Ameyoko

Ameyoko is a busy market street along the Yamanote Line between Okachimachi and Ueno Stations.The name Ameyoko is a short form for Ameya Yokocho (candy store alley), as candies were traditionally sold there.  

Alternatively, Ame also stands for America, because lots of American items used to be sold there when the street was the place of a black market after World War Two.

Today, various products such as clothes, bags, cosmetics, fresh fish, dried food and spices are sold along Ameyoko.

Opening hours and closing days depend on individual stores, but stores typically open around 10:00 and close around 19:00.

Gunkanjima

 Gunkanjima is a small island situated about 20 kilometers from Nagasaki Port in Kyushu region. Until 1974, the island served as a coal mine, and more than 5,000 residents called the 480 meter long, 150 meter wide island home, resulting in the highest population density in history recorded worldwide.

 To accommodate lots of people in such a small area, every piece of land was built up so that the island came to resemble a massive battleship. In fact, "Gunkanjima" is a nickname that means "battleship island" in Japanese. The island's formal name is Hashima.

In 2009, a newly constructed boat dock was constructed to make it possible for sightseeing tour boats to land on Gunkanjima. Tour participants are taken to three observation decks in a small part on the southern end of the island and spend about 45 minutes on the island with Japanese speaking tour guides. Tour participants are not allowed to get too close to the buildings because of the risk of collapse.

The boat ride between Nagasaki and Gunkanjima is also interesting. Boats take about 50 minutes one way, and pass large Mitsubishi ship building factories and other islands along the way. The ride also allows for some nice views of the city of Nagasaki and its port from the boat.

Oya Temple

It is a Buddhist temple of the Tendai sect in the city of Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture. 

According to legend, the temple was established by Kukai, the founder of the Shingon sect, in 810, The temple was reconstructed during 1615 to 1624.  

The temple is built into the surrounding tuff rock and features a carved figure of the Bodhisattva Kannon with a thousand arms with a surrounding altar. 

 
Nearby park features a massive statue of Kannon Bodhisattva, called the Kannon of Peace carved after World War II. 

Nagasaki Peace Park

The park commemorates the atomic bombing of Nagasaki of August 9, 1945, which destroyed wide parts of the city and killed ten thousands of people.

It is home to the massive Peace Statue as well as various other memorials.

A monument around a black pillar marks the atomic explosion's epicenter in the nearby Hypocenter Park and stores the name list of bomb victims.

Ibusuki Hot Springs

It is an onsen town that is well-known for its sand baths, where bathers are buried in naturally heated sand.

The town is located in the southern tip of the Satsuma Peninsula, and the main downtown area is along the coast facing Kagoshima Bay.　

Ibusuki's sand baths can be enjoyed at a number of hotels and other facilities, but the most popular bathing spot is the large Saraku Sand Bath Hall, which is about a kilometer from Ibusuki Station. At sand baths, guests get provided with yukata robes and are then buried by staff members in hot sand that is heated by natural steam coming up from below. After staying buried for typically 10 to 20 minutes, guests wash off the sand and enter regular hot spring baths.

 

At the very southern end of Ibusuki City is Cape Nagasakibana, which has a recommended lookout point with views onto the ocean and nearby Mount Kaimondake.

Eiheiji

It is located in Fukui prefecture and one of the two head temples of the Soto Sect of Zen Buddhism. It was founded in 1244 by Dogen Zenji, the Buddhist scholar who introduced Soto Zen to Japan in 1228 after studying in China for several years.  

It consists of over 70 buildings and structures, connected with each other by covered walkways.

The temple is still an active monastery with around 150 practicing Zen monks. Soto Zen Buddhist organization offered foreign visitors to stay at the temple for one or more nights and experience the monks' daily routine. 

The Kintai-kyo Bridge

The Kintai-kyo Bridge is located in Iwakuni city,Yamaguchi prefecture, which has been Iwakuni's most famous landmark and a subject of admiration for hundreds of years. It is completely made of wood and without the use of any nails, the bridge makes five bold arches onto massive stone pillars as it crosses over the Nishiki River.

 

Plans for the Kintai-kyo were first drawn up when strong currents had once again destroyed a bridge crossing the Nishiki River. A more durable bridge was commissioned by Kikkawa Hiroyoshi, the third feudal lord of Iwakuni, whose statue stands at the entrance to Kikko Park.


After the bridge was completed in 1673, it kept standing until 1950, when Iwakuni was struck by a violent typhoon.
 

It is also well- known as the spot for cherry-blossom viewings in the spring. 

Nijushi no Hitomi Movie Village

Nijushi no Hitomi or Twenty-Four Eyes is a 1954 movie filmed on Shodoshima island in Kagawa prefecture that follows the lives of a school teacher and her first class of students as they grow up on the island during the rise of Japanese nationalism in the leadup to World War two.

After the shooting of a color remake in 1987, the movie location used for the filming was opened to the public as the Nijushi no Hitomi Eigamura movie village.

The movie set consists of an entire reconstructed village, including a school building, over a dozen homes, a shrine, a canal and a few fields. Visitors can enter all the buildings, some of which were transformed into restaurants, shops and small museums.

The village offers a nostalgic atmosphere of past decades, and is pleasant to explore even by those who have not seen the movie.

