HIROSHIMA TRAVEL GUIDE
Because of the events of August 6, 1945, western Honshu's largest city needs little introduction. HIROSHIMA has become a byword for the devastating.

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KAMAKURA TRAVEL GUIDE
A small, relaxed town trapped between the sea and a circle of wooded hills one hour's train ride south of Tokyo, KAMAKURA is steeped in history....

GO! Kamakura

KOBE TRAVEL GUIDE
An historic port and distinct city in its own right, KOBE, the capital of Hyogo-ken, now seems more like the fashionable western suburb of sprawling Osaka, 33km east around...

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KYOTO TRAVEL GUIDE
The capital of Japan for more than a thousand years, KYOTO is endowed with an almost overwhelming legacy of ancient Buddhist temples, majestic palaces and gardens of every...

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MATSUMOTO TRAVEL GUIDE
Some 50km southwest of Nagano across the Hijiri Kogen mountains is the prefecture's second largest city, MATSUMOTO , justly famous for its splendid castle...

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MATSUSHIMA TRAVEL GUIDE
The modern town of MATSUSHIMA is little more than a strip of resort hotels and souvenir shops, but its origins go back to 828 AD, when Zen priests founded a temple overlooking...

GO! Matsushima

NAGASAKI TRAVEL GUIDE
As the passage into the harbour widened we had our first glimpse of Nagasaki town in the haze of the morning, nestled in a most beautiful inlet at the foot of wooded hills.

GO! Nagasaki

NAGOYA TRAVEL GUIDE
Japan's fourth largest city is NAGOYA, the capital of Aichi-ken and major transport hub on central Honshu's industrial southern coast. Completely rebuilt after a...

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NARA TRAVEL GUIDE
NARA was the capital of Japan before Tokyo, a town some 35km further south in an area which is regarded as the birthplace of Japanese civilization.

GO! Nara

NIKKO TRAVEL GUIDE
If you make one trip from Tokyo, it should be to the pilgrim town of NIKKO, 128km north of the capital, with a World Heritage-listed shrine complex set amid splendid mountains.

GO! Nikko

OKAYAMA TRAVEL GUIDE
The main reason for stopping off in the capital of Okayama-ken, OKAYAMA, 730km west of Tokyo, is to stretch your legs in its famous garden, Korakuen.

GO! Okayama

OSAKA TRAVEL GUIDE
The urban equivalent of the Elephant Man, OSAKA , Japan's third largest city after Tokyo and Yokohama, yearns to be loved despite its ugliness.

GO! Osaka

SAPPORO TRAVEL GUIDE
With a population of some 1.75 million, Hokkaido's booming capital SAPPORO is the fifth largest city in Japan and you're almost bound to pass through it.

GO! Sapporo

SHIMODA TRAVEL GUIDE
Nearly halfway down the peninsula, ITO port was where Will Adams launched Japan's first Western-style sailing ships , but there's nothing really to stop for until you reach SHIMODA.

GO! Shimoda

TAKAMATSU TRAVEL GUIDE
On the northern coast of Shikoku, breezily cosmopolitan TAKAMATSU , the capital city of Kagawa-ken , is likely to be your first stop on Shikoku.

GO! Takamatsu

TOKYO TRAVEL GUIDE
On the edge of the Orient, TOKYO - the last great conurbation before the yawning chasm of the Pacific Ocean - is one of the world's most perplexing cities.

GO! Tokyo

YOKOHAMA TRAVEL GUIDE
Thanks to its open harbour-frontage and generally low-rise skyline, YOKOHAMA feels far more spacious and airy than neighbouring Tokyo.

GO! Yokohama