nature (Page 15)
Family and nature both feature prominently in this stirring glimpse of a day spent far away from the bright lights of Tokyo.
Clever design even takes into account how to keep you entertained during those long, lonely nights.
Single-person sleeping areas connected by a common space give you a living room in the great outdoors.
There’s more to this unusual shrine than its stunning red torii gates that lead down to the Sea of Japan.
Photos taken in Antarctica by digital artist and astrophotographer KAGAYA have been getting lots of love on the Japanese internet—and we can certainly see why!
How well do you know Japanese travel destinations? Test your knowledge and see how many of these locations around Japan you can identify from photos alone!
Feeding fish is an innocent pastime — unless you’ve got a whole pond and a thousand fish instead of a small tank! Then it looks more like a horror movie!
People all over the world have heard of Okunoshima, popularly known as “Rabbit Island.” It’s a tiny island off the coast of Hiroshima overflowing with adorable little bunnies who want nothing more than to smother you with love and eat your food.
But on our latest trip to Okunoshima, we wanted to go one step further: we wanted to be covered in as many fluffy bunnies as humanly possible. And what better way to do that than by becoming a bunny ourselves? Read on to see more of our pink, furry excursion.
Tell someone you climbed Mt. Fuji, and they’ll ask “Where did you start from?”, because there are paved roads that can drop as much as half-way up the mountain. Of course some say you haven’t climbed Fuji unless you started from its base, but even that wasn’t enough of a challenge for these three foreign outdoorsmen, who decided to start their hike from miles away from Fuji at the seashore, then journey from Japan’s lowest point to its highest, making this awesome video along the way.
There are many well-known areas of beauty all around Japan, but sometimes you stumble upon something off the beaten path that simply takes your breath away.
That’s what happened to one person in Japan, who came across a waterfall in a tunnel of sunlight, filled with the same muted hues as a scene from a fantastical animated movie. Upon sharing the atmospheric photograph above on Instagram it received thousands of likes, with people all over the country eager to learn where the secret waterfall was hidden.
It might look like something from the foggy mists of a far-flung island many miles from Tokyo, but the beautiful scene is actually located just a short one-hour drive from the bustling metropolis. We decided to make our way there, and we’ve marked out the route so you can visit it too!
Two of the best ways to experience the pleasures of rural Japan are a long hike and a leisurely dip in a hot spring, or onsen, as they’re called in Japanese. With the country’s chains of volcanic mountains, there are plenty of spots where you where you can do both in the same day, with onsen resorts often not too far from where mountain trails start or end.
But instead of booking a room in an inn with a hot spring, you can do something even better in this part of Hokkaido by digging your own onsen!
Any proper itinerary for a trip across Japan should include stops in its three most famous Shinto shrines: Hiroshima’s Itsukushima Shrine, Kyoto’s Heian Shrine, and the Meiji Shrine in Tokyo. Those, however, are just the tip of Japan’s iceberg of breathtaking sacred Shinto spots.
Even if you’ve got no pressing interest in Japan’s indigenous religion, its shrines are often sites of breathtaking natural and architectural beauty, and here are four that, while off the beaten path, are not to be missed.
Have you ever wondered what the most spectacular views in Japan are? Allow us to enlighten you!
Recently, we told you about Japan’s top three night views according to the Night View Summit 2015. You may have also heard about Japan’s Three Scenic Spots, one of the many lists of the top three this or that in Japan. So, what’s the deal with all these lists? And who designates them? Find out while checking out some of the best scenery Japan has to offer.
It’s hard to say which game is more highly anticipated, Final Fantasy XV or Kingdom Hearts 3, but with both of them tentatively scheduled for a 2016 release date, we just might find out. Or not…because a recent tweet about the latest Final Fantasy game is causing us to believe that a 2016 release date could be a pipe dream. Although there has been no delay announced, if the date is pushed back it might be in part due to the rocky situation they are in: they need more rocks!
Deep in the forests of Takamorimachi, a small town in Kumamoto Prefecture on Japan’s southern island of Kyushu, hides a humble shrine shrouded by trees and moss-covered greenery. Hailed as a “power spot” by the Japanese, Kamishikimi Kumanoimasu Shrine (上色見熊野座神社) is a mystical destination for those looking to feel the earth’s energy and recharge their spirits, or to just take in the all the scenic beauty it has to offer. Even if you can’t make a visit in the near future, you can at least pacify yourself with these stunning images instead.
Now that it’s October, fall is slowly beginning to creep up on Japan, which means seasonal favorite dishes including pumpkin, sweet potato, and mushroom will again be arriving on dinner tables across the land in no time. As for the lattermost, people from the countryside are more likely to pick or grown their own rather than buy mushrooms from the supermarket, and some varieties like matsutake can easily retail for a few hundred dollars.
Unfortunately matsutake and other kinds of mushrooms don’t fetch quite as high of a price in China, but while one man was gathering mushrooms, he stumbled across something that was worth much more: a giant bees’ nest.



















Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Super-salty pizza sends six kids to the hospital in Japan, linguistics blamed
Starbucks Japan unveils new sakura Frappuccino for cherry blossom season 2026
Foreign tourists in Japan will get free Shinkansen tickets to promote regional tourism
Can you eat lunch in Tokyo for less than 500 yen?
Take a trip to Japan’s Dododo Land, the most irritating place on Earth
Room 404: What happened when we stayed in an unlucky hotel room in Japan
Foreigners accounting for over 80 percent of off-course skiers needing rescue in Japan’s Hokkaido
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Japan has omurice chocolate, and the weirdest thing isn’t how it tastes
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
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New Family Mart cinema opens inside Japanese airport
Man arrested in Japan after leaving car in coin parking lot for six years, racking up three-million-yen bill
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Japan releases first official sakura cherry blossom forecast for 2026
Archfiend Hello Kitty appears as Sanrio launches new team-up with Yu-Gi-Oh【Pics】
China’s don’t-go-to-Japan warning looks to be affecting tourist crowds on Miyajima
Studio Ghibli releases new “komorebi” plush toys from Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away
Yokai are descending upon Tokyo this spring in the latest immersive art experience
Japan’s Naruto theme park now offering real-world version of Minato’s kunai ninja weapon
Survey asks foreign tourists what bothered them in Japan, more than half gave same answer
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
We deeply regret going into this tunnel on our walk in the mountains of Japan
Studio Ghibli releases Kodama forest spirits from Princess Mononoke to light up your home
Major Japanese hotel chain says reservations via overseas booking sites may not be valid
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
No more using real katana for tourism activities, Japan’s National Police Agency says
Starbucks Japan reveals new sakura drinkware collection, inspired by evening cherry blossoms
Take a trip to Japan’s Dododo Land, the most irritating place on Earth
Room 404: What happened when we stayed in an unlucky hotel room in Japan
Foreigners accounting for over 80 percent of off-course skiers needing rescue in Japan’s Hokkaido
Cup Noodle maker Nissin teams up with thick-broth ramen chain for instant ramen rice[Taste test]
Japan has omurice chocolate, and the weirdest thing isn’t how it tastes
Eating “adults-only” potato chips sends over a dozen Tokyo high schoolers to the hospital
A look back on 40 years of Japanese schools banning stuff
Nagoya-based Japanese-sweets maker wows the Internet and customers with cute animal-themed manju
Man in Japan takes four parakeets hostage in attempt to force woman to meet with him
Japan has a new bar just for people thinking about quitting their jobs, and the drinks are free
Testing Japan’s fluffy mayonnaise pancake cooking hack【SoraKitchen】
Senkoji: The Japanese temple that’s more like a theme park to heaven and hell
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