Photo by 江戸村のとくぞう x

About an hour out of Tokyo is quaint, historical Kawagoe.  I’ve only put this in one itinerary so far but it seems to be pretty straightforward if you aren’t trying to go to aaall the shrines.

It’s about an hour from the west side of the loop line/Yamanote line (Shinjuku/Shibuya area) and from there it’s pretty easy to get everywhere on foot.

First, stop by the warehouse district Kurazukuri no Machinami (蔵作りの町並み), where historical warehouses have been preserved as shops and cafes.  You can visit the museum to see more of the history of the warehouse district.  

Nearby is Kashiya Yokocho (菓子屋横丁), or Candy Lane, where you can try traditional Japanese candies and sweets!  At Tamariki Seika, you can sometimes even watch them make the candies.

A prominent landmark near the warehouse district is the belltower, Toki no Kane (時の鐘), which still chimes four times a day.  

Photo by Ocdp x

If you’re lucky enough to visit in October, go during the Kawagoe Festival (picture at the top of the post).  Otherwise, you can view some of the parade floats at the Festival Museum.

If you’re into Starbucks, you’ll want to visit the one in Kawagoe—it’s housed in a traditionally-styled building, complete with a Japanese garden to enjoy with your latte.

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For those of you who prefer beer, try to find a place where you can try Coedo beer, a local craft beer. Unfortunately I can’t find anything about a brewery tour, but many restaurants around should serve it, or you can take a short train ride to their Craft Beer 1000 Lab to try some experimental brews.

Speaking of restaurants, the area is known for imokoi (いも恋), a sweet filled with a potato (imo) filling.  It’s also known for unagi, smoked eel, and chasoba (!!), noodles made with green tea.

Of course I recommend anyone with some time and a JR pass to swing by Hiroshima, but by itself there isn’t a lot of sightseeing.  Miyajima is a scenic island an easy day trip from there.

You’ll spend probably about half a day at the Atomic Bomb Dome and the Peace Park.  You can go there in the morning, then leave directly from the Peace Park on the direct ferry (2,200 yen) and stay overnight on Miyajima.  Or you can take the JR train from Hiroshima station to Miyaguchi station and take a shorter ferry (the whole route is about 600 yen).  

From there, walk to Itsukushima Shrine.  During high tide, the torii gate here looks like it’s floating on the water.

Photo by Rdsmith4 x

Daishoin Shrine is about 5 minutes walk from Itsukushima.  It’s hidden in the trees and has some spectacular views from the top.

Next, walk (or take a free shuttle) to the ropeway for some more good views.

Photo by Clifford D x

When you come back down (you can hike down and visit some smaller shrines on the way if you’re active), walk towards Omotesando street for shopping, cafés, and restaurants.  Miyajima’s local delicacy is momiji manju, sweets with filling shaped like maple leaves (momiji), so be sure to try some.  The confectionary Okinadou is a popular place.

If you happen to be traveling with four of your friends, visit the Traditional Handicrafts Shop near Omotesando to try some hands-on workshops, including momiji mochi making and painting your own wooden rice spoon (advance reservations required, min 5 people--but it looks interesting).

Other than that, there’s a history museum with a Japanese Garden, Omoto park with maple trees for prime autumn leaves viewing, more viewing points from Mt. Misen, etc. etc. so be sure to look around for things that interest you or seasonal events and things to get the most out of your visit.

Ever heard of Stationmaster Tama?  

(Photo from the railway’s homepage)

In the early 2000’s, Wakayama Electric Railway (和歌山電鉄) was on the verge of closure when the stationmaster of Kishi station adopted Tama, a stray cat.  Tama was appointed to station master in January in 2007 and ridership for the railway line increased enough to keep the railway from closing down in a phenomenon called “nekonomics” or “cat economics,” the idea that having a cat mascot will increase a company’s popularity.  Tama passed away in 2015 of old age, but was later deified and has a shrine dedicated to her inside Kishi station, where her apprentice and successor Nitama (Tama 2) and Nitama’s apprentice Yontama (Tama 4) are currently employed.  For those of you concerned about Santama (Tama 3). worry not—she was sent to Okayama for training and the public relations officer in charge of taking care of her refused to give her up.

You can visit Kishi station, meet Nitama (who greets passengers in a window during her office hours 10-4 Fri-Tue, Yontama works at Kishi Wed-Thu and Idakiso Sat, Sun, and Tue.), visit the café to buy Tama and Nitama merch and cute drinks, or buy omamori (protective charms sold at shrines) from the shrine shop.  It’s an easy day trip from Osaka.  From JR Tennoji or most stations on the loop line, take the Kishuuji kaisoku (express) going to Wakayama and the airport (be careful to get on the right car as the train decouples at Hineno station and the back half of the train goes to the airport).  The trip to Wakayama station will take about 2 hours.  Transfer at Wakayama to the Wakayama Electric Railway (Wakayama Dentetsu) Kishigawa Line, which is a direct transfer (don’t leave the JR gates first, head towards platform 9).  The best option is to buy a day pass for all of the stops on the Kishigawa line for 800 yen (children 400).  

