Ringo no Ki: Apple Pie & Apricot Sweets in Chikuma (2026)
Chikuma is one of Japan's great apricot towns. Patisserie Ringo no Ki turns local apricot and its own-orchard apples into pies, jelly and baked sweets — a short hop from the Obasute terraces.
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240+ field-tested travel guides across every Japanese prefecture, by Nobu — written from places he has actually stood in.
Field Notes from Every Prefecture
Every place I’ve walked. In one feed.
240+ articles, written from the places I actually stood in. Filed by region, by season, by what the trip is really about.
Ashiu Forest 2026: Kyoto’s Primeval Woods You Can Only Hike with a Guide
One of western Japan's last primeval forests, at the source of the 146 km Yura River — and you can only enter on a guided tour with a Kyoto University-certified group. The route I walked, the cost, when to go, and the leeches to pack for.
Todai-ji & the Nara Deer 2026: Great Buddha, Hours & Day-Trip Tips
Nara's Todai-ji holds a 14.7 m bronze Great Buddha (eye-opening 752 AD) in one of the world's largest wooden halls, in a park of 1,000+ wild deer — an easy day trip from Kyoto. Hours, fees, deer etiquette and a half-day plan.
Kyoto Botanical Garden 2026: Japan’s Oldest, Season by Season
Japan's oldest public botanical garden (opened 1924): 24 hectares, ~12,000 plant species and one of the country's largest conservatories, for ¥500 — a calm, cheap day away from Kyoto's temple crowds, in every season.
The Camera Gear I Use to Shoot Japan
The one-body, two-lens kit I shoot every photo on Hidden Japan Gems with — a Sony A7 IV, a 24–70mm f/2.8, a 35mm prime, a travel tripod and fast SD cards.
Yes, Amazon Japan Delivers to Your Hotel — Konbini & Locker Pickup Too (2026)
Yes — you can have an Amazon.co.jp order sent to your hotel, a convenience store, an airport locker or a parcel locker in Japan, usually free and within 1–2 days. Here is how, in four simple ways.
Club Wyndham Chikumakan 2026: A Dog-Friendly Onsen Ryokan with 6 Baths
A dog-friendly onsen ryokan in Togura-Kamiyamada, Nagano: two sulfur sources across six baths, a domestic-beef kaiseki, and tatami rooms for two small dogs — a short drive from the Obasute terraces.
Yabu: A Beloved Set-Meal Diner in Fujiyoshida, by Mt Fuji
A plain, generous set-meal diner running since 1971 in Fujiyoshida on the Yamanashi side of Mt Fuji — ginger pork, tonkatsu and a little dish of fruit, from around ¥1,000.
Shoya: Pork Hoto by Lake Yamanaka, in the Shadow of Mt Fuji
Hoto is Yamanashi's thick miso-and-pumpkin noodle stew. At Shoya, a hoto specialist on the shore of Lake Yamanaka, the pork version comes bubbling in an iron pot.
Kintaro Soba: Mountain-Yam Noodles at the Foot of Mt Fuji (Gotemba)
Gotemba's old mikuriya soba is bound with mountain yam, not water. Kintaro, a farmhouse soba house minutes from Mt Fuji, serves it with a shrimp-tempura rice box.