420+ field-tested travel guides across every Japanese prefecture, by Nobu — written from places he has actually stood in.
Field Notes from Every Prefecture
420+ articles, written from the places I actually stood in. Filed by region, by season, by what the trip is really about.
Yes, tourists can use most Japanese onsen, especially public bathhouses and inns that offer day-use bathing, though the hours and any guest-only periods are set by each place. The etiquette itself is simple: wash your whole body before you get…
Yes — at many open neighbourhood and temple bon odori, visitors can step into the circle and dance, not just watch. You don’t need a reservation, a costume, or any experience: you learn by copying the people around you. The…
An omikuji is a paper fortune you draw at a Japanese shrine or temple. You pay a small offering, draw a slip, read the overall luck grade (or, at a few shrines, a poem with no grade at all), and…
Murodo turns red and gold from mid-September at 2,450 m - reached entirely by cable car, bus and ropeway. Timing by elevation, web tickets and bases.
Zenkoji runs on a dawn clock: the morning service, the o-juzu chodai blessing, 2026 tickets after the April price revision, and the official 2027 Gokaicho dates.
Japan autumn starts at Ginsendai. The 2026 reserved-bus system (Sep 12-23), what the Akadake trail involves, and how to build the day from Sounkyo.
September autumn colour is real in Japan - Daisetsuzan from late August, the Alps and Oze from mid-month. Where it is, week by week, with 2026 access rules.
I’m Nobu, and I live in Fujiyoshida, close enough to Mount Fuji that visitors often assume I can see the summit every summer morning. So between May 26 and August 14, 2026, I did the simplest test possible: I looked.…
If you are trying to work out whether it is worth heading to Kawaguchiko tomorrow, the useful question is not just “will it rain near Mt Fuji” — it is “will I actually be able to see the mountain, and…
Mt. Fuji · Monthly Visibility By Nobu · Updated 13 August 2026 · A Fujiyoshida resident’s first-hand morning log, cross-checked with the City of Fuji’s 35-year record On paper, August is one of the worst months to see Mt. Fuji:…
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Nearly every image on Hidden Japan Gems was photographed by me on a Sony α7 across five years of walking Japan; a few licensed photos fill the gaps. Please don't re-use my photos without permission — reach out if you'd like to.
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