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It’s been about a month since I started my job at the travel agency and I already know more about things to do in Hakone than anyone who’s never been to Hakone should know.  It’s a small but popular town near Mt. Fuji with some pretty good things to do.  If you’re going between Tokyo and Kyoto, this is a good stop on the way.  It’s also a good opportunity to splurge a bit and stay at a nice ryokan with an onsen.  There are even a few—but not many—open-air onsen with views of Fuji (many of those are at ryokan, but may be open to day guests not staying there overnight).  

There’s lots of stuff to do here so I’ll try to keep it short.  Anyone wanting a more detailed description (especially prices and logistics on getting from place to place), feel free to send an ask!  

Getting there from Tokyo:

The shinkansen is only 40 minutes from Tokyo Station to Odawara and for such a short distance is not too expensive (3,000 for unreserved, 4,500 yen for balls-to-the-wall luxury with seats in the premium car).  Take the Tozan train from Odawara to get into Hakone proper--a particularly gorgeous ride during hydrangea season (mid-June to late July).

The Odakyu Romancecar (limited express) from Shinjuku to Hakone Yumoto is a bit longer (80 minutes). It’s a bit cheaper than the shinkansen (in the range of 2,500 yen), but they’re close enough that it’s better to just decide based on convenience--unless you have the Freepass, in which case the Romancecar is only about 1,500 yen.

If you’re staying overnight or for 2 nights you should absolutely get the Hakone Freepass (2- and 3-day passes available) which give you free public transport basically anywhere in Hakone, and discounts for a bunch of stuff.  

Suggested route:

Train from Hakone Yumoto or Odawara to The Hakone Open-Air Museum: art museum with some pretty notable exhibits (admission 1,600 yen)

Walk (15 min) to Sounzan station and ride the Hakone Ropeway to Togendai station (￥1,480 one-way): some good views going up the mountain.  Easily accessible from Odawara and Hakone Yumoto via bus and cable car (all free with the Freepass).  Stop at Owakudani station (￥920 +￥1,140 from there to Togendai) on the way up to try the famous black eggs—eggs boiled in a sulfur spring with the shells turned black, which are said to add 7 years to your life:

Photo by David Monniaux x

From the top of the ropeway (Togendai station) take the Hakone Sightseeing Cruise on Lake Ashi/Ashinoko to Motohakone port for Hakone Shrine or Hakonemachi for Hakone Sekisho (the two ports are within walking distance of each other so you can visit both--￥1,040 one way, free with Freepass, cruise/ropeway day pass also available).  On clear days you can see Mt. Fuji, such as in the picture at the top of this post.  

Hakone shrine: some gorgeous views, of course.  One of the torii gates is on the lake.

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Hakone Sekisho (Hakone inspection point): historically used to prevent weapons from coming into the city and the wives and daughters of feudal lords from getting out of the city. Now restored as a museum.

Then take a bus back to Hakone Yumoto/Odawara/your hotel, etc.

If the Hakone Ropeway is closed, you can try the Komagatake ropeway instead (go to Hakone Shrine or Hakone Sekisho by public transport first, then take the Izuhakone cruise instead of the Hakone Sightseeing Cruise to Hakone-en port; alternatively, just take a bus to Hakone-en.  There’s fewer Freepass discounts with this route).

That’s a pretty good day trip right there, but if you’re staying longer try some of these:

Yunessun onsen complex: One side of the complex is a bit more traditional, while the other (swimsuits required) has rooms with coffee baths and wine baths, just to name a few (3,500 yen for admission to both parts).

And the Venetian Glass Museum.

If you’re going by shinkansen, take some time in Odawara to go to Suzuhiro Kamaboko Village. Kamaboko is a traditional Japanese food made from pureed fish paste, formed into loaves and steamed.  At Suzuhiro, you can try making your own kamaboko at the museum (1,500 yen depending on the workshop.  I recommend going through the Japanese version of the website if you’re able to do the workshop in Japanese, as there are more options).  There are some other food-related places at the village, like a soba restaurant and a craft beer brewery.

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I have accepted a job offer at a travel agency and in order to prepare for planning tours, I’m going to start posting about sightseeing spots, historical landmarks, local foods, and other notable information about various areas of Japan that I’ve been hearing about from my eikaiwa students this year.  I’ll tag these posts “japankakuchi” so those of you who are only interested in language stuff can blacklist them if you want.  I’ll intersperse them with regular languages posts.