
There is a great deal to do in Japan’s 47 prefectures, from visiting temples to buying saucy figures in Akihabara. But once you’ve done all the touristy stuff, there’s still plenty waiting to be experienced! How much, you ask? You’ll have to check out this video of “100 things to do in Japan” to find out!
“Here are 100 things you should experience for real instead of just ‘knowing about,'” reads the tagline for this 103-second long video, which is equal parts advertising, traveler’s guide, and tourism video, produced by the makers of skin salve Oronine. A couple of the activities listed can of course be found in countries besides Japan, but the fact that you can do them all on this one tiny island chain says a lot about how exciting and unusual Japan is.
Check out the video and then refer to our handy guide below in case there are any you couldn’t figure out.
1. Felling trees
2. Catching eels
3. Being stricken by waterfalls
4. Making salt
5. Dyeing jeans
6. Going underground
7. Baking cheese on mountain tops
8. Chopping udon noodles
9. Climbing Mt. Fuji
10. Welding
11. Cooking rice in a stove
12. Gathering wild edible plants in the mountains of Okinawa
13. Making a fan from the frame
14. Cutting grass
15. Making containers out of wood
16. Staying on a mountain
17. Kayaking
18. Making a road to a citron field
19. Climbing trees
20. Roasting fish over a bonfire
21. Riding a bicycle through mountains
22. Making awamori
23. Catching and eating autumn salmon
24. Collecting jade
25. Rebuilding old traditional homes
26. Cooking medium rare bonito
27. Flying through the sky
28. Preparing food samples
29. Making clothesline
30. Making coffee in the Japanese Alps from boiling water
31. Making Okinawan lion statues
32. Making magewappa (bent-wood containers)
33. Drying octopus
34. Checking how long Chiriahama (1,000 Ri Beach, 1 ri = approx. 4 km) actually is
35. Making mochi
36. Barbecuing on a log
37. Falconry
38. Cleaning a Daibutsu (giant statue of Buddha)
39. Digging up yams
40. Running a relay race
41. Making cheese
42. Collecting and eating ginkgo nuts
43. Making a natural hot spring
44. Squeezing olives
45. Making salt-cured salmon
46. Baking Jomon-style earthenware outdoors
47. Making stone walls
48. Catching and eating squid
49. Making Okinawan yushidofu
50. Catching oysters
51. Mudding
52. Making soba noodles
53. Making straw decorations (for Shinto festivals)
54. Riding dog sleds
55. Fishing for pond smelt
56. Preparing nori (seaweed)
57. Collecting edible plants at the beach
58. Roasting coffee beans
59. Shoveling snow
60. Writing haiku on a mountain pass
61. Making and riding snowboards
62. Curling
63. Making earthenware
64. Blacksmithing
65. Making dried vegetables
66. Playing with ice and fire
67. Weaving
68. Riding Yonaguni horses
69. Making miso
70. Digging up lotus root
71. Making brown sugar
72. Sawing lumber
73. Baking bread over a charcoal fire
74. Doing kung fu
75. Making and playing a sanshin
76. Snowboarding in Daisetsuzan National Park
77. Riding horses through Hakkoda
78. Picking mikan oranges
79. Catching ice goby
80. Making dried bonito
81. Tanning leather
82. Digging up bamboo sprouts
83. Baking baumkuchen over a bonfire
84. Climbing a snow-covered mountain
85. Planting rice
86. Starting a fire
87. Surfing
88. Flying in a hot air balloon
89. Building a sauna
90. Bouldering
91. Making guitars
92. Harvesting pearls
93. Making carpets
94. Swimming with dolphins
95. Stand-up-paddling down a river
96. Traditional Okinawan cloth dyeing
97. Making glassware
98. Digging up amber
99. Dancing in the Awa Dori Festival
100. Making tea in the center of Japan
If any of these activities take your fancy–and we’d be surprised if absolutely none did–then be sure to head to the Shiri 100 website for more detailed information, including Vine videos, text explanations and maps. Of course, the text is all in Japanese, but the videos should help you find the activities you’re looking for if you need help and the numbering is the same as our list.
There is also a Shiri 100 Facebook page with more photos and details. There are even Shiri 100 pages for the different regions of Japan, like Shiri 100 Kyushu and Shiri 100 Kanto to help you find activities wherever you may be in Japan.
