Japan

Tokyo

Tokyo (東京 Tōkyō ) is the enormous and wealthy capital of Japan, and also its main city, overflowing with culture, commerce, and most of all, people. As the most populated urban area in the world, Tokyo is a fascinating and dynamic metropolis that mixes foreign influences, consumer culture and global business along with remnants of the capital of old Japan. From modern electronics and gleaming skyscrapers to cherry blossoms and the Imperial Palace, this city represents the entire sweep of Japanese history and culture. Tokyo truly has something for every traveller.

Osaka

Ōsaka (大阪) is the third largest city in Japan, with a population of over 17 million people in its greater metropolitan area. It is the central metropolis of the Kansai region and the largest of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto trio.

Kyoto

Kyōto (京都) was the capital of Japan for over a millennium, and carries a reputation as the nation's most beautiful city and its cultural capital. However, visitors may be surprised by how much work they will have to do to see Kyoto's beautiful side. Most first impressions of the city will be of the urban sprawl of central Kyoto, around the ultra-modern glass-and-steel train station, which is itself an example of a city steeped in tradition colliding with the modern world.

Nara

Nara Prefecture (奈良県 Nara-ken ) is in the western Kansai region of the main Japanese island Honshu.

Hiroshima

Hiroshima (広島) is an industrial city of wide boulevards and criss-crossing rivers along the coast of the Seto Inland Sea. Although many only know it for the horrific split-second on August 6, 1945 when it became the site of the world's first atomic bomb attack, it is now a modern cosmopolitan city with excellent cuisine and a bustling nightlife.

Yokohama

On the western coast of Tokyo Bay directly south of Tokyo, Yokohama (横浜) is the second largest city in Japan and one of the cities most used to seeing foreigners.

Shibuya City

Shibuya (渋谷) is a shopping and eating district popular with a lot of young Tokyoites. Shibuya encompasses two other large shopping districts - Omotesando and Harajuku with Yoyogi Park and the Meiji Jingu shrine. The nightlife district of Ebisu is in the south of Shibuya.

Nagoya

Nagoya (名古屋) is the capital and largest city of Aichi prefecture, in the Chubu region of Honshu.

Sapporo

Sapporo (札幌) is the capital and largest city of the northern island of Hokkaido. One of Japan's newest and nicest cities, it has little in the way of traditional architecture. But what it lacks in "Japanese-ness" it makes up for with its lovely open, tree-filled boulevards to enjoy in summer and excellent snow (and facilities to cope with said snow) in the long winter. Its name means “The great dry river”.

Kobe

Kobe has several ropeways that travel up Mount Rokko. One that is near a major station is the Shin-Kobe Ropeway, a 5-minute walk from Shin-Kobe station. The ropeway, reputed to have one of Kobe's best scenic views, runs up to the Nunobiki Herb Park. Adults ¥550 one-way, ¥1000 round-trip. Combination tickets are also sold which include the Nunobiki Herb Park (see below).

Okinawa

Okinawa Prefecture (Japanese: 沖縄 Okinawa, Okinawan: 沖縄 Uchinaa ) is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan, an island chain to the southwest of the Home Islands.

Shinjuku City

Shinjuku (新宿) is a central ward of Tokyo, known as the metropolis' second center (副都心, fukutoshin ). The area surrounding Shinjuku Station is a huge business, commercial, and entertainment center atop the world's busiest railway station complex. To the north lies Takadanobaba, where students from nearby Waseda University cross paths. The residential areas of Yotsuya and Ichigaya, with their many small restaurants and drinking establishments, lie to the east. Kagurazaka, one of Tokyo's last remaining hanamachi (geisha districts), is also home to some of the city's most authentic French and Italian restaurants. Over 300,000 people — including nearly 30,000 foreign residents — call Shinjuku their home, and the city offers a wide variety of options for work or play.

Fukuoka

Fukuoka (福岡) is the capital of Fukuoka prefecture and the largest city on the island of Kyushu with 2.5 million citizens including its suburbs.

Hakone

Hakone (箱根) is a mountainous area west of Tokyo in Japan. The Hakone checkpoint on the historical Tokaido road marks the beginning of the Kanto region.

Nagano

Nagano Prefecture (長野県 Nagano-ken ) is located at the center of Japan. It is surrounded by 8 prefectures. (Niigata, Toyama, Aichi, Gifu, Shizuoka, Yamanashi, Gunma, Saitama) : P70 : P8