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.
Most people come to Oshino for the eight famously clear spring ponds of Oshino Hakkai. I come for the tofu. A few minutes from the ponds, an old family tofu maker called Hakkai Tofu (八海とうふ / Asano Shokuhin) turns Mt.…
Glass and cans are banned, there are no lockers and no re-entry at the 2026 summer tournament. The game-day routine that works: the AEON shopping run at 8:00, a heat kit that holds up, and Koshien curry inside.
The 41st Kitora viewing runs 19 September to 18 October 2026 and shows three guardian walls at once, free. How the applications work, when the second window opens, and the Takamatsuzuka alternative.
2026 Agoda search data reveals Japan's fastest-rising summer heat escapes — Tateshina, Furano, Yuzawa, Karuizawa and Kamikochi. Elevations, temps vs Tokyo, and how to visit like a local.
Summer Koshien 2026 ended with Chiben Wakayama beating Kendai Takasaki 4-3 in the final. Dates, ticket prices, stadium access from Osaka, the DH and video-review rules — kept as a planning reference for next summer.
Princess Tart in Kichijoji is a fruit-tart and tea specialist that opened in 2025. Around 14 seasonal tarts, cashless only — hours, what to know and a map.
Spaghetti Pancho in Kichijoji serves Showa-era napolitan where small, regular and large cost the same. Hours to 23:00, what to order, toppings and a map.
Linde in Kichijoji makes real German bread — dense rye loaves and a proper pretzel — from 1997 recipes. Hours, what to buy, the 2nd-floor café and a map.
Pandian is a wood-fired, natural-yeast bakery on Lake Kawaguchi - dense, hard Jomon-style loaves and soft koji steamed buns, in a wooden house up the stone steps.
Aozora Ichiba is a super-cheap open-air greengrocer on Lake Kawaguchi's north shore - bargain fruit and veg near Mt Fuji, with prices, hours, access and the honest catch.
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.
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