While I was living in Japan, I had the opportunity to travel around to areas of Japan that most foreign tourists either don't know about. Here is my list of my top off-the-beaten path Japan
- Yakushima
- Kanazawa
- Matsushima Bay
- Sapporo Snow Festival
- Tazawako
How about you guys? Those that have had the chance to travel more around the country, where were your favorite places?
Reply to this Great topic Kathryn :-)
I would definitely second the Sapporo Snow Festival!
Other places closer to where I lived that are worth a visit;
Oki Islands
Tsuwano
Tottori sand dunes - a friend and I carried futons to the top once and slept there :-)
Reply to this Haven't been to the snow festival, but any ramen lover should make a pilgrimage to Hokkaido, the birthplace of miso ramen. Plus excellent powder if you're into winter sports.
Reply to this Ooooh yes.....Hokkaido snow <sigh>
Hokkaido is also well known for crab.
Reply to this I wish I could have gotten farther into Hokkaido. All that snow and ice is just way to fun. Hokkaido is also well known for ice cream and dairy products. I brought back all kinds of ice cream from there *_*
Kyushu is the island that I wish more foreigners would go to. Yakushima, the island inspiration for Ghibli's Mononoke Hime, is just absolutely beautiful with it's dense forest and a 2000 year old cedar tree.
Reply to this I agree Kyushi is a nice place to visit. Although I'm only lucky to see Yanagawa in Fukuoka, on our yearly visit to my wife's hometown. If you think Japan is a traditional country, then Kyushu takes its tradition a notch higher.
When you are here in Osaka, a 2 hour trip to Koyasan would be nice too. Its the birthplace of Esoteric Buddhism in Japan. People may seemed discouraged to go here because of the religious connotation attached to the place, but it is a very serene and beautiful place TB:
Koyasan: Snow on Cedar Trees, Temples and Buddhas.
Reply to this Rather than just a day trip, I can highly recommend an overnight stay at one of the temples. Try the vegetarian food the monks have, and make the effort to get up early and observe the morning prayers.
Agree with you Aristeo - it is a very serene and beautiful place.
Reply to this Good pick!
Koyasan is wonderful. I spent the weekend there when I was in college and it was wonderful. Staying in the temples is the way to go and all that amazing food that you get to enjoy.
I'm glad to know that we've all been there. ^^
Reply to this Hi Jo and Kathryn,
Definitely staying overnight in one of those Koyasan temples is on my future things to do list. But not yet, I have very energetic kids. I'm sure the serenity of the place will be disturbed :D.
Reply to this A great way to explore Matsue is to go for a ride on one of the Horikawa canal boats. In the winter they even have koutatsu (low tables with heater underneath)!
Reply to this I never got down to Amanohashidate, but Matsushima, one of the other 3 views of Japan, was one of the most beautiful areas!
Sadly, Matsushima was just 30 miles from the epicenter of the Tohoku Earthquake. I can only hope that the bay and some of the thousands of pine covered islands made it through safely.
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