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 Kanto
Travel guides and hidden gems in the Kanto region of Japan
Tokyo & Around · The Hub
Kanto — Japan’s busiest region, told from the quieter edges.
Mt. Fuji on the western boundary, Kamakura on the Pacific, Nikko in the mountains, Tokyo Bay everywhere in between.
Kanto covers Tokyo and the six surrounding prefectures (Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma). Roughly a third of Japan’s population lives here. We mostly cover the edges — Hakone, Nikko, Kamakura, the Mt. Fuji approach — rather than central Tokyo’s already-saturated content.
When to visit
October–December for clearest Mt. Fuji visibility. Late March for cherry blossom along the Meguro River. June for hydrangeas at Hasedera in Kamakura. February for plum blossoms at Mito.
How to get there
Haneda Airport (HND) is the closest international airport; Narita (NRT) takes 60-90 min into central Tokyo. JR Pass covers Shinkansen access; Suica/Pasmo for trains and metros.
Plan a trip to Kanto
StayTokyo hotels with airport accessDirect Agoda cid for Tokyo — higher commission than the global URL.StayKamakura & Hakone hotelsFree-cancellation filter for weekend day-trip bases.RailJR Pass for Tokyo + Fuji7-day pass covers Tokyo→Kawaguchiko + the rest of your trip.ToursDay-tours from TokyoHakone, Mt. Fuji, Nikko full-day tours with English guide.
All Kanto articles
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.
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.
Kawagoe Photo Spots: A Dawn-to-Dusk Photo Walk
A photographer's guide to Kawagoe: the best photo spots in Little Edo and exactly when to shoot each — come at dawn or blue hour and beat the crowds on the warehouse streets.
Kurazukuri Street: Kawagoe’s Warehouse District (Ichibangai)
Ichibangai, Kawagoe's Kurazukuri street: about 30 black clay-walled Edo warehouses born from the 1893 fire, the 1792 Osawa House, the bell tower and red postbox — what to see and when.
Toki no Kane: Kawagoe’s Bell Tower (Times, History & Photos)
Toki no Kane, Kawagoe's ~16 m wooden bell tower in the Little Edo warehouse district, rings 4 times a day. Its history, ringing times, how to photograph it, and what's nearby.
Calbee+ Ebina SA 2026: Hot-Fresh Poteriko + Pizza Potato at Japans Most Famous Highway Rest Stop
Calbee Kitchen Ebina SA is one of just 10 Calbee+ stores nationwide and the only one on the Tomei Expressway between Tokyo and Mt. Fuji. Fresh-fried Poteriko (the hot version of Jagariko, ¥340) and hot Pizza Potato (¥430) served 7:00-21:00 daily. Best Tue-Thu mid-morning.
Yokohama InterContinental + Cosmo Clock 21 Night Stay 2026: Minato Mirai from a 28th-Floor Window and a 112-Meter Wheel
Yokohama InterContinental + Cosmo Clock 21 sit 400m apart in Minato Mirai. Stay at the sail-shape hotel (Bay-view twin typically ¥25,000-40,000), ride the 112m Ferris wheel (¥900) at sunset, return to see the wheel from your room window. Same harbour panorama from two altitudes in one evening.
Kaisei Ajisai no Sato 2026: 10.6 km of Hydrangeas Through Kanagawa Rice Paddies (Festival June 6–14)
About 5,000 hydrangeas planted along 10.6 km of agricultural roads through the rice paddies of Kaisei Town in western Kanagawa. The 39th annual Ajisai Matsuri runs June 6–14, 2026. Hydrangea + paddy + Tanzawa + Fuji is a four-layer landscape that does not exist at any temple-based ajisai site.
Ajisai no Mori Kita-Ibaraki 2026: 1,500 Hydrangea Varieties in a Cedar Forest (Largest Collection in Japan)
About 1,500 hydrangea varieties across 30,000 square meters of cedar-forest hillside in Northern Ibaraki — the largest variety count of any Japanese hydrangea garden, founded in 2004 by collector Yamagata-san. Admission ¥500, peak late June to mid July, almost no crowds even at peak.