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  Usa Jingu Shrine

  Posted in: Kyushu, Oita

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  Usa Jingu Shrine, a power spot of Oita Prefecture, is a shrine located in Minami Usa in the city of Usa, Oita Prefecture. It is known as the origin of the Rokugo-Manzan, a syncretic religious culture that fuses Buddhist and Shinto traditions. Many worshippers come to Usa Jingu Shrine to receive goshuin stamps and omamori amulets. The divine blessings they bestow are related to the divine virtues of the great god Hachiman and the other various deities that are enshrined within the shrine grounds.

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  Mikata Five Lakes

  Posted in: Chubu, Fukui

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  Nature tourism is a great way to enjoy the Mikata Five Lakes in Mikatakaminaka District, Fukui Prefecture. The Mikata lakes area is a highlight of Wakasa Bay Quasi-National Park, offering excellent views across picturesque scenery from the Rainbow Line Summit Park. Mikata Five Lakes is the collective term for the five lakes of Kugushi, Suigetsu, Suga, Mikata, and Hiruga. Each of the lakes has different depths and different types of water, such as salt water, fresh water, and brackish water....

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  Wakayama Ramen

  Posted in: Wakayama, Kansai

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  In Wakayama, ramen noodles have been endearingly referred to as chuka soba, or Chinese noodles. The pork broth soy sauce soup is categorized into two types: the lighter, soy sauce-based soup and the richer, pork broth-based soup. The noodles are soft, thin and straight. On the table are the staple side menus hayanare-zushi, or salted mackerel sushi, and boiled eggs, which customers tell how much they ate upon payment in the unique Wakayama Ramen style.

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  Futami Okitama Shrine

  Posted in: Chubu, Mie

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  The Futami Okitama Shrine is located in the town of Futami in Ise City, Mie Prefecture. This is a famous shrine where women pray for a felicitous marriage, and where married couples pray for matrimonial happiness. The amulets and goshuin (shrine's seal stamped onto a notebook) are also popular. The custom from ancient times is to purify oneself at this Futami Okitama Shrine before going on to pray at the nearby Ise Grand Shrine.

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  Lake Kussharo

  Posted in: Hokkaido, Eastern Hokkaido

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  Rain or shine, sun or clouds, Lake Kussharo in Akan National Park near the town of Kawayu-Onsen offers breathtaking views.

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  Lake Saroma

  Posted in: Hokkaido, Eastern Hokkaido

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  Lake Saroma (サロマ湖, Saroma-ko), also Saroma Lagoon, is a coastal lagoon (hence a body of brackish water) in Saroma, Kitami, and Yūbetsu Hokkaidō, Japan. 

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  Hozan-ji Temple

  Posted in: Nara, Kansai

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  Hozan-ji Temple is located on the hillside of Nara Prefecture's Mount Ikoma, worshiped as a mountain where gods reside since ancient times. With the enshrinement of Shoten, a Buddhist guardian god, Hozan-ji Temple has been affectionately called Ikoma Shoten. The deity Shoten is also called Kangiten and is said to grant all wishes in the present world. At Hozan-ji Temple, the Kangiten Festival is held on the first and 16th day of every month, and the temple becomes bustling with visitors...

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  Iya Valley

  Posted in: Shikoku, Tokushima

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  The picturesque scenery of Iya in Miyoshi City, Tokushima Prefecture is known as one of the three most unexplored regions of Japan. The Iya River runs through the Iya Valley, popular for its autumn foliage. If you look down at this deep-cut V-shaped valley from above, you'll see the emerald green river running through, in dazzlingly far distance below.Iya Valley has been awarded as two stars Michelin Green Guide and it is also the only place in Japan that have been chosen by the US travel...

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  Kifune Shrine

  Posted in: Kyoto, Kansai

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  The Kifune Shrine is an historic shrine located in the town of Kuramakibune, Sakyo Ward in Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture. The shrine offers a variety of attractions, such as nighttime illuminations during the Tanabata Festival period and fortune-telling papers where the words of divination appear when the paper is floated on sacred water. It is also known to enshrine the god of matchmaking, and the shrine's amulets and goshuin (shrine's seal stamped onto a notebook) are also popular.

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  Noboribetsu Onsen

  Posted in: Hokkaido, Southern Hokkaido

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  This is the typical hot spring in southern Hokkaido. There are many attractions such as Jigokudani and the bear farm

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  Takaoka Mikurumayama Museum

  Posted in: Chubu, Toyama

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  Takaoka Mikurumayama Museum opened at Yamachosuji in April 2015. Throughout the year, the museum houses exhibitions about the Takaoka Mikurumayama Festival (UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage) held on May 1 every year. Come and get a look at the majestic Mikurumayama floats decorated by superb craftsmanship such metalwork, lacquering, and dyeing that brings together the abundant spirit and wealth of the people of the town.

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  Sendai Tanabata Festival

  Posted in: Tohoku, Miyagi

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  Every year from August 6 to 8, the famous Sendai Tanabata Festival is held over three days in the city of Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. Recognized as one of the three major festivals in the Tohoku region, the historical festival has been continued from the era of Masamune Date (1567-1636), the founder of the Sendai domain. A crowd of visitors from both around and outside of Japan fill the streets of Sendai during this period to enjoy the gorgeous Tanabata paper ornaments adorning the city.

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