Why Is Japan One of the Most Fascinating Countries to Visit?

What's going on everybody this is IslandHopperTV and today we're coming to you with the 21 best places to visit in Japan. First up we're going to talk about how I want you to get around Japan and it is by the Shinkansen bullet train. This is one of the fastest trains in the world traveling almost 200 miles an hour. That means it can go from Tokyo to Sapporo in three hours. Also the three largest metropolitan areas Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka are all connected by the Shinkansen as well as Kyoto, Nagano, and Hiroshima. One of those views you're going to get is of Mount Fuji as you're going from Tokyo towards Nagoya and this is a beautiful sight. You can also get off the train and explore around Mount Fuji going up to the top. It does snow in the winter months so you usually will see it snow capped but in the summer it's bare looking. Now if snow's not your thing you can head down south to the islands around Okinawa. Now here you're going to have several different tropical islands with beautiful white sand beaches and Gatorade color blue water. There's about 160 islands in the prefecture which is the southernmost part of Japan with the largest island being called Okinawa island being about 70 miles long and seven miles wide. Famous with the diving community for its underwater marine biodiversity. It's also one of the five blue zones in the world where they have the highest concentration of centenarians. That's people who live to be over a hundred. Formerly known as the Ryoku Islands it was turned over to Japan in 1972. It is a bit tucked away from the rest of Japan so if you do come down here I would say three to five days should be good enough. Here we are now in Kyoto which was the capital of Japan for 100 years beginning in 794 under the emperor Kamu. This was the original imperial court city so it was also the largest city in Japan for a long time. Nowadays it's famous in Japan for its significance of history with 3,000 temples and shrines all across Kyoto area. Some of the places to check out are going to be Kinkaku-ji, also Arashima bamboo forest. In the area of Arashima they have a few different sites you might want to explore so it's definitely worth it to come up here. But there's so many different temples across here and religious sites definitely Kyoto would have to be the highest place on your list probably when you're coming to Japan. You can't really miss Kyoto. Areas like the Niho castle, you have Kiyomizu-dera, you also have Fushima Inari Taishi. The population of Kyoto is 1.4 million people so it's definitely not as big as Osaka or Tokyo or even Nagoya but it is still a very big city to get around. Also we made a full travel guide of Kyoto if you guys want to check that out I'll put the link below. Now we're headed down south of Kyoto to Osaka. You can easily get here by the Shinkansen bullet train. It takes about 45 minutes to an hour and then once you're here in Osaka you'll realize this is a mega city. It's got 18 million people in the metro area. Osaka is famous for its history and here you can see the Osaka castle also going down to the waterfront where they have Dotonbori and down here they have markets for shopping as well as many different restaurants. This is really a nightlife area or even in the afternoon. Down here you'll find Takoyaki. That's one of the most famous foods in Osaka. You also have the Don Quijote which is a famous store. It's like a mini mart. You can go inside there. You could take a tour along one of the boats that takes you around the river or the canal system here and then they have the tower that you can go up to the top of. Osaka is probably one of my favorite cities. If you were to compare Osaka and Tokyo I would probably lean towards Osaka and you would land at the airport in Kansai but here in this tower you can get great views. Look at this how big Osaka is. I mean it truly is a mega city. We also did a full travel guide of Osaka. I'll put the link down below in the comments for this one as well. So if you guys are coming to Japan you definitely want to check out these thorough travel guides that we've done because we show all the highlights in the main areas. I think a lot of people come to Japan for the first time and they really only think about Tokyo. They don't consider going down to Osaka but if you include Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe you really get a good experience down in Osaka that might even pass up for many of you what Tokyo brings to the table. And speaking of Kobe we're actually headed right next door to Osaka. So you have those three cities in this same area. You also have Nara which we'll be talking about a little later on. Kobe was really an industrial shipbuilding city up until recently. It's become more famous around the world because of Kobe beef as well as Wagyu. Yes that's right it comes from right here in Kobe, Japan. So if you guys are into beef you got to try this very high grade beef. All right now we're taking the Shinkansen up north to Tokyo. This here is the and the largest city in Japan. In fact it is one of the largest cities in the world with a metro population of 38 million people. Now as with many places in Japan, English is not widely spoken. Definitely not widely spoken here in Tokyo. So do make sure to download Google Translate before arrival. You're also in one of the safest cities in the world because all across Japan very safe. There are some areas in Shinjuku in the Kabukicho area. Just because it is a nightlife party area it's going to be a little bit less safe than other areas. But either way compared to the rest of the world even Kabukicho is still very safe. While here make sure you try some ramen. Head over to the Meiji temple. This is a very beautiful garden and temple area that you should explore. You also have Takashita which is a street. And this is really a place that's a daytime activity. It's not a nighttime street. So keep that in mind. But then there's many different gardens. As you know Japanese gardens are some of the most famous in the world. And you can check those out all across Tokyo or anywhere really in Japan. Very beautiful serene even right here in the heart of the megatropolis of Tokyo. Then they have several different towers that you can go up to like the Skytree. And then other towers getting great