And there certainly are some great activities for you to experience! Some things might even be new for those of you who’ve been all over Japan–one comment left by a Japanese Facebook user asked, “These landscapes…they’re not all actually from Japan, are they?” Which prompted this excellent response from the Shiri 100 team: “Every photo was taken as we went all over the country doing all these activities. But there are some places that surprise you and make you think, ‘Wow, Japan has this too?'”
Well, now it looks like it’s time for us to start planning our next vacation!
Sources: AOL Japan, Shiri 100, YouTube, Shiri 100 Facebook
Images: Shiri 100 Facebook



Budget entertainment: 12 fun things to do in Tokyo that will cost you absolutely nothing
Eight surprising things to do in Northern Okinawa
These easy DIY bath bombs can be made with ingredients from the 100 yen shop
Experience an entire day at Tokyo Disneyland in just 110 seconds of time-lapse video
Don’t eat that! We make delicious-looking models of tempura out of wax
Air-conditioned dress shirts arrive in Japan to save working professionals from sweltering heat
Tokyo’s newest viral dessert is like a Japanese parfait inside a bread bun [Taste test]
Live-action Princess Mononoke is coming to streaming as a live event, previews look amazing [Video]
Starbucks Japan opens new store inside historic seaside quarantine station near Tokyo
Tokyo security guard’s famous station tape font becomes official custom Nike streetwear
Godiva Japan gets into the shaved ice scene with two luxurious frozen desserts this summer
7-Eleven Japan adds new cold soup smoothies to its convenience store drinks range
Starbucks Japan releases first-ever gacha capsule toys, featuring iconic menu items as plush coffee charms
Studio Ghibli’s No Face twirls to sound of Spirited Away’s theme song in beautiful accessory box
New Studio Ghibli washi tape adds anime flair to Japanese stationery
7-Eleven Japan now offering baked-in-store pizza by the slice with two very different topping sets
Kyoto receives more foreign tourists than ever before, but fewer visitors say they’ll return
Pokémon Card Stores requiring facial recognition scans for entry in Japan in latest anti-scalper move
Starbucks Japan unveils exclusive new Frappuccinos limited to three regional areas
Foreign tourists in Japan eat far more rice than previously thought, according to new data
How are you supposed to wash a Japanese futon duvet at the laundromat?
Studio Ghibli has a new anime out, and there’s only one place in the world where you can see it
Tokyo subway installing new ticket gates that don’t accept payment through Suica or other IC cards
Japan now has human refrigerators inspired by Japanese vending machines
Hatsune Miku collaborates with Hokusai’s art in new Vocaloid ukiyo-e illustration series [Pics]
New Shinkansen luggage drop-off system begins in Japan, making train travel even easier
Salomon releases Japan-exclusive Mt. Fuji hiking gear that doubles as an amazing souvenir
Studio Ghibli releases anime T-shirts that pay homage to one of Hayao Miyazaki’s most personal films
Japan triples departure tax, foreign tourists and locals now must pay more to leave country
Family Mart opens new “Famima” flagship store in Tokyo that’s like a tourist attraction
Uniqlo looks back to the very start of Pokémon with new black-and-white pixel art T-shirts[Pics]
Japan announces sudden 400-percent increase in visa fees for foreigners entering the country
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
Japanese ninja certification exam attracts 131 candidates from Japan and abroad
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
14 things never to do on a bicycle in Japan with new traffic laws
Secret tourist stop in Japan has a lift car that whisks you away to a mystery mountain destination
Japan now has a “for foreign tourists only” Mt. Fuji sightseeing train[Video]
Four things women are banned from doing in Japan【Women in Japan Series】
The top 10 things foreign tourists visiting Japan want to do during Golden Week
Walking Bingo: A clever alternative to adventure games like Pokémon GO
15 rude things not to do on trains in Japan【Survey】
Volcanoes, castles and more: 10 of Japan’s best drone-shot videos to give you wanderlust【Video】
Japan travel: Best things to do, see and eat in Hagi and Yamaguchi City in Yamaguchi Prefecture
Japanese nature theme park lets you zoom through the air at over 40 miles an hour
Japan Airlines giving foreign travelers 100,000 free round-trip tickets during the Tokyo Olympics
The top 5 places to see the sun set in Japan
Everything you need to know about climbing Japan’s second-highest volcano
Ride bikes on an abandoned railway line at this hidden tourist spot in Japan
Japan travel: Best things to see, eat and do in Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture