa Period, 1603–1868 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003) ; and Jilly Traganou, The Tōkaidō Road: Traveling and Representation in Edo and Meiji Japan (New York and London: Routledge Curzon, 2004) .

96. Fumiko Sugimoto, Ryōiki shihai no tenkai to kinsei (Tokyo: Yamakawa Shuppansha, 1999); Fumiko Sugimoto, Ezugaku nyūmon (Tokyo: Tokyo Daigaku Shuppankai, 2011); Kären Wigen, The Making of a Japanese Periphery, 1750–1920 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995); Kären Wigen, A Malleable Map: Geographies of Restoration in Central Japan, 1600–1912 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2010); Tetsuya Shirai, Nihon kinsei chishi hensanshi kenkyū (Kyoto: Shibunkaku Shuppan, 2004); and Nobuko Toyosawa, Imaginative Mapping: Landscape and Japanese Identity in the Tokugawa and Meiji Eras (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Asia Center, 2019).

97. Unno Kazutaka, “Cartography in Japan,” in Cartography in the Traditional East and Southeast Asian Societies , vol. 2 in the History of Cartography , eds., J. B. Harley and David Woodward (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994), 346–477; and Kären Wigen, Sugimoto Fumiko, and Cary Karacas, eds., Cartographic Japan: A History in Maps (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2016) .

98. Narazaki Muneshige, “ Hiroshige ‘meisho zue’ ron ,” in Rokujū yoshū meisho zue , ed. Narazaki Muneshige (Tokyo: Mainichi Shinbun, 1978); Melinda Takeuchi, Taiga’s True Views: The Language of Landscape Painting in Eighteenth-Century Japan (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1992); and John Carpenter, Hokusai and His Age: Ukiyo-e Painting, Printmaking and Book Illustration in Late Edo Japan (Amsterdam: Hotei, 2005).

99. Donald Keene, Travelers of a Hundred Ages (New York: Columbia University Press, 1989); Shirane, Traces of Dreams ; and Matsuo Bashō, Travel Writings , trans. Steven Carter (Cambridge, UK: Hackett, 2020).

100. Itasaka, Edo no kikōbun .

101. Shiba Keiko, Literary Creations on the Road: Women’s Travel Diaries in Early Modern Japan , trans. Ezaki Motoko (Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 2012) .

102. Harold Bolitho, “Travelers’ Tales: Three Eighteenth-Century Travel Journals,” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 50, no. 2 (December 1990): 485–504; Herbert Plutschow, A Reader in Edo Period Travel (Kent: Global Oriental, 2006) ; Herbert Plutschow, “What Pre-Modern Japanese Travel Writing Tells Us,” Review of Japanese Culture and Society 19 (2007): 132–148; and Nenzi, “Cultured Travelers,” 285–319.

103. Nicolas Fiévé, “Kyoto’s Famous Places: Collective Memory and ‘Monuments’ in the Tokugawa Period,” in Japanese Capitals in Historical Perspective: Place, Power and Memory in Kyoto, Edo and Tokyo , ed. Nicolas Fiévé (London: Taylor & Francis, 2003), 283–287; and see also part four in Haruo Shirane, Tomi Suzuki, and David Lurie, eds., The Cambridge History of Japanese Literature (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2015).

104. Plutschow, A Reader .

105. Takada Mamoru, Hara Michio, and Itasaka Yōko, eds., Kinsei kikō shūsei , 2 vols. (Tokyo: Kokusho Kankōkai, 1991); and Itasaka Yōko, ed., Kinsei kikōbun shūsei , 2 vols. (Fukuoka: Ashi Shobō, 2002).

106. Maeda Yoshi, ed., Edo jidai joryū bungeishi: Tabi nikki hen (Tokyo: Kasama Shoin, 1998).

107. Kiyokawa Hachirō, Saiyūsō , ed. Katsuichirō Oyamatsu (Tokyo: Iwanami Bunkō, 1993).

108. Engelbert Kaempfer, Kaempfer’s Japan: Tokugawa Culture Observed , trans. Beatrice M. Bodart-Bailey (Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 1999) ; and Jan Cock Blomhoff, The Court Journey to the Shōgun of Japan: From a Private Account by Jan Cock Blomhoff , ed. and trans. Fifi Effert and Matthi Forrer (Leiden, The Netherlands: Hotei, 2000).

