Japan. by Japanese.Japan, judged by a Japanese

Japan. by Japanese.

The Japan you can look up,
and the judgment you cannot.

Everything here is information you could verify yourself. What you cannot get elsewhere is what one Japanese person actually thinks about it.

Explore JapanHow we choose

Explore Japan

The same country, two ways of looking at it. Switch between the Japan people travel for today and the Japan that is still standing and still open.

Showing Modern Japan.

A simplified schematic, drawn for this site — not an accurate map of Japan.

Hokkaido

The northern island — wide open, cold, and unlike the rest of Japan.

Modern Japan

  • SapporoThe largest city in the north.
  • Winter sportsDeep snow through the winter season.
  • SeafoodA region known across Japan for what comes out of its waters.

Timeless Japan

  • Goryokaku Fort, HakodateJapan's first Western-style star fort, now a public park you can walk.

No article for this region yet. These are places, not links — nothing here points at a page that does not exist.

Tohoku

The quiet north of the main island. Mountains, hot springs, deep winters.

Modern Japan

  • SendaiThe largest city in the region.
  • Onsen townsHot spring towns scattered through the mountains.

Timeless Japan

  • Chuson-ji, HiraizumiA temple complex in Iwate, inscribed by UNESCO in 2011 and open to visitors.

No article for this region yet. These are places, not links — nothing here points at a page that does not exist.

Kanto

Tokyo and everything within reach of it. Where most first trips begin.

Modern Japan

  • TokyoThe capital, and the usual entry point to the country.
  • YokohamaA large port city next to Tokyo.
  • Day tripsMuch of the region is reachable and back within a day.

Timeless Japan

  • Shrines and Temples of NikkoA UNESCO site in Tochigi. The individual religious sites are open to the public.

No article for this region yet. These are places, not links — nothing here points at a page that does not exist.

Chubu

The mountainous middle. Between Tokyo and Kyoto, and often skipped.

Modern Japan

  • NagoyaThe largest city in central Japan.
  • The Japanese AlpsHigh mountains running through the region.

Timeless Japan

  • Historic Villages of Shirakawa-goGassho-style farmhouses in Gifu, inscribed by UNESCO in 1995.

No article for this region yet. These are places, not links — nothing here points at a page that does not exist.

Kansai

Kyoto, Osaka, Nara. The densest concentration of old Japan still standing.

Modern Japan

  • OsakaKnown within Japan for its food and its street life.
  • KyotoA city where the historic sites are inside the city itself.

Timeless Japan

  • Kiyomizu-deraOne of the UNESCO-listed sites in and around Kyoto.
  • Todai-ji, NaraHouses the world's largest seated bronze Buddha statue.
  • Himeji CastleIn Hyogo. A National Treasure and one of the first Japanese UNESCO sites, listed in 1993.

No article for this region yet. These are places, not links — nothing here points at a page that does not exist.

Chugoku

The western end of the main island, along the Seto Inland Sea.

Modern Japan

  • HiroshimaThe largest city in the region.
  • Seto Inland SeaIsland-dotted water between three of the four main islands.

Timeless Japan

  • Itsukushima Shrine, MiyajimaOn an island off Hiroshima, known for its "floating" torii gate.

No article for this region yet. These are places, not links — nothing here points at a page that does not exist.

Shikoku

The smallest of the four main islands, and the least travelled by visitors.

Modern Japan

  • MatsuyamaThe largest city on the island.
  • Coastal routesThe island is small enough to circle.

Timeless Japan

  • Matsuyama CastleIn Ehime. One of the twelve original castle keeps, reached by ropeway, chairlift or on foot.

No article for this region yet. These are places, not links — nothing here points at a page that does not exist.

Kyushu & Okinawa

The south. Volcanoes and hot springs, then a subtropical island chain.

Modern Japan

  • FukuokaThe largest city in Kyushu.
  • OkinawaA subtropical island chain far to the south.

Timeless Japan

  • Dazaifu Tenmangu, FukuokaA major shrine with extensive grounds planted with plum trees.
  • Kumamoto CastleDamaged in the 2016 earthquake; the main keep reopened to visitors in 2021.

No article for this region yet. These are places, not links — nothing here points at a page that does not exist.

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Where to start

Five subjects, each covered the same way: the information first, then what one Japanese person makes of it.