Practical travel information to help you plan and travel Japan smoothly.
Inside the