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.

Location, Experience, Kanto, Tokyo

Ume-no-Yu: A Wood-Fired Sentō in Chōfu, Tokyo

The lit night entrance of Ume-no-Yu sento in Chofu, Tokyo, with a blue sign reading Kenko Center Ume-no-Yu and a board listing its sauna, electric bath, herbal bath and open-air bath, beside a vending machine and shoe lockers.

Ume-no-Yu, a wood-fired sento near Tokyo's Jindai Botanical Gardens in Chofu: 550 yen baths, a cypress sauna, open-air and herbal baths, hours and how to get there.

Nobu
June 21, 2026

Experience, Culture, Travel Tips

Japanese Sentō Guide 2026: Etiquette, Tattoos & Best Baths

The interior of a traditional Japanese sento public bathhouse seen from the changing room, with tiled walls, mirrors, a glass partition marked open-air bath, a low yellow bench and a convex mirror.

How to use a Japanese sento (public bath): etiquette, the 550 yen Tokyo price, tattoo rules, the baths inside, and tattoo-friendly sento in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka.

Nobu
June 21, 2026

Yamanashi, Chubu, Location, Nature, Travel Tips

Diamond Fuji from Tokyo 2026-27: Mt. Takao and the City Spots

Tokyo · Diamond Fuji 2026-27 By Nobu · Updated September 2026 · Checked 14 September 2026 against the Takao cable-car operator’s Diamond Fuji page, Sunshine City’s season announcement and MLIT’s viewing-date lists. Status labels below distinguish what is announced for…

Nobu
June 20, 2026

Location, Chubu, Experience, Food, Shizuoka

Tatsumi Shokudo: A Showa Diner Near Mt Fuji

The exterior of Tatsumi Shokudo, a Showa-era diner in Susono, Shizuoka, with a faded red roof, a large sign reading Tatsumi Shokudo, clipped topiary pines out front and a blue sky behind.

Tatsumi Shokudo in Susono, at the foot of Mt Fuji: a Showa-era diner serving hearty teishoku, stewed offal and beef-with-egg, with free rice. Hours, what to order, access.

Nobu
June 20, 2026

Location, Experience, Kanto, Tokyo, Travel Tips

Oi Racecourse Flea Market 2026: Dates, Hours & Access

Crowds of shoppers browsing rows of stalls across the open parking lot at the Oi Racecourse flea market in Tokyo, racks of clothing and tables of goods lining both sides.

Tokyo's biggest weekend flea market at Oi Racecourse: verified October to December 2026 dates (October: Sat 3, Sat 24, Sun 25 and Sat 31), winter hours from 31 October (8:45–14:15 on most dates, four days close earlier), free entry and about 700 stalls.

Nobu
June 20, 2026

Location, Chubu, Experience, Nagano, Nature

Jigokudani Snow Monkey Park 2026: When the Macaques Bathe

Several wild Japanese macaques sitting in and around a steaming natural hot-spring pool ringed by snow-dusted rock at Jigokudani Yaen-koen Snow Monkey Park in Nagano.

Jigokudani Snow Monkey Park, Nagano: wild macaques bathing in a hot spring. What it costs, when they actually soak, the icy 1.6km trail, and how to get there.

Nobu
June 19, 2026

Chubu, Experience, Food, Location, Nagano

Michi-no-Eki Hakuba: A Roadside Stop for Purple Rice

The chalet-style timber-and-plaster building of Michi-no-Eki Hakuba roadside station in Nagano under a clear blue sky, with stained-glass mountain artwork on the gable, a HAKUBA sign and a car park out front.

Michi-no-Eki Hakuba roadside station, Nagano: what a michi-no-eki is, Hakuba's purple rice as amazake and chiffon, the soba set, hours and how to get there.

Nobu
June 18, 2026

Location, Chubu, Experience, Food, Shizuoka

Kashiho Mase: An Izu Wagashi Shop in Atami (Since 1872)

The traditional storefront of Kashiho Mase wagashi shop in Izu, Shizuoka, with a large carved wooden sign reading Kashiho Mase and white noren curtains at the entrance.

Kashiho Mase, a 150-year-old wagashi shop on the Atami coast of Izu — the Izu no Odoriko sweet, seasonal citrus daifuku, its branches, and what to buy through the year.

Nobu
June 16, 2026

Location, Experience, Kyushu & Okinawa, Miyazaki, Nature

Cape Toi: Miyazaki’s Wild Horses by the Sea

Two wild Misaki horses grazing on green clifftop grassland at Cape Toi in Miyazaki, with the blue sea and coastline behind under a bright sky.

Cape Toi at the southern tip of Miyazaki — wild Misaki horses roaming the clifftop grassland (a National Natural Monument), a climbable lighthouse, and how to visit responsibly.

Nobu
June 16, 2026

Location, Experience, Kyushu & Okinawa, Miyazaki, Shrines & Temples

Udo Jingu: Miyazaki’s Shrine Inside a Sea Cave

The vermilion and turquoise main hall of Udo Jingu shrine standing inside a large coastal rock cave, its ornate roof beneath the cave ceiling on the Nichinan coast of Miyazaki.

Udo Jingu in Nichinan, Miyazaki — a vermilion shrine built inside a sea cave on the cliffs, famous for the untama luck-ball toss at the turtle rock and a sea-god birth legend.

Nobu
June 16, 2026