Old Routes of Japan: Tracking down Japan off the beaten path from the eyes of a Japanese native

JR Samegai station. Photo taken by me in November 2022. Samegai is a small Nakasendo inn town in Maibara city. On my blog, small towns and villages are being featured. It is tempting to let many people know your discoveries(and my discoveries too!).  But when you look at these small towns and villages, you will soon notice that accommodations are limited, the access is oftentimes limited, and there is limited information in other languages other than English.  You will be able to find all the basics of etiquettes online, and probably even Chat GPT can give you some clues.  From my experience, here are some things to know: 1. Never visit with large groups. This will easily overwhelm the capacity of small places. If you do visit with others, limit the number of your group, or at least divide the group into small groups, like 4-5 people, and arrange schedule so that multiple groups will not visit the same place at the same time, in same hours.  2. Information in other l...

Just want to let you know that, if you are a first timer to Japan and considers seeing Mt.Fuji for a day trip, check out the map. Just in case your private tour is cancelled, when weather permits, other than famous Fujiyoshida/Kawaguchiko area, there are plenty of places you can just hop on a train and go see Mt.Fuji.  I colored yellow on the map roughly where you can see Mt.Fuji. Note that even outside areas I marked, there are plenty of spots where you can see Mt.Fuji. Also note that parts of west of Mt.Fuji have disadvantages due to high mountains such as Minobu, but if you hike up to the peak or on western side of Fuji river, you have better chance to see Mt.Fuji.  South of Izu peninsula has disadvantages due to mountain ranges of Amagi.  East of Mt.Fuji where you can see Mt.Fuji. This is not a perfect guide as there are many spots on the map outside yellow parts that you can see Mt.Fuji.  Tokyo area where you can see Mt.Fuji. Tokyo area is tricky as there are ma...

I wrote about Important Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings, aka Judenken(重伝建築) on one of Japan travel group in order to help internationals find hidden gems by themselves a while ago. I re-edited my posting to be more helpful.  Have you heard “Judenken(重伝建)”? What is “Judenken”?  It’s the shortened form of “Important Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings”(重要伝統的建造物群保存地区, Jūyō Dentōteki Kenzōbutsu-gun Hozon-chiku). These areas are protected by the Japanese government; certified by the Agency of Cultural Affairs.  There are a lot of Judenken areas that are ON THE BEATEN PATHS. For example, Takayama, Kyoto, Kanazawa, Hagi etc. have wide areas of Judenken. Tsumago, Shirakawago, Gokayama, Ouchi, Kawagoe, Miyajima all have Judenken area. However, quite a few of Judenken areas are NOT ON THE RADAR OF INTERNATIONALS.  The National Council of Traditional Buildings Preservation Districts(全国伝統的建造物群保存地区協議会, aka Denkenkyo: the English n...