Japan Explorer

Until the mid-19th century, Japan lived in isolation, closed off from the rest of the world, and Yokohama was a mere fishing village. But in 1853, American naval officer Matthew Perry demanded the country open to foreign trade, and Yokohama was changed forever. The city quickly emerged as an international trading center, and while today it is often overshadowed by nearby Tokyo, it continues to be one of Japan’s liveliest, and most international, destinations. With its microbreweries and international restaurants, Yokohama has a decidedly different feel from many other Japanese cities. 

Osaka has many attractions and interesting things to do. Sumo wrestlers wait for trains, reeking of chanko-nabe (traditional sumo food; pure energy and calories), just daring the official railway pushers to push them. Yakuza (Japanese gangsters) get train cars to themselves, but if you get on with them, it’s like you’re invisible. Busy markets, the visual noise of neon and nonstop action on shopping streets offer insight into the energy and ambition of Osaka. And if all that isn’t enough, Osaka is less than an hour from some of the most beautiful temples, shrines and ancient Japanese tourist attractions in the world - a thousand years of Japanese history - waiting in the old capitals of Kyoto and Nara.

High atop a hill in Kochi sits 17th-century Kochi Castle, once the seat of the Yamauchi lords. Explore this historic site and enjoy panoramic views of the city, then dine on sushi at Hirome Market. Japanese washi paper is an iconic piece of Kochi's heritage, produced in the prefecture for more than 1,000 years. Washi paper is an Intangible Cultural Heritage Object. 

Located in the southwest of Japan, Hiroshima, the main city of the Chugoku region, is set within a striking natural landscape of mountains, sea and rivers. Home to more than one million inhabitants, it’s famous as the site of the explosion of the world’s first atomic bomb, dropped by the U.S. in August 1945. This cataclysm is sensitively documented at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and associated Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. 

South Korea’s second-largest city (after the capital, Seoul), Busan is located in the southeastern corner of the country along the Sea of Japan. It combines a vibrant, big-city atmosphere with a famously laid-back attitude and subtropical landscapes. Often described as the "San Francisco of Korea", thanks mainly to its hilly terrain and close-knit neighborhoods, it offers visitors a little of everything: fashionable boutiques, dynamic culture and buzzy nightlife, as well as sandy beaches, hot springs and nearby mountains crossed with hiking trails and dotted with temples.

Sakaiminato is home to Shigeru Mizuki, creator of GeGeGe no Kitaro (a character who’s everywhere in contemporary Japan), and the gateway to the ancient region of Honshu, site of the famous “Black Castle.”  

This sleepy little port city is home to the intimate Kehi Shrine, with its red-lacquered Torii gate and koi pond. Learn about the fascinating history of the town at the Tsuruga Museum. Dine on grilled seafood like a local at Nihonkai Sakana Machi.

Japan’s lush natural splendors are on full display as you cruise Toyama. Freshwater springs feed the spectacular bay, a bay so scenic, it belongs to the UNESCO-endorsed Most Beautiful Bays in the World Club. Toyama’s enchanting, ridge-lined scoop of glistening sea is just the beginning. Visitors from around the globe come to this region to see the ancient villages, thatched-roof farmhouses, and incredible snow corridor. Even if you don’t make it out to the countryside on a Toyama cruise, there’s plenty to see and do in this coastal city. Visit the Toyama Castle, an impressive reconstruction of the 1543 original. Take the railway up to Mount Tateyama, the highest mountain in the range, or cruise through a cherry blossom tunnel on the Matsukawa River. Whatever activity you do, take time to savor the region’s renowned seafood, elegantly presented in many forms.

Hokkaido is the only spot among Japan’s primary islands where a non-Japanese culture manages to survive relatively intact, at least as an identity if not a lifestyle. The Ainu were here first, and are fairly easy to recognize; they have paler skin and more hair than ethnic Japanese. Cornerstones of Ainu culture remain, too: ceremonies that include sacrificing a bear (not often—bears are rare, although, this being the wild west, there are still some out there), the beautiful attush robe, a dislike of uncooked fish. And they’re not going anywhere. In 1997, the Japanese government finally recognized the Ainu's right to their own culture. Get a taste of that unique culture in Hakodate, the capital city of this northern island.