Discover
Hidden Japan

Tokushima

A deep, mist-bound gorge in Shikoku's mountainous interior, where vine bridges sway over jade water and feudal-era refugees once hid from pursuers. Most foreign visitors stop in Tokushima city and never reach the highlands.

Wakayama

A mountaintop monastic town founded by Kukai in 816 — over 100 working temples and the Okunoin cemetery, where 200,000 lanterns light a path through cryptomeria forest at night. Stay in a temple lodging and join morning prayers.

Okinawa

The heart of tiny Taketomi: lanes of white coral sand between red-tiled bungalows and coral-stone walls, shaded by hibiscus and bougainvillea. Explore on foot, by rented bicycle, or aboard a slow water-buffalo cart while the driver plays sanshin — a preserved glimpse of old Okinawa.

Hiroshima

An Edo-era harbour town on the Inland Sea where stone lighthouses, sake breweries, and Hayao Miyazaki's Ponyo coastline converge. Tides shift fast in the bay — locals still navigate by them.