109. Imai Kingo, ed., Dōchūki shūsei , 47 vols. (Tokyo: Ōzorasha, 1996–1998); Asakura Haruhiko, ed., Kohan chishi sōsho , 14 vols. (Tokyo: Sumiya Shobō, 1969–1971); and Ikeda Yasaburō et al., eds., Nihon meisho fūzoku zue , 19 vols. (Tokyo: Kadokawa Shoten, 1979–1988).

110. Shinsen Kyōto Sōsho Kankōkai, ed., Shinsen Kyōto s ōsho , 12 vols. (Kyoto: Rinsen Shoten, 1984–1989); Edo Sōsho Kankōkai, ed., Edo sōsho , 12 vols. (Tokyo: Meicho Kankōkai, 1964); and Funakoshi Masaichirō, ed., Naniwa sōsho , 17 vols. (Osaka: Naniwa Sōsho Kankōkai, 1926–1930).

111. Miyamoto Tsuneichi, Haraguchi Torao, and Higa Shunchō, eds., Nihon shomin seikatsu shiryō shūsei , 31 vols. (Tokyo: San’ichi Shobō, 1968–1984); Nihon Zuihitsu Taisei Henshūbu, Nihon zuihitsu taisei , 12 vols. (Tokyo: Yoshikawa Kōbunkan, 1927–1928); and Mori Senzō and Kitagawa Hirokuni, eds., Zoku Nihon zuihitsu taisei , 12 vols. (Tokyo: Yoshikawa Kōbunkan, 1979–1981).

112. Jippensha Ikku, Shank’s Mare: Japan’s Great Comic Novel of Travel and Ribaldry , trans. Thomas Satchell (Boston: Tuttle, 2001) ; and Vaporis, “ Caveat Viator .”

113. Akioka Takejirō, ed., Nihon kochizu shūsei , 5 parts (Tokyo: Kajima Kenkyūjo Shuppankai, 1971); and Nakamura Hiroshi, ed., Nihon kochizu taisei , 2 vols. (Tokyo: Kōdansha, 1972–1975).

114. Naitō Masato, ed., Shinsen Utagawa Hiroshige: Hōeidō-ban “Tōkaidō gojūsantsugi” shinzui shūsei , 56 leaves (Tokyo: Shōgakukan 2011); and Sarah Thompson, ed., Hokusai’s Landscapes: The Complete Series (Boston: MFA, 2019) .

115. Takahashi Junji, ed., Nihon esugoroku shūsei (Tokyo: Kashiwa Bijutsu Shuppan, 1994); and Nakano Mitsutoshi, ed., Edo meibutsu hyōbanki shūsei (Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 1987).

116. Constantine Vaporis, ed., Voices of Early Modern Japan: Contemporary Accounts of Daily Life during the Age of the Shoguns (London: Routledge, 2013).

117. Vaporis, Tour of Duty , 291–312.

118. John Whitney Hall, Japanese History : A Guide to Japanese Reference and Research Materials (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, 1954), 44–60.

119. Hōseishi Gakkai, ed., Tokugawa kinreikō , 11 vols. (Tokyo: Sōbunsha, 1959–1961). See also Kobayashi Toshiharu, Ofuregaki shūsei hennen sakuin , 2 vols. (Tokyo: Yumani Shobō, 1997). This is an index based on Ofuregaki Kanpō shūsei (1934), Ofuregaki Hōreki shūsei (1935), Ofuregaki Tenmei shūsei (1936), and Ofuregaki Tenpō shūsei (1941), all four of which are edited by Takayanagi Shinzō and Ishii Ryōsuke, and published by Iwanami Shoten. Together these volumes provide definitive coverage of Tokugawa law and have been reprinted in newer editions. See also Kokusai Kōtsū Bunka Kyōkai, ed., Nihon kōtsū shiryō shūsei , 3 vols. (Tokyo: Kokusai Kōtsū Bunka Kyōkai, 1938–1939); and Fujita Tokutarō, ed., Nihon seishin bunka taikei , 10 vols. (Tokyo: Kinseidō, 1935–1938).

