LONELY PLANET
 
Shinji Nohara knows Tokyo like no other. A lifelong local, he’s the ‘Tokyo Fixer’, the foodie who fed fugu (puffer fish) to Anthony Bourdain, who consults with some of the world’s best restaurants, and who regularly guides the great and the good around Tokyo’s lesser-known highlig...

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JAPAN TRAVEL
 
More than just a tourist desitnation
While Miyajima has a reputation as a tourist destination, it has a deep history with Japan and Shinto culture. It has also played a significant part in the development of religion in Japan with its influence from Kamakura during the Kamakura per...

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THE JAPAN NEWS
 
Nara and Kyoto are famous for their abundance of valuable Buddhist statues, but Shiga Prefecture, too, boasts its own share of such important cultural properties. Part of those treasures are on view at the exhibition
“The Hidden Buddha of Rakuyaji Temple, Shiga” at the Tokyo Nati...

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THE JAPAN NEWS
 
In a Tokyo district full of government offices, where bureaucrats and company employees in suits passed busily to and fro, I spotted a sugidama ornament hanging at the entrance of a building. This object, also called a sakabayashi, is a spherical bundle of cedar twigs that symbol...

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JAPAN TRAVEL
Gozan temples between Takeda Shrine and Kai-Zenkoji
The meaning of 'Gozan'  
During the Southern Song Dynasty in China (1127–1279), there was a system of state sponsored temples commonly called the 'Five Mountain' system. 'Five Mountains' really meant five temples (temples were very ...

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JAPAN TRAVEL
Hiroshima Memorial Cathedral of World Peace
Hiroshima’s A-Dome and Peace Memorial Park are its most poignant landmarks, and what most people come to Hiroshima to see. The Memorial Cathedral of World Peace is less visited, hidden in streets off the main tourist radar. Its impact is no...

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JAPAN TRAVEL
Tokyo's cool suburb
Imagine crossing the almost dry riverbed of the Tamagawa Josui waterway as you exit Kichijoji in search of the nearby Ghibli Museum. You arrived early, but so fascinated were you by what you found there that you stayed until after sunset. Now the water is a raging...

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JAPAN TRAVEL
Buddhism, fortress, relaxation
 
Looking for an interesting place to spend the day with walks, picnics, history, or relaxation? The island of Tomogashima will not let you down.
Having been taken there by invitation and not discovery, I was surprised I had not heard about it before. T...

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JAPAN TRAVEL
Views, nature, and cycling
Living in Himeji taking the JR Special Rapid train to Kobe, Osaka, or Kyoto for a weekend visit is almost second nature. The long ride allows the passenger to take in the sites, from the houses to the ocean view. One site is the magnificent Akashi Kaikyo Br...

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THE JAPAN NEWS
 
KAMIKOCHI, Nagano — The inauguration of the nation’s newest national holiday — Mountain Day — on Aug. 11 reflects the government’s aim to promote Japan’s mountainous regions as international tourist sites.
Services for foreign tourists have been enriched in the Kamikochi highland...

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