Hiroshima
Hiroshima in southwestern Honshu has grown rapidly as a commercial city, and after 1868 it was developed as a military base. Every August 6 since 1947, thousands participate in multidenominational services in the Peace Memorial Park built on the site where the bomb exploded. After the war the city was largely rebuilt, and commercial activity gradually resumed. Visit the Peace Park but also explore Miyajima Island and its colourful shrines and mysterious forests.
Naoshima
Shikoku
Japan's fourth-largest island, Shikoku, 60 mi/95 km southwest of Osaka, is also the most rural and least developed. Its temples have been a pilgrimage destination for the past 1,000 years. Every spring and fall, devout Buddhists begin a two-month pilgrimage, visiting each of the island's 88 temples on foot. The island is very picturesque and off the beaten track—a look at the "real Japan."
Much of the island is mountainous, with deep valleys and beautiful, clear rivers. The north coast, facing the rest of Japan, is industrial, but the remainder of the island is devoted to terraces of mandarin orange trees, rice fields or managed forests where it is not completely wild. Three bridges link the island with the rest of Japan now, but these are a recent development. Shikoku has long been seen as a remote land, cut off from the rest of the country. It was a place for political refugees to escape their enemies and for the spiritual to escape the rest of humanity. That atmosphere remains to a large degree, despite modern connectivity.
Iya Valley
Deep in the slopes of Tokushima is an unexplored valley of Japan. This region forms part of Mt. Tsurugi Quasi-National Park and cuts through the Iya River. Isolated, it is one of 3 hidden valleys known as a retreat and sanctuary for fleeing Samurais. Iya Valley is divided into the western and eastern valleys. Nishi-Iya, the western valley has welcomed urban Japan and visitors; whereas access to Oku-Iya, the eastern valley, is difficult and the village remains rural with its natural beauty unscathed.
Koyasan (Mt. Koya)
Koya San or Mount Koya is the center of an important Buddhist sect. Secluded, the tiny village is surrounded by mountains where a 1,200 year long history of temples was established. Local and foreign visitors make their pilgrimage to Koya San and stay at temple lodgings. It is also the site of the Kobo Daishi mausoleum, the religious figure who introduced this nation's religious sect in 805.
Kyoto
If you can visit only one city in Japan, Kyoto is the one. This ancient city, 30 mi/50 km northeast of Osaka, was the capital of Japan for more than 1,000 years and still is considered the country's spiritual capital. Thousands of shrines and temples dot the city, including more than a dozen on the UNESCO World Heritage list. That list is far from all-inclusive, and many excellent places that might be the star attractions of other cities crowd the streets of Kyoto. It is a center of Japanese Zen and has several huge monastery complexes where serious students still sit in meditation.
Kyoto is also the nation's capital of traditional arts. Whether your interest be in pottery, textiles, dance, the tea ceremony or any of the other innumerable arts, Kyoto has excellent galleries, museums, shops and tea houses. Japanese people from the countryside and foreign students flock there to learn under the great masters. Much of what is considered Japanese haute cuisine was developed there too, as an offshoot of the tea ceremony.
Kyoto is Japan's heartland of history. With 1,300 years of tumultuous existence, the city's past intrudes upon the present day as in few other Japanese cities. In Gion, you can spot a geisha (or geiko, as they are called in Kyoto), one of the last hundred or so in Japan, slipping down a side-street to entertain rich guests with witty conversation, dance or music. A shopping arcade may suddenly fill with discordant clanging music as a shrine festival passes among the shoppers, or you may hear the long chant as Zen monks pass through the neighborhood, calling for alms.
Kyoto is an understated city that might disappoint visitors at first (at first glance, it is a large city with modern buildings that might not align with one's original perception); its charm lies in small details, pocket gardens, tiny traditional restaurants and refined artwork.
Hiroshima in southwestern Honshu has grown rapidly as a commercial city, and after 1868 it was developed as a military base. Every August 6 since 1947, thousands participate in multidenominational services in the Peace Memorial Park built on the site where the bomb exploded. After the war the city was largely rebuilt, and commercial activity gradually resumed. Visit the Peace Park but also explore Miyajima Island and its colourful shrines and mysterious forests.
Japan's fourth-largest island, Shikoku, 60 mi/95 km southwest of Osaka, is also the most rural and least developed. Its temples have been a pilgrimage destination for the past 1,000 years. Every spring and fall, devout Buddhists begin a two-month pilgrimage, visiting each of the island's 88 temples on foot. The island is very picturesque and off the beaten track—a look at the "real Japan."
Much of the island is mountainous, with deep valleys and beautiful, clear rivers. The north coast, facing the rest of Japan, is industrial, but the remainder of the island is devoted to terraces of mandarin orange trees, rice fields or managed forests where it is not completely wild. Three bridges link the island with the rest of Japan now, but these are a recent development. Shikoku has long been seen as a remote land, cut off from the rest of the country. It was a place for political refugees to escape their enemies and for the spiritual to escape the rest of humanity. That atmosphere remains to a large degree, despite modern connectivity.
Deep in the slopes of Tokushima is an unexplored valley of Japan. This region forms part of Mt. Tsurugi Quasi-National Park and cuts through the Iya River. Isolated, it is one of 3 hidden valleys known as a retreat and sanctuary for fleeing Samurais. Iya Valley is divided into the western and eastern valleys. Nishi-Iya, the western valley has welcomed urban Japan and visitors; whereas access to Oku-Iya, the eastern valley, is difficult and the village remains rural with its natural beauty unscathed.
Koya San or Mount Koya is the center of an important Buddhist sect. Secluded, the tiny village is surrounded by mountains where a 1,200 year long history of temples was established. Local and foreign visitors make their pilgrimage to Koya San and stay at temple lodgings. It is also the site of the Kobo Daishi mausoleum, the religious figure who introduced this nation's religious sect in 805.
If you can visit only one city in Japan, Kyoto is the one. This ancient city, 30 mi/50 km northeast of Osaka, was the capital of Japan for more than 1,000 years and still is considered the country's spiritual capital. Thousands of shrines and temples dot the city, including more than a dozen on the UNESCO World Heritage list. That list is far from all-inclusive, and many excellent places that might be the star attractions of other cities crowd the streets of Kyoto. It is a center of Japanese Zen and has several huge monastery complexes where serious students still sit in meditation.
Kyoto is also the nation's capital of traditional arts. Whether your interest be in pottery, textiles, dance, the tea ceremony or any of the other innumerable arts, Kyoto has excellent galleries, museums, shops and tea houses. Japanese people from the countryside and foreign students flock there to learn under the great masters. Much of what is considered Japanese haute cuisine was developed there too, as an offshoot of the tea ceremony.
Kyoto is Japan's heartland of history. With 1,300 years of tumultuous existence, the city's past intrudes upon the present day as in few other Japanese cities. In Gion, you can spot a geisha (or geiko, as they are called in Kyoto), one of the last hundred or so in Japan, slipping down a side-street to entertain rich guests with witty conversation, dance or music. A shopping arcade may suddenly fill with discordant clanging music as a shrine festival passes among the shoppers, or you may hear the long chant as Zen monks pass through the neighborhood, calling for alms.
Kyoto is an understated city that might disappoint visitors at first (at first glance, it is a large city with modern buildings that might not align with one's original perception); its charm lies in small details, pocket gardens, tiny traditional restaurants and refined artwork.