120. Tokyo Daigaku Shiryō Hensanjo, ed., Dai Nihon kinsei shiryō , 121 vols. (Tokyo: Tokyo Daigaku Shuppankai, 1953–).

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Japan Essay

Article By: Isaac Goodman-Boyd

I loved Japan before I visited there– loved their video games, TV shows, martial arts, and amazing sword fights. But my only contact with Japan was through the Internet. Reading Japanese comic books (Manga) and watching Japanese cartoons (Anime) are my favorite pastime. So on Christmas day, when my parents gave me a book about Japanese culture, I was happy. When I opened the book and discovered the plane tickets inside, I was ecstatic.

In preparation for the trip, we took Japanese language lessons from a private tutor. By the time the trip rolled around I was eager to practice my new skills.

After landing in Narita airport, our first stop was the Zen Bed and Breakfast in Asakusa, Tokyo. My formal Japanese greeting impressed the owners. In the mornings, we had breakfast with them. I had never had rice and soup for breakfast before. Being a very picky eater, I rarely try anything new. But in Japan, I was determined to try everything. These home cooked breakfasts were the best meals we had on our trip.

In Tokyo, we visited the Imperial Palace. We were only allowed in the public garden but that was enough because it is as big as my neighborhood.

In Akihabara (Electric Town), we went to several arcades to see the latest in video games. My brother and I love these games and we’re pretty good.  But we were nothing compared to the insane skill of the Japanese. The weird thing was, most everyone there were adults. My brother and I, two teenagers, were the youngest there.

After Tokyo, we went to Kyoto and stayed in our own town house called a Machaya (old merchants house.) The home was decorated in traditional Japanese fashion. My absolute favorite thing in the house was the bath. This room had a small deep tub, a shower next to it and a drain in the floor. Press a button and the tub automatically fills with hot water. I would shower with soap and cold water, then slowly lower myself into the boiling liquid. Any stress I ever had in my life seemed to melt away.

In Kyoto, we went to Chion-in Temple, which today is the headquarters for the J ` odo school of Buddhism. We passed through the San-mon, a Buddhist temple gate at the main entrance. This is the largest temple gate in Japan but even that couldn’t prepare me for the scale of Chion-in. Meditating in the public prayer space, I thought about how small I am compared to this enormous structure.

Before we knew it, we were back in Tokyo scrambling to see as many sights as we could on our final day. We woke at five A.M. to go to the fish market. My father and I took pictures of the largest fish we had ever seen while my mother and brother ate sushi. Despite my vow to try everything, I couldn’t bring myself to eat raw fish at six in the morning.

After the market, we went to Shibuya (a Tokyo Times Square). My brother went to another arcade while I tried to get my last fill of Japan. The streets were really crowed (Tokyo is very crowed). Despite this, no one was ever rude or angry. Even to American tourists who didn’t know where they were going.

I used to love Japan for its Anime and video games but now I feel a connection to its ancient culture and current society. I look forward to returning when I’m in college. 

Dear Reader: This page may contain affiliate links which may earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. Our independent journalism is not influenced by any advertiser or commercial initiative unless it is clearly marked as sponsored content. As travel products change, please be sure to reconfirm all details and stay up to date with current events to ensure a safe and successful trip.

2 Replies to “Japan Essay”

I loved Japan before I visited there– loved their video games, TV shows, martial arts, and amazing sword fights. But my only contact with Japan was through the Internet. Reading Japanese comic books (Manga) and watching Japanese cartoons (Anime) are my favorite pastime. So on Christmas day, when my parents gave me a book about Japanese culture, I was happy. When I opened the book and discovered the plane tickets inside, I was ecstatic.

ok it was funny not like a formal article

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Do you know Ieyasu Tokugawa? He lived in warring states period, and took part in a lot of battles. I think he was not famous than Nobunaga Oda or Hideyoshi Toyotomi. However, I want to write about him because he made some large achievements such as he finished warring states period and built the foundation of current Japanese government. In this essay, I'll introduce about his childhood, active years, and later years. 

