JAPAN TRENDS
 
Four years ago, the hot spring resort of Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, was transformed into an art bonanza, with artists allowed to customized and redesign rooms in hotels in Dogo.
Given the pedigree of many of the participants — including Yayoi Kusama, photographer Nobuyoshi Araki,...

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JAPAN TRAVEL
Modern izakaya serving up Kyushu classics
Nagayama Honten is a chain izakaya restaurant that serves traditional Japanese food in a relaxed setting.
Their new branch opening to the west of Ueno Station boasts over 100 seats and looks to specialise in Motsu-Nabe, momoyaki and a live, c...

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JAPAN TRAVEL
No longer just a stopover to the mountains
Asahikawa is Hokkaido’s second largest city, the gateway to Sounkyo Gorge, Daisetsuzan National Park, and many great hot springs.
The city is more than a stopover as there are some places you really want to see.
 
For us we came here to do r...

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JAPAN TRAVEL
Visit this place of luck and learn its unique history
The quiet grounds of Nitta-jinja Shrine belie a long and colorful history. The shrine dates back over 650 years to the Namboku Period (which spanned much of the 14th century), when factions from the northern and southern halves of...

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JAPAN TRAVEL
Food wonderland under Akihabara's railtracks
New to the railway arches beneath the JR train tracks north of Akihabara is Tokyo Umai Yokocho (東京うまい横丁), which promises to bring quality food alongside an authentic yet accessible yokocho experience to all.
 
Literally 'side street...

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JAPAN TRAVEL
A hotel ideally located for the airport train
One of the best ways to travel between central Tokyo and Narita Airport is on the Keisei train line; its SkyLiner is the fastest service to the airport, and its other trains are also fast and very affordable. Most trains start at Ueno, th...

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JAPAN TRAVEL
Discover Omori's heritage in seaweed production
During the Edo Period (1600–1868), the area of Omori in Ota Ward was known for its cultivation of nori, the crackly sheets of seaweed most commonly wrapped around plump rice balls or sushi rolls. While development along the shores of To...

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JAPAN TRAVEL
A summer matsuri for all the family
True wonder. That’s what the Niigata Festival undoubtedly is. Let’s enter into one of the Japan’s biggest festivals.
Summer in Niigata Prefecture rhymes with Hanabi Festivals. Nearly every week, a firework festival is held in one the numerous citie...

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JAPAN TRAVEL
Where tradition and innovation coincide
The roads that wind through the lush landscape of the Tsugaru Plain in Aomori Prefecture are lined with rice paddies and orderly groves of fruit trees. Once a sparsely inhabited marshland, the region was transformed into an agricultural center ...

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JAPAN TRAVEL
Tasty local specialties and traditional music
When I arrived in Hirosaki, one of the things I found at the tourist office was a little leaflet called 'Eight local culinary specialties', with information about a range of dishes and their histories. For example, much of the local food ...

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