Hidden Gems Across Japan
1,610 spots
Biei Patchwork Hills
The Biei hills (美瑛の丘) are a living agricultural canvas — gently rolling farmland where each field grows a different crop…
Furano Lavender Fields
Furano's lavender fields (富良野ラベンダー畑) transform the Tokachi mountain foothills into rolling purple waves each summer (Jul…
Otaru Sushi Street
Walk out of Otaru Station and you'll find yourself surrounded by sushi shops—twenty-something of them packed into two bl…
Otaru Canal
The Otaru Canal (小樽運河) is a 1.3-kilometer waterway lined with preserved Meiji-era stone warehouses, now converted to res…
Lucky Pierrot
Lucky Pierrot (ラッキーピエロ) is a Hakodate-only burger chain with 17 locations, each themed differently (pirate ship, carouse…
Hakodate Morning Market
Hakodate Morning Market (函館朝市, Hakodate Asaichi) is a labyrinth of 250+ vendors selling Hokkaido's ocean harvest — live…
Mt. Hakodate Night View
Mt. Hakodate (函館山, 334m) offers what Japanese tourism authorities rank among the world's top three night views (alongsid…
Soup Curry
Soup curry (スープカレー) is Sapporo's modern culinary invention — a thin, broth-based curry stew served with large chunks of…
Sapporo Beer Museum
The Sapporo Beer Museum (サッポロビール博物館) occupies a red-brick factory from 1890, when Hokkaido's cold climate and barley cul…
Illustration — not a photographSapporo Ramen
Sapporo is the birthplace of miso ramen — the rich, hearty cousin of tonkotsu and shoyu styles. Developed in the 1960s t…
Odori Park
Odori Park (大通公園) is a 1.5-kilometer-long boulevard running east-west through central Sapporo, dividing the city into no…
Echizen Pottery Village
Echizen-yaki (越前焼) is one of Japan's Six Ancient Kilns (Rokkoyō), with pottery production dating to the Heian period (79…
Mikuni Minato
Mikuni (三国湊) was one of Hokuriku's most prosperous ports during the Edo and Meiji periods, serving as the coastal hub fo…
Wakasa Obama Juku Food Culture Museum
The Obama Food Culture Museum (御食国若狭おばま食文化館) celebrates Obama's 1,500-year history as miketsukuni — an imperial food-sup…
Fukui City Ruins Museum
The Fukui City History Museum (福井市立郷土歴史博物館) features a unique exhibition format: the museum building was constructed dir…
Sotomo Crags
The Sotomo coast (蘇洞門) on the Uchikoshi Peninsula in northern Wakasa Bay is a 6-kilometer stretch of sheer granite and a…
Awara Onsen
Awara Onsen (芦原温泉) is Fukui's premier hot spring resort, established in 1883 when a farmer accidentally discovered therm…
Yokokan Garden
Yokokan (養浩館庭園) is the former villa garden of the Matsudaira clan, feudal lords who ruled Fukui Domain for 270 years dur…
Mount Hakusan White Mountain
Mount Hakusan (白山, 'White Mountain', 2,702m) is one of Japan's three sacred mountains alongside Mount Fuji and Mount Tat…
Illustration — not a photographEchizen Washi Paper
Echizen washi (越前和紙) is handmade paper produced using techniques unchanged for 1,500 years, recognized by UNESCO as Inta…
Illustration — not a photographEchizen Lacquerware
Echizen lacquerware (越前漆器) traces its origins to the 6th century when Emperor Keitai, during travels in Echizen, request…
Maruoka Castle
Maruoka Castle (丸岡城) possesses the oldest surviving castle keep (tenshu) in Japan, constructed in 1576 — a claim dispute…
Ichijodani Asakura Clan Ruins
Ichijodani (一乗谷) was the castle town of the Asakura clan, who ruled Echizen Province (now Fukui) for 103 years (1471–157…
Oroshi Soba
Echizen oroshi soba is Fukui's traditional buckwheat noodle dish, defined by the use of coarsely grated daikon radish mi…
Estimated from distance to the nearest airport or shinkansen station. Confirm actual journey times before you travel.