views looking out towards Mount Fuji. The areas that I recommend that you stay are going to be in the Shibuya area. Maybe even out towards Shinjuku or Harajuku, Ginza which is the most expensive area. But really I would say there's so many different options all across Tokyo metro. And then if you go a little bit further south you come to Issei which is a very beautiful area to explore. And this is home to the most sacred temple in all of Japan. So that's the Issei temple if you guys want to check out that. And in Japanese Issei means eyes. So you get the idea of just how important Issei really is. They also have several different bays and temples out to sea that you can visit. This is kind of like a fishing village as well. So do be sure to try some local sushi while here in Japan. Very very famous as you know. Now here we are at Inecho. This is on the west side of Japan on Honshu island facing towards the sea of Japan. They've got these beautiful homes right along the lake and the waterfront here. So a lot of people come out here for the charm. But the word Ine in Japanese basically indicates natural or nature. Now here we are at a very unique place. This here is Nara. It's known for its temples, the culture, history, shrines, and deer. Nara is about an hour to an hour and a half away from Osaka. You can either get here by train or you can take a car. Whatever you prefer. But Nara is definitely one of those places. Now if you wanted to see the deer you would go to Nara Park. Many people come here because deer are so friendly. They'll come right up to you and eat out of your hand essentially. But yeah you go out to the botanical garden and you can see very beautiful native plants including the Japanese blue oaks. While here in Japan don't forget to check out the cherry blossoms. Obviously those are going in the spring time. And then if you wanted the fall and autumn colors I would aim for around late November. Headed down south a bit now we're here in Hiroshima. It is famous as one of the atomic bomb sites and here they have the symbol of peace which is the atomic dome. They also have several temples. This was one of the main cities in Japan especially for their military in World War II and that's why it was targeted. And then just off the shore a bit is an island called Miyajima which you can also check out. They have a beautiful temple and shrine here. Now it is a Shinto shrine. It's important to know that Shinto is different than Buddhism. It is actually the native religion of Japan dating back centuries. So now we're going to go into the interior of Honshu. This here is high up in the mountains. This is Nagano. For those of you who watch the Olympics, the Winter Olympics that is, back in 1998 you would have recognized the name. But it's really beautiful up here. They have a lot to see and do and the nature up here is really some of the best you'll find anywhere in Japan. I mean you could see the forest and the temples and how everything just kind of blends in. And don't forget about the snow monkeys. As you can see they're hanging out around the hot springs to stay warm during the cold temperatures of the winter. But now we're headed up to the far north island of Hokkaido. Now up here you can see it's a very cold winter tundra especially in the winter time. But yeah, Hokkaido is definitely an island that you can check out. Known for its beautiful wilderness. It's also got world-class powder white snow. Delicious seafood comes from up here. They've got a nice indigenous culture history that you can evaluate and discover. And it's really a short flight away from Tokyo. You can also check out Tamida Farm. As you can see this is a place you would go in the springtime with these beautiful flowers rolling over the hills. This is really a picturesque place as you can see lots of different flowers blooming. And then they also have Sapporo which is famous for beer. Usually most people that's what they think about. But there's a lot of stuff to discover here in Sapporo here on Hokkaido island including some of the food cuisine that you won't find in other places around Japan. Definitely try the seafood. They've got fish cakes. They've got ikura which is a salmon roe. And then succulent crab meat comes from here. So lots of seafood. Headed back down to Honshu. Here we are at Hakone. Now while here you can check out some of the shrines as well as explore an onsen. For those you've never done a Japanese onsen hot spring massage. It could be a unique experience that you won't find anywhere else in the world. Maybe Sweden has something similar. But then again it's still not going to be like they have here in Japan. But definitely Hakone with the views of Mount Fuji. Such a beautiful place. And of course the shrine on the lake you can see right here. Another one of those Shinto shrines. Now we're actually going to head over to Kamakura. This actually is famous for its Buddha. But it is just south of Tokyo. It's a political center for medieval Japan. Modern day Kamakura is now really a resort town. So people come here to just chill out and relax. And now we're going to head back over Honshu towards the west coast. This here is Kanazawa. Now this is a seaside Japanese city. And it is also a political center of the medieval Japan. And nowadays it is known for its Buddhist Zen temples as well as Shinto shrines. Just in case you're wondering. The main difference between Shinto and Buddhism is Buddhism is more concerned with the soul and the afterlife. While Shintoism is more concerned with spirituality of this world and this life. And this area is called Nikko. They have the Nikko National Park here. Lots of waterfalls up here. It's about an hour to an hour and a half northwest of Tokyo. So definitely coming up here for nature. If you're a nature lover this is where you want to go. You can see the streams and the forest. Really dense. Just so beautiful as you can see right here. Now we're going to actually go down to the far southern part of the main four islands. This here is Fukuoka. It is on the island of Kyushu. Interesting story is when I first came to Japan, my very first time, this is where I went. Which is really cool. So putting Fukuoka on the list. The number one place to go on the southern most island. Don't underestimate this southern island. There's lots to do down here. And if you this video, please watch our Kyoto or Osaka video next.