To begin with, I will tell you his childhood. He was born in Okazaki city in Aichi prefecture in 1543. He was supposed to become a hostage of the Imagawa family, but in the Imagawa, there was a betrayal and he became a hostage of the Oda. However, he became a hostage of the Imagawa 2 years later. Then, in 1562, he became independent from the Imagawa, and he made an alliance with Oda in the battle of Okehazama. Also, he married when he was 12 years old.  

Secondly, I would like to introduce about his active years. Imagawa and Takeda ceased to exist by Ieyasu Tokugawa. After that, Nobunaga Oda died at honnouji which is temple located in Kyoto. Then, Hideyoshi Toyotomi unified Japan in 1590 and Ieyasu became one of his vassalages. 

Lastly, His later years are so great. In 1600, a few years later after Hideyoshi died, the biggest battle of Sekigahara happened. This battle is called "a battle to divide Japan". He fought against Mitunari Ishida and he won this battle. Then he ended the warring states period, he moved the govenment of Japan to Edo. Also, Toyotomi died out by the summer battle of Osaka in 1615. And when Ieyasu was 75 years old, he died in 1616.

In conclusion, he won a lot of battles and he unified Japan finally. I think there are something difficult in his almost life: when he was young, the era which he participated in many battles, and until he died. He would have been a great general. 

Japan rail announces major feature in upgrade of its ultra-fast trains — here's what's new

P assengers aboard Japan's Shinkansen bullet trains will enjoy commutes at speeds up to 177 mph from the comfort of their own private rooms. 

Starting in 2026, Japan's most popular rail line, Tokaido, will have private cars available. This experience is available for an additional charge, but a spokesperson from Japan Rail said the service is worth it. These private cars are ideal for "businesspeople who want to hold meetings online, customers who value privacy, and customers who want to relax without worrying about their surroundings."

The future of Shinkansen travel isn't just about luxury, it's a step toward sustainable transportation. High-speed rail is already a champion for eco-friendly travel, boasting significantly lower carbon pollution than airplanes.

These private cabins have the potential to make the Shinkansen an even more attractive alternative, particularly for shorter trips. Studies show that train travel is better for the environment overall. Traveling by rail can help the planet and get you to your destination in style.

By curbing greenhouse gas pollution, encouraging more people to use the Shinkansen through this new private cabin option can play a role in lessening the rate at which the planet's global temperatures are increasing.

Reduced carbon pollution translates to less severe weather events like heat waves, floods, and droughts, since hotter air retains more moisture. This translates to safer communities, less infrastructure damage from extreme weather , and a more stable environment for us all.

Watch now: Mutual of Omaha brand leader shares details on resurrection of iconic TV show

Private rooms make Shinkansen travel even more convenient for everyday travelers. Imagine the ease of hopping on a bullet train for a weekend getaway and having more privacy to catch up on work or relax.

The introduction of private rooms on Shinkansen trains showcases Japan's commitment to continuous improvement and innovation, not just in terms of passenger comfort, but also in environmental responsibility. By promoting a more comfortable and productive alternative to air travel, the Shinkansen is setting higher standards for sustainable high-speed rail experiences.

Japan is famous for its excellent public transportation. The country's fast, environmentally friendly trains are the envy of other nations. Japan pioneered the concept of high-speed rail and can boast that its trains are among the safest in the world, responsible for zero accidents or fatalities within the last 50 years. 

Recently, the United States has been inspired by Japan's high-speed rail system , with a high-speed Dallas-to-Houston line "on the agenda for the talks" when Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited the States to meet with President Joe Biden. Wider efforts are underway to expand high-speed rail lines in the country, too, such as a line connecting Los Angeles with Las Vegas and another connecting L.A. with San Francisco. 

