Momotaro, the story of a boy who was born from a peach and later defeated an army of ogres, is one of Japan's most famous folktales. In fact, it's so famous that shrines claiming to be the original birthplace of Momotaro are almost as common as churches claiming to have fragments of the true cross in Europe. Some of the more notable ones are Okayama Prefecture's Kibitsu Jinja, Kagawa Prefecture's Takamatsu no Momotaro Jinja, Fukui Prefecture's Tsuruga no Kibi Jinja and this one, Momotaro Jinja in the city of Inuyama in Aichi Prefecture.
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NEW! Sekigahara War WorldThis bizarre tourist themepark in Gifu Prefecture recreates the Battle of Sekigahara, a huge engagement that began the more than 250 year rule of the Tokugawa family in Japan. It does it with life-size dayglow colored concrete statues depicting gory executions and ritual suicides.
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The Aizu Wakamatsu Region (Fukushima Prefecture)The Aizu Wakamatsu region in Fukushima prefecture has each of the three elements you need for a great Japanese vacation: interesting cultural sights, natural beauty, and great food. Terribly under-rated, Fukushima is a wonderful, uncrowded spot for a getaway, eve at peak travel times. There's a tradtional castle town, nearby Mt. Bandai offers great hiking, and the surreally beautiful Goshiki-numa marshes have some of the most interesting scenery in Japan.
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Mumin Bokujo (Okinawa)The Mumin Ranch is a wonderful, cheap getaway where you can experience horse trekking for a reasonable price, or do a farmstay and ride for free. It's located near the city of Nago in Okinawa.
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Kanazawa (Ishikawa Prefecture)Kanazawa is one of Japan's most under-rated tourist destinations, usually just a footnote to Kyoto or a possible "if you have some extra time" destination, but it's really worth seeing, especially for people looking for somewhere with lots to do but without too many crowds. A small, walkable city, Kanazawa is famous for the famous garden Kenrokuen, it's excellent museums, and is known as Sho Kyoto (Little Kyoto) because of all its temples.
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Matsumoto and the Nakasendo (Nagano Prefecture)Just a few hours from either Tokyo or Osaka, Nagano is one of the most beautiful parts of Japan. It is home to the city of Matsumoto, which has one of Japan's best castles, and the towns of Magome, Tsumago, and Narai the only places in Japan that have been preserved to look the way they did in the late Edo period. Nagano is also famous for its hot springs and hiking.
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Hokkaido PrefectureIf you are looking to do some hiking or cycling, get out in nature, enjoy a hot spring bath or eat some delicious seafood or ramen, Hokkaido is a wonderful place for a getaway. Hokkaido is something of a cultural wasteland (most of the people seem to think of art as nothing but pictures of snowy landscapes and the only theatre performance I've ever seen advertised was Disney's Beauty and the Beast) but if you are looking to get away from the crowds in Honshu, Hokkaido may be the place for you.
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Takayama and Shirakawago (Gifu Prefecture)Takayama has an ugly commercial side, and a beautiful, traditional side. The centre of the Hida region, Takayama is a wonderful place if you like mountains, folk crafts, or old buildings. Although Takayama is famous for it's well-preserved town centre, the truth is that there are exactly three streets which have been preserved, and although the buildings are interesting, they have almost all been turned into souvenir shops and touristy restaurants.
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Shikine-jima (Izu Seven Islands)Shikine-Jima is an island south of Tokyo, a beautiful place for a getaway.
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Hirosaki and the Tsugaru Region (Aomori Prefecture)Aomori is a vastly under-rated destination, but a visit to Hirosaki and the Tsugaru region can be every bit as enjoyable as the more famous tourist destinations like Kyoto and Tokyo. Hirosaki is an old castle town and has many well-preserved buildings, a gorgeous castle, a very friendly youth hostel, and provides access to hot spring resorts and hiking in some of the most beautiful and traditional areas of Japan.
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The Tottori Sand Dunes (Tottori Prefecture)Some people will tell you that there is a desert in Japan, but what they are talking about is the Tottori Sand Dunes. Located in the village of Fukube in Tottori Prefecture in Eastern Japan, the sand dunes here were created by sand carried in the Sendai River. The dunes are very large, 2 kilometres from North to South and 16 kilometres from East to West and are over 100,000 years old.
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The Moai Monoliths of KyushuThere's no mystery about how these megaliths got onto the Island of Kyushu. They were built as a tourist attraction in the early 1990's. At the Sun-Messe Nichinan, you can see exact reproductions of the giant Moai of Easter Island. The carving was apparantly supervised by a Japanese archaelogical team, and approved by the Easter Island Council of Elders.
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