BEAMS Japan Shinjuku: Japanese Souvenirs, Floor by Floor
BEAMS Japan in Shinjuku is a six-floor, Japan-themed store — souvenirs from all 47 prefectures, crafts, fashion and art, plus a restaurant. Free entry, tax-free, a minute from the station.
Category Experience
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.
Arita Porcelain Park: A Free Baroque Palace in Saga’s Pottery Town
Arita Porcelain Park in Saga is a free theme park built around a full-scale replica of Dresden's Zwinger Palace — with a sake brewery, porcelain workshops and a baroque garden.
Yoshinogari Historical Park: Japan’s Great Yayoi Village in Saga
Yoshinogari Historical Park in Saga preserves one of Japan's largest Yayoi-period moated settlements — reconstructed watchtowers, a ceremonial hall and a leaders' burial mound on a 117-hectare site.
Tamanoya: 100% Buckwheat Soba in Tokyo’s Temple Town of Jindaiji
Stone-milled juwari (100% buckwheat) soba and a hot duck dip at Tamanoya, a hearth-warmed soba house up the slope from Jindaiji temple in Chofu, Tokyo.
Things to Do in Kamikochi 2026: A Local’s Valley Guide
Kamikochi is a car-free alpine valley in Nagano, open Apr 17-Nov 15, 2026. A local guide to things to do, getting there, where to stay, and when to go.
Imari Shrine: The Vermilion Gate, the Sweets God & Tontenton
Imari Shrine in Saga: a photogenic vermilion gate over a white tunnel, a rare shrine to the god of sweets, and the Tontenton fighting festival.
Arita Sera: Where to Shop for Arita Porcelain in Saga (2026)
Arita Sera: 22 Arita-porcelain shops on one hilltop in Saga, open year-round with free parking — the easy place to buy the real thing.
Imari Ware: Japan’s First Porcelain (Arita, Old Imari & Nabeshima)
Imari ware is Japan's first porcelain — made in Arita from the 1610s, named for the port it shipped from, and exported to Europe as Old Imari.
Lake Shusenko’s Submerged Forest: Akita’s Cobalt-Blue Spring Spectacle (2026)
Each spring, snowmelt floods Akita's Lake Shusenko until the shoreline trees stand in cobalt-blue water — a submerged forest at its best in early-to-mid May, and possibly on borrowed time.
Tsubakiya Café Kichijoji: Taishō Coffee & Curry (2026)
A Taishō-roman coffee parlour on the 7th floor above Kichijoji Station — siphon coffee in Royal Copenhagen cups, beef curry, hayashi rice and the café's signature chiffon cake.