Soon, Americans may be able to enjoy the sort of luxurious speedy commutes passengers on the Tokaido line are set to enjoy, especially with the California High-Speed Rail Authority recently showcasing impressive interiors that include private compartments and nooks to help America stake a claim to being world-class in this department. 

Japan's expected private cabin rollout in 2026 means passengers won't have to wait too long to experience this upgrade, further proving sustainability and comfort aren't mutually exclusive.

Japan rail announces major feature in upgrade of its ultra-fast trains — here's what's new first appeared on The Cool Down .

Japan On Sale: Why It’s Summer’s Big Travel Bargain

Americans are flocking to Japan in droves, thanks to the strong greenback that makes everything seem 15% cheaper than last year.

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Thanks to the strong U.S. dollar, Japan feels 35% cheaper than five years ago.

T he U.S. dollar is going strong relative to many foreign currencies right now, which translates to international travel bargains for savvy shoppers. One of the easiest way for American travelers to grab a “deal” on an overseas trip is to choose a destination where the comparatively strong dollar delivers a built-in automatic discount for on-the-ground costs like hotels, dining and attractions.

Right now, a trip to many countries in Asia is easier on the wallet than in recent years. Is Bangkok or Phuket on your bucket list? The dollar buys 8.5% more Thai baht than a year ago. The greenback also buys 8.5% more Vietnamese dong and Indonesian rupiah, 6.2% more Malaysian ringgit and 5% more Taiwan dollars.

But far and away the Asian currency most impacted by the strong U.S. economy is the Japanese yen. Today one U.S. dollar buys 156.36 yen, 15% more than one year ago, and an eye-popping 43% more than five years ago.

The weak yen has helped propel Japan to be the most popular destination in Asia. In March 2024, the number of visitors to Japan exceeded three million foreign tourists in a single month for the first time ever, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO). That was 69.5% more than the same month the previous year and 11.6% more compared to March 2019.

While the lion’s share of those visitors came from neighboring Asian countries, American travelers are also getting the memo. In March, a record 290,100 Americans visited Japan in a single month—a 42% jump year over year and a 64% increase compared to the same month in 2019.

Unsurprisingly, the weaker yen has goosed spending by vacationers whose money goes further than in decades. Foreign visitors to Japan spent 1.75 trillion yen ($11.2 billion) in the January to March period, according to data from the JNTO. That’s an increase of 52% compared to pre-pandemic 2019.

Airfare to Japan

Japan is now so popular that it grabs 29% of all U.S.-based searches for trips to Asia and 8% of all international searches for the summer this year, according to the airfare-tracking site Hopper.

That huge demand has kept airfares ticking upward. For May departures, tickets from the U.S. to Japan are averaging $1,281 per ticket, up 4% from this time last year. Flights this summer are averaging $1,379 per ticket, up 2% from last year and up 26% from this time in 2019, according to Hopper data.

Meanwhile, additional supply is keeping airfare inflation in check as U.S. and Japanese airlines ramp up service between the two countries. Today about 60 flights leave the U.S. for Japan every day, 6% less than before the pandemic. Still, that’s a big improvement over this time last year, when only 49 daily flights were departing to Japanese destinations.

From June to August, carriers will be flying 9% more seats than last summer. And by midsummer, the market between the US and Japan will be nearly restored to pre-pandemic capacity.

Four U.S. airlines currently fly to Japan: United Airlines, with 19% share of the seats; Delta Air Lines, with 10%; and Hawaiian Airlines and American Airlines, each with 7% share of capacity. (Three Japanese airlines—Japan Airlines, All Nippon Airways and Zipair—make up over half of all scheduled seats.)

Hopper data shows that 92% of U.S. travelers planning trips to Japan want to fly into Tokyo, but a finite number of flights are allowed in and out of Haneda airport. The Japanese government determines how many slots to make available to U.S. carriers, which need to apply to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for the right to a route.

