240+ field-tested travel guides across every Japanese prefecture, by Nobu — written from places he has actually stood in.
Field Notes from Every Prefecture
240+ articles, written from the places I actually stood in. Filed by region, by season, by what the trip is really about.
Tochigi · Highland · Active Volcano By Nobu, hiddenjapan-gems.comUpdated August 2026Ropeway fares, hours & access checked against official 2026 sources The Nasu Ropeway lifts you onto Mt. Chausu, an active 1,915 m volcano at the top of the highland. Nasu…
Toyama · Tateyama · Waterfall By Nobu, hiddenjapan-gems.comUpdated August 2026Height, access, hours & 2026 safety checked against Tateyama Town sources Shomyo Falls — a single 350 m drop in four stages, and the tallest waterfall in Japan. Shomyo Falls is…
Okuizumo in Shimane is the home of tatara, the iron-making that produces tamahagane, the steel of Japanese swords. A guide to the Okuizumo Tatara and Sword Museum: fees (530 yen; 1,270 on demo days), the monthly sword-forging demonstrations, the iron-sand landscape, and access via Izumo-Yokota Station.
Tono in Iwate is the home of Japanese folklore, the setting of the 1910 Tales of Tono. A guide to Denshoen, its reconstructed thatched farm village (450 yen), and Kappa-buchi, the free stream tied to the kappa legend, plus the magariya farmhouses and how to get around.
ASMUI in Yanbaru, far northern Okinawa (the former Daisekirinzan) is an audio-guided walk through karst pinnacles and sacred forest. Updated 2026 fees (2,500 yen), courses, the audio-guide app, why you need a car, and combining it with Cape Hedo.
Yamaguchi · Karst · Limestone Cave By Nobu, hiddenjapan-gems.comUpdated August 2026Fees, hours & access checked against official Mine City sources Akiyoshido’s main entrance, where the underground river runs back out of the mountain — the way most visitors walk in.…
Doai Station on the JR Joetsu Line in Minakami, Gunma is Japan's 'mole station': its down-line platform sits about 70 m underground, reached by a staircase of 486 steps. What to expect, the sparse train times, the cafe and glamping, and how to fit it into a Minakami trip.
Sasagawa Nagare in Murakami, Niigata is an 11 km stretch of wave-carved Sea of Japan coast. A guide to the ~40-minute pleasure cruise (about ¥1,200, late March–mid November), the coastal drive on Route 345, reaching it by train via Kuwagawa Station, and where to stay in Murakami and Senami Onsen.
Sawara in Katori, Chiba is an Edo-era canal town near Narita: a 30-minute sappa-bune boat ride (¥1,300), preserved merchant storehouses, and the home of Ino Tadataka, who drew Japan's first accurate map. Fares, access and how to fit it into a Narita layover.
Japan · Summer · Self-Drive By Nobu, hiddenjapan-gems.comUpdated August 2026Fares, hours & 2026 closures checked against official sources Highland pasture at Hiruzen, Okayama — the kind of 500–1,000 m country where a Japanese summer finally lets up. The quickest way…
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Every image on Hidden Japan Gems was personally photographed on a Sony α7 across five years of walking Japan. Please don't re-use without permission — reach out if you'd like to.
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