Nageiredo at Mt. Mitoku: Climbing to Japan’s Most Dangerous National Treasure
Halfway up a cliff on Mt. Mitoku in central Tottori, a small wooden hall stands wedged into a…
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Misasa Onsen: The World’s Great Radium Hot Spring & the Bamboo-Swallowed Railway of Kurayoshi
Misasa Onsen, in the hills of central Tottori, holds one of the world’s highest concentrations of radon in…
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Kumano Kodo Iseji: The Pilgrimage Route Through Mie That Foreigners Haven’t Found Yet
When overseas hikers say “Kumano Kodo,” they mean the Nakahechi route through Wakayama — deservedly famous, increasingly busy.…
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Ise-Shima Ama Divers: Lunch With Japan’s Last Free-Diving Women & the One-Wish Shrine
The Shima Peninsula south of Ise is home to the world’s largest remaining community of ama — women…
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Golden Gai: How to Actually Drink in Shinjuku’s 200-Bar Maze
Golden Gai is a preserved scrap of postwar Shinjuku: six pedestrian alleys holding roughly 280 bars, most seating…
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Nakano & Nakano Broadway: Otaku Vintage in a Sleepy Residential Ward
Nakano sits one express stop west of Shinjuku on the Chuo Line, a sleepy residential ward with one…
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Ghibli’s Mountains: Climbing the Real Peaks Behind Castle in the Sky and Princess Mononoke
The castle floating in the sky in Laputa, the highland vistas of The Wind Rises, the deep mountains…
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Ghibli’s Waterfronts: The Real Seas and Rivers Behind Ponyo and Spirited Away
Water carries special meaning in Ghibli films. The sea in Ponyo, the river in Spirited Away, the marshes…
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Ghibli’s Real Architecture: Edo-Tokyo Open Air Museum, Yokohama Yamate & Kurashiki
Ghibli films carry a deep affection for buildings: old wooden houses, Western-style mansions, merchant homes standing since the…
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Where Is the Bathhouse From Spirited Away? Japan’s Real Onsen Towns
Where is the bathhouse from Spirited Away? No single building — but Japan's real onsen towns come remarkably…
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