Last year, United Airlines and American Airlines applied to DOT to launch nonstop U.S.-to-Tokyo flights. United had wanted a new nonstop from Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) to Haneda. Instead, it was awarded a new Guam-to-Tokyo route, which it launched on May 1, joining United’s other Tokyo-bound flights from Newark, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Honolulu, Washington D.C. and other cities.

American Airlines’ newest route to Japan will launch on June 28. Flights from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport to Tokyo will be the carrier’s fourth daily nonstop to Haneda, joining existing service from Dallas, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and other cities.

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Japan, famously polite, struggles to cope with influx of tourists

Huge numbers of visitors are causing chaos at such popular spots as Mount Fuji and Kyoto, leading to some extreme measures to tamp down the crowds.

TOKYO — Japan is proud of its “omotenashi” spirit, its practice of wholeheartedly caring and catering for guests. But a post-covid surge in tourist numbers, coupled with a weak yen that makes Japan cheaper for many visitors, is pushing Japan’s world-famous hospitality to the brink.

One town is installing a huge screen to stop tourists causing traffic jams while they take selfies in front of Mount Fuji. At least one overrun restaurant is reserving Friday nights for locals only. Even the deer of Nara, usually very proactive about coming forth for snacks, have had their fill.

This is because international tourists, unable to enter Japan for 2½ years during the covid pandemic, now appear to be making up for lost time.

The Japanese yen has been steadily weakening, losing more than 40 percent of its value against the U.S. dollar in the past five years and making Japan a much cheaper place to visit.

A staggering 25.1 million tourists visited the country last year, marking a sixfold increase from 2022. In March, at the start of the cherry blossom season, 3.08 million visitors arrived in the country, according to data from the Japan National Tourism Organization ( JNTO ), with the monthly number surpassing 3 million for the first time since records began in 1964.

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Just over a quarter of tourists this year have come from South Korea, while about 17 percent are from Taiwan and 15 percent from China. Americans have made up less than 7 percent of tourists since January.

The influx has been good for the Japanese economy: Spending by visitors to Japan in the first quarter of this year totaled $11.4 billion (1.75 trillion yen), the highest quarterly figure ever recorded, according to the Japan Tourism Agency . The average spending per person was about $1,300 (208,760 yen), up 41.6 percent from the same period in 2019.

But, in many popular places, it has not been good for the locals. There have been widespread complaints about overcrowding, litter, strain on infrastructure and a particularly Japanese worry: not being able to devote the requisite amount of care to each visit.

The concept of “omotenashi” is at the heart of the Japanese service sector. This wholehearted hospitality and level of attentive service can be felt in hotels, restaurants and shops from the moment one arrives in Japan — in fact, from the moment the air marshallers on the airport tarmac bow as planes taxi up to the boarding bridge. It’s in the white gloves of taxi drivers and the individually wrapped wet wipe that accompanies even the cheapest cup of coffee.

“Overtourism is a serious issue in Japan with tourism concentrated in the major centers, lacking the infrastructure to deal with the volume of visitors,” said Max Mackee, founder of adventure travel company Kammui.

“This can ruin the tourists’ experience, particularly as the beauty of Japan is often found in its peace and meditative moments, even in cities like Tokyo. It’s also a serious issue for the local population, which is not equipped to handle visitors, which can lead to local resentment, environmental impact or even closure of restaurants and bars and other establishments on the tourist trail.”

Screening off Mount Fuji

Fed up with badly behaved tourists, the town of Fujikawaguchiko is building a screen to block views of Mount Fuji at a popular photo spot.

The Lawson convenience store in the town has become a hit on social media because the renowned volcanic cone sits perfectly above the store’s neon sign. Tourists have flocked to the store’s parking lot to take photos of themselves in front of the Instagrammable scene.

Residents complained about the traffic problems, unauthorized parking, trespassing and littering this was causing. The Ibishi Dental Clinic, across the street, even installed a barrier to keep tourists away and ensure customers could get in.

“When we asked people to move their cars, some yelled back, and some even threw lit cigarettes. There are days where it’s difficult to provide proper medical services,” the clinic wrote in a statement on its website .

