Nago Pineapple Park in Okinawa is a pineapple farm and theme park, mainly aimed at families and couples. The park features a small pineapple themed train, and self-driving pineapple carts which take visitors around the large greenhouse filled with exotic plants, including many pineapple species. There is a pineapple theme song, which is highly catchy, …
Churaumi Aquarium in Okinawa is the largest aquarium in Japan, and the third-largest in the world (2020). The main attraction is the massive Kuroshio Sea tank, which is home to two whale sharks and numerous species of manta rays, including the giant oceanic manta ray. Churaumi has a total of 77 tanks, and has unique …
Myōryū-ji, better known as Ninja-dera (ninja temple), is a buddhist temple located in the Teramachi temple district in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture. Ninja-dera is known for it’s large amount of embedded traps, secret doors and rooms, fake ceilings, optical illusions and it’s 23 rooms being interconnected almost like a maze making it near impossible to navigate …
Nomura-ke Samurai Residence is a beautiful, old villa which belonged to the Nomura samurai family. The property, which is located in the historic Nagamachi samurai district in Kanazawa, has a stunning viewing garden, a tea house with a garden view, and a museum displaying artifacts from the Nomura family. It is a unique opportunity to …
Kurobe Gorge is a highly scenic, and nearly uninhabited, gorge in the the Toyama Prefecture in Chūbu. The gorge (a canyon with a river flowing in it), which was formed by the Kurobe river, has mesmerizing steep sides, covered in wild forrest, which is especially scenic during the fall time when the leaves turn red. …
Higashi-hennazaki is a narrow, 2km long (1.24mi) long cape which extends out of the eastern side of Miyako island (Okinawa). The cape has the Pacific Ocean on one side, and the East China Sea on the other. Along the coast line of the cape are large rocks, scattered in the mesmerizing blue water. At the …
Miyakojima is a group of islands, most of which are connected by some magnificent bridges. The three large bridges, Ikema Bridge, Irabu Bridge and Kurima Bridge are famed for their beauty and elegant design. It is common, when visiting Miyakojima, to make a “bridge tour” where you see and cross all three majestic bridges in …
Ueno German Culture Village is a German theme park located on Miyako Island. The main attraction in the park is the large replica of Marksburg Castle, along with two sections of the Berlin Wall which is housed in the castles museum. “Deutsches Kulturdorf Ueno” as this place would be called in German, is your typical …
Kyoto Railway Museum is a modern train museum where visitors can learn about the development of the train network in Japan, and how it contributed to the country’s modernization. Kyoto Railway Museum opened in 2016 right in the middle of the historic city of Kyoto. With 53 full-size trains on display, train lovers will need …
The Great Buddha Statue (Daibutsu in Japanese) is a 13m high bronze statue, which belongs to the Buddhist Kōtoku-in temple in Kamakura – just 1 hours by train from Tokyo. It is one of the most famous Buddha statues in Japan and dates back to 1252. The current Daibutsu statue in Bronze is said to …
