Things to do in Japan, including onsen, food, nature, and traditional towns.
What to do · 96 field reports
Hidden Japan Gems lists 96 things to do across Japan, each one walked and timed in person rather than aggregated from other sites.
They span onsen towns, hands-on food experiences, day hikes, post-town walks, and festivals, sorted so you can match an experience to your region and travel month. Start with the Mt. Fuji area and Kyoto on a first trip; move to Tohoku, Shikoku, and Kyushu for the quieter alternatives.
Six of Kinosaki Onsen's seven public baths can open in winter 2026–27, and in a regular week only four on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Here's which night gets all six on the inn bath pass, plus the ¥1,500 day pass, trains and winter hours.
Fujiyoshida's yabusame festival, Sept 18–19, 2026: horses run from 1 p.m. on the 19th, and between the runs a hereditary diviner reads the hoofprints — the districts' forecast through next spring. Access, times and my 2025 procession photos.
Suwa Taisha is four shrines with no head shrine and no set order. The Upper Shrine is south of Lake Suwa and the Lower Shrine north — the opposite of what the shrine s own English page says.
Kichijoji is where a Paris boulangerie opened its first shop outside France, and it came with the brand first ever cafe upstairs. How to use it: order downstairs, carry it up, one order per person.
A Taiwanese teahouse on the second floor in Tokyo's Kichijoji, where set meals stop at 15:00 and the à la carte menu begins. Hours, the four-day week, prices from the menu I photographed, the one-person tea rule, and how to find the stairs.
A day-use hot spring in a 1938 building moved over the mountains, with Mount Fuji and Lake Ashi in the same view. Verified 2026 prices, the tattoo rule, and how to get there.
A bag serving costs ¥136 to a cup's ¥236-314 and usually holds more noodle. Verified 2026 prices, what the makers themselves say, and why the bag is the better souvenir.
Japan voted Nissin Cup Noodle number one in August 2026. All ten winners with verified 2026 prices, which cups contain pork, where to buy each one, and what customs lets you take home.
Mito made natto famous — and it is a 70-minute, ¥4,000 express ride from Tokyo. The free natto museum, the 2025 factory-viewing hall, a real natto lunch and Kairakuen, with every hour, fare and closing-day trap verified.
One pass, seven northern Nagano ski areas, from ¥140,000. The break-even is 15–27 ski days depending on the resort — here is the maths, the seven mountains, and the buying rules that catch overseas skiers.
Field notes, weekly
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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.
For licensing, write to hello@hiddenjapan-gems.com