“Obviously it’s regretful for us too, to lose that view from our clinic, but we believe that it’s now an inevitable measure that needs to be taken in response to the unthinkable violations that exceed all measures we have taken until now.”

Lawson even issued a statement apologizing to residents and customers for the inconvenience.

The town has decided on more extreme measures: It is constructing a mesh net that is 8 feet tall and 65 feet wide to block the view, expected to be finished next week. “To ensure the safety of both tourists and drivers, and to ensure the peaceful life of residents, we have regrettably come to the difficult decision to proceed with this construction,” the town of Fujikawaguchiko posted on its website .

Then there are the crowds on the mountain itself.

Mount Fuji — Japan’s highest peak and a popular tourist destination — has been dealing with overcrowding in recent years, and the influx of overseas tourists has led the prefecture to take measures.

Starting this week, authorities have instituted an online booking system to stop Mount Fuji’s most popular trail from becoming excessively crowded during the summer hiking season. A maximum of 4,000 people will be allowed on the Yoshida Trail each day during the July-to-September hiking season, with 3,000 of the spots requiring advance bookings at $13 a pop.

Kyoto crackdown

In February, Koji Matsui was elected as Kyoto’s new mayor after campaigning against overtourism. Kyoto, just over two hours from Tokyo by bullet train, is famous for its temples and shrines and its traditional wooden buildings.

The city, once Japan’s capital, has a resident population of about 1.5 million but saw more than 20 times that number — about 32 million — of tourists arriving last year.

One major attraction is the Gion district, where geisha and their apprentices can be seen walking around in traditional kimonos and makeup. Kyoto last month banned tourists from entering private alleys in Gion after locals complained that the neighborhood was “not a theme park” and urged the government to act against unruly tourists.

Matsui’s other campaign pledges included charging tourists more than residents to take public transport fares and creating special tourist bus routes. The new mayor also plans to introduce “smart” garbage cans that send signals to the management bureau when full to try to curtail littering.

“ While we are very grateful for the large number of tourists attracted by the charms of Kyoto, we are now facing serious challenges in achieving a healthy balance between tourists and local citizens, ” Matsui said during his inauguration news conference.

The picturesque temples and gardens of Nara, just south of Kyoto, make it a popular side trip. And almost every visitor goes to Nara Park, where deer wander freely and vendors sell rice crackers, which the deer love. Usually.

Nara deer usually approach people and famously “bow” to — or sometimes butt — them to ask for the crackers. Not anymore.

This month during Golden Week, a popular Japanese holiday period, visitors to Nara found that deer were done with the rice snacks.

“Deer crackers have now become absolutely worthless due to the sudden surge in deer crackers during Golden Week,” one visitor wrote on X, posting a photo of an unimpressed deer lying beside four uneaten crackers.

これはＧＷの急激なシカ高せんべい安によって紙くず同然の価値となった鹿せんべい。 pic.twitter.com/hJNus8d0MA — 魅惑のなめろうフィットネス (@cqFv4ntcLoT6Sk6) May 5, 2024

Hiroshima, another regular stop on the tourist trail due to the Peace Memorial Museum commemorating the site of the 1945 U.S. nuclear bombing, is also feeling the strain.

Hiroshima is famous for okonomiyaki, a savory vegetable and meat pancake cooked on a griddle in front of the customer. But okonomiyaki restaurants are becoming so overcrowded that one popular place, Momiji-tei , has reserved Friday evenings exclusively for locals.

“It feels wrong for us to become a restaurant that is inaccessible to our regulars who supported us throughout the pandemic,” owner Ryota Fujiwara told local media. “We want to make sure to preserve their place even if it’s just once a week.”

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One Japanese Word Changed the Course of Her Career

Devin Halbal had amassed hundreds of thousands of TikTok followers with her inspirational videos. Then she went to Asia.

By Jessica Roy

In January, the travel and fashion influencer Devin Halbal decided to take a trip to Kurashiki, a city in the Okayama Prefecture of Japan. Ms. Halbal, a Queens-born 26-year-old who goes by the username “Hal Baddie” on TikTok, had spent four years traveling around Europe with an extra-long selfie stick and a dream, sharing videos with hundreds of thousands of followers.

