English The Tama River of Tama-gawa, is a 138 km-long river that spreads across three prefectures: Yamanashi, Kanagawa and Tokyo. With its source located at Mt. Kasadori in Koshu Yamanashi, the Tama River has been a major supplier of fresh water to Edo (now known as Tokyo) via a well-engineered aqueduct system, the Tamagawa Josui, […]

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English Located on the mountain top of Fujiyoshida City in the Yamanashi prefecture, the Chureito Pagoda is part of the Arakusa Sengen Shrine and was built as a peace memorial in 1963. This gorgeous five-storey pagoda can be reached after climbing around 400 steps and, once there, will give you one of the most breathtaking […]

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English Along with Hitachi Seaside Park’s Nemophila Harmony Festival, the Fuji Shibazakura Festival is yet another extremely popular flower festival located near Lake Motsu at the base of Mt. Fuji. Each year for one month, mid-April to mid-May, people across Japan and from all over the world come in their thousands to enjoy a beautiful […]

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Located in the heart of Chiba and 15 kilometers away from Narita Airport, Sawara street and the Ono River in Katori City look like they have been frozen in time with multiple buildings from the Edo period. Like many other well preserved Edo Period streets, you will find in Sawara many houses of former merchants […]

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Here is another stunning park near Tokyo and located in Ibaraki Prefecture, the Hitachi Seaside Park. Once a year it offers visitors an incredibly gorgeous view with its nemophila* Harmony festival (*Also called ‘baby blue eye’). Thanks to its unique configuration and small hills, the Hitachi Seaside Park, covered with millions of nemophila, gives visitors […]

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Japanese people are very fond of flowers and nature in general, explaining why parks and flower parks are something pretty (no pun intended) common here. While the park is a delight all year long, it is around the beginning of May, and during the Wisteria Festival, that the place becomes incredibly popular, with the hours […]

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Katori Shrine was founded in 643 B.C., and located in Chiba near Narita. It is a Shinto shrine, and the head shrine of approximately 400 other Katori shrines across Japan, mainly located in the Kanto region. Dedicated to the Futsumushi no Mikoto god (the protector or military/army men), the Katori Shrine has been an important […]

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Located just outside the Ikegami Honmon-Ji temple, Ikegami Baien is a gorgeous little plum tree garden that also features a few small traditional houses built for the unique purpose of the ancient art of the Tea Ceremony. Small yet elegant, Ikegami Baien is a little oasis of peace that is worth checking when visiting Ikegami […]

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Located in Kamogawa City in Chiba prefecture, and barely one and a half hours away from the center of Tokyo by car, Hitratsuka is the closest terraced rice field to Tokyo, and also the only one of its kind in Japan! Unlike other rice fields, the Hiratsuka Tanada (terraced rice field) grows rice with only […]

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Erected where the Japanese Saint Nichiren supposedly died in 1282, Ikegami Honmon-ji has been since then the administrative headquarters, as well as the training and living quarters, of the Nichiren Shu followers. Located on top of a hill within Tokyo’s Ota ward, Ikegami Honmon-ji features many temples and other cultural attractions that are worth checking […]

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Located in Nagano and close to Matsumoto and it’s gorgeous castle, the Daio Wasabi Farm is one of Japan’s largest wasabi farms. It is a very popular tourist destination for both wasabi lovers and fans of the 1989 movie “Dreams”, directed by the late great Akira Kurosawa, that used the location’s unique scenery as the […]

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In celebration of a new Milestone reached this week (August 2015) : +5,000 Subs on our YouTube Channel! Constructed in 1168, the first Torii of Itsukushima Shrine is maybe one of Japan’s most famous Torii and actually represents the boundary between the spirit and the human world. While many of you may have had the […]

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