Gujo Hachiman

Gujo Hachiman in Gifu Prefecture offers visitors a look at the traditional, small town atmosphere of rural Japan. The town is well known for its summer dance festival and its historic waterways, it has lots of small museums and galleries, as well as temples and shrines. It is popularly called Little Kyoto as a nickname.
 

Sogisui Source is the most famous source of Gujo's water system, pools of water are divided into four sections each for exclusive use. The first pool for drinking, the second for washing rice, the third for washing vegetables and the forth for cleaning tools. 

Hakone Tozan Railway

Hakone Tozan Railway, Japan's oldest mountain railway, is one of the most recommended attractions in Hakone area. The small trains wind themselves through a narrow, densely wooded valley over lots of bridges and tunnels, stopping at tiny stations along the way and changing directions at three switchbacks. 

The Hakone Tozan Line contains two sections. The lower section from Odawara to Hakone-Yumoto is used by Odakyu trains from central Tokyo like ordinary trains. Far more spectacular is the upper section from Hakone-Yumoto to Gora, which is served by the small mountain trains. At Gora, many travelers transfer to the cablecar for Lake Ashi. 

The 35 minute train ride from Hakone-Yumoto to Gora is especially outstanding in June and July when thousands of hydrangea are in bloom along the tracks and are illuminated during the evenings. The flowers are usually best around the beginning of July and can be seen from the trains and around the stations.
 

Uchiko-za

Uchiko-za is a fully operational kabuki theater in the center of Uchiko town in Ehime Prefecture, and the symbol of Uchiko. The magnificent, multi-story building was built in 1916 and continues to occasionally host various events, including kabuki and bunraku performances.

Visitors can enter Uchiko-za and explore the many trap doors and hidden passageways around the stage. Kabuki stages are known for their elaborate design, allowing for sudden dissapearances, dramatic entrances and so on.  At Uchiko-za, visitors have the opportunity to examine the mechanics of such stage choreography. 

The theater is expected to be registered as Important Cultural Property this year.

Iga Ninja Museum

Ninja were a type of warriors during Japan's feudal periods, specialized in gathering information about the enemy and conducting various acts of espionage and sabotage. 



The Iga School of ninjutsu, which is based in Iga Ueno, was one of Japan's leading ninja schools, along with the Koka School in neighboring Shiga Prefecture.

The small but well done Iga Ninja Museum delivers a　comprehensive ninja experience: it consists of a ninja residence, two exhibition halls and a stage which hosts ninja shows.  

The shows are held in Japanese only, but they are still highly entertaining for non-Japanese speakers as most of the action speaks for itself.
 

Fort Goryokaku

Fort Goryokaku is a large, star shaped, Western style citadel, which was built in the last years of the Edo Period, in order to defend Hakodate against the imperialist threat posed by the Western powers.

  

A few years later, the fort became the site of a civil war between an army of the shogunate and the superior troops of the newly established Meiji government.

After the fort had lost its military importance, it was open to the public as a park. Over a thousand cherry trees were planted along its moats, making it one of Hokkaido's must-see cherry blossom spots. The peak of the blooming season usually takes place around early May.

If you wish to take a look at a bird's view of the huge fortress, visit the observation deck of the nearby Goryokaku Tower, which is 107m tall.

Mount Nokogiri

It is literally "saw mountain" in Japanese, which is a low mountain (Elevation:329.5m / 1,081 ft) on the Boso Peninsula in Chiba Prefecture. It falls steeply into Tokyo Bay on its western side, where it is pierced by two road tunnels and a rail tunnel, carrying the Uchibo Line south from Futtsu to Tateyama.

The western side of the mountain is the site of magnificent Nihon temple complex, which is the home
of two Daibutsu sculptures, a huge seated carving of Yakushi Nyorai that at 31.05 metres (101.9 ft) tall is the largest pre-modern, stone-carved Daibutsu in the country,and the Hundred-shaku Kannon, a tall relief image of Kannon carved into one of the quarry walls as well as 1500 hand-carved sculptures, which combined with the panoramic view of the Boso Hills and Tokyo Bay, make Mount Nokogiri a popular tourism destination.

 

The temple is easily accessible by road and by a cable car, the Mt Nokogiri Ropeway, which operates from Hamakanaya Station on the JR Uchibo Line to a lookout deck near the top of the temple site.

Nijo castle

The castle consists of the Ninomaru Palace, the ruins of the Honmaru Palace, various supporting buildings and several gardens. It is one of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto which have been designated by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage Site.

It was the residencial palace of the Tokugawa shoguns in Kyoto, who had been ruling Japan for over 260 years from 1603 to 1868. The wide moat, massive stone walls, and heavy elaborate gates are still impressive.

Inside the palace are several masterpieces of Japanese art, most notably the painted screens of the main chamber. In this room the shoguns met the daimyo (high-ranking warlord-administrators) who sought an audience. The screens were painted by artists of the Kano school and use rich colors and large amounts of gilt to depict flowers, trees, birds and tigers. Another well-known feature in the palace is the famous "nightingale floors," which were designed to squeak when steped on and thus alert guards to any intruders.

Access: A short walk from City Bus Stop Nijo-jo-mae (from JR Kyoto Station/Hankyu Railway Karasuma Station), or Nijo-jo-mae Station on the Tozai Subway Line
Hours: 8:45-16:00 closing at 17:00
Closed: 12/26-1/4 and Tuesdays (Jul. Aug. Dec. Jan.) (If the Tuesday is a holiday, the castle closes the following day.)