Ms. Halbal had become known for coining inspirational phrases, like “ doll check-in ” as a proud calling card to her fellow trans girls, and “ Met Gala behavior ,” for when you’re feeling and acting confident about what you’re wearing. Her fame seemed to peak in 2022 when she was profiled by W magazine and Rolling Stone, and invited on a brand trip to Ibiza by Loewe. But after globe-trotting and a few months off with friends in New York, she wanted to do more than “fashion and affirmations,” she said in a recent interview.

It was with this mind-set that she set off for Asia. Ms. Halbal said she loves finding places that are off the beaten path and close to nature — and Kurashiki, a small city of less than half a million people known as the birthplace of jeans in Japan , fit the bill.

She was experimenting, posting different types of travel videos. At the same time, she was learning Japanese, and there was one word she kept hearing everywhere: kudasai, which translates to “may I please have.”

“It kept on ringing in my head,” she said. “I would just be sitting down on a random Tuesday and I would just be thinking to myself: kudasai , kudasai .” She decided to make a video of herself using the word while walking down the street: “Sushi, kudasai,” (sushi, please) she says in a sing-songy voice while strutting with her selfie stick. “Ocha, kudasai.” (Tea, please.)

To date, the video has gotten more than 13.5 million views.

@hal.baddie The only words I know in Japanese. ♬ original sound - Devin Halbal

“I had no idea, out of all my content, that the one video that just goes super, super viral all throughout Asia is me saying five words,” Ms. Halbal said.

The video’s success convinced her to extend her stay in Japan; she went to Tokyo, Takamatsu, Mt. Fuji and Yamanashi, making videos about food , travel and the Japanese language. She made friends and volunteered on a farm . She started not just getting recognized on the street, but swarmed by fans . A quick trip to pick up some bubble tea became a two hour meet-and-greet. Then the fan accounts started cropping up, as did media coverage , calling her the “kudasai girl.”

“Now, ‘kudasai’ is the trend word in Japan,” a Japanese TikToker named Sorari said in a video posted last month, expressing surprise about how quickly and thoroughly Ms. Halbal’s content spread.

Ms. Halbal’s trip, originally planned for two weeks, turned into two months, and her reach expanded beyond Japan to other countries.

She started getting comments in Korean, Thai, Hindi, Nepali and Mandarin. “I’m like, ‘I have to do an Asia tour,’” she said. “What better way to continue learning about other cultures and continue learning about languages?”

Ms. Halbal attributes her success to the way she tries to actually speak the language and engage with different cultures wherever she goes. “I’m actually trying to pronounce the food in the way that they pronounce it — I’m not doing it with an American accent,” she said.

Last month, Ms. Halbal left Japan and traveled to Busan, South Korea. She’s still saying kudasai, but now she’s also started incorporating Korean into her vernacular, including the word for please, juseyo .

Now, the largest percentage of her followers on Instagram , where Ms. Halbal also shares her videos, are from the United States, but South Korea comes in second. At a recent meet-up at Korea University in Seoul, hundreds of fans crowded around her on the street, jostling to take selfies with her, or to give her food recommendations and ask her to speak in their language.

“Showcasing people’s food, showcasing people’s culture, in a way is a sense of community,” Ms. Halbal said. “You’re saying: I respect you, I value you and I value your food.”

She is continuing to tour Asia, with plans to potentially go to China, the Philippines and Malaysia. She said she was also weighing a permanent move to South Korea or Japan.

“I feel really at home here,” Ms. Halbal said. “People are so sweet. They treat me like I’m their family. So even though I’m ‘solo traveling,’ I never feel alone here.”

In South Korea, she said, some fans have started asking her to get into pop music.

“Especially in Korea, I think there’s a certain rhyme and cadence to the way that I’m speaking that they really want me to make music,” she said.

Is she ready to make the leap?

“I’m entering my K-pop star era,” Ms. Halbal teased.

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