Best Hotels Near Tosa-Yamada Station | Caves, Anpanman & the Mountain Line
Tosa-Yamada is the jump-off for Ryugado — one of Japan's great limestone caves — and the joyful Anpanman…
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Best Hotels Near Gomen Station | Anpanman’s Hometown Junction
Gomen is the junction east of Kochi where JR meets the coastal Gomen-Nahari line — and the heart…
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Best Hotels Near Numazu Station | Deep-Sea Port, Fuji Views & Anime Pilgrimages
Coelacanths, harbor sushi under Fuji, and a beloved anime pilgrimage — Suruga Bay's port city rewards the overnight.
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Yokai & Detective Conan: Tottori’s Manga Pilgrimage Towns of Sakaiminato and Hokuei
Anime fans fly to Tokyo for Akihabara and to real-life film locations across the country — yet almost…
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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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Ghibli’s Countryside: The Satoyama Behind Totoro and Princess Kaguya
The rice-paddy lanes of My Neighbor Totoro, the bamboo groves and farm villages of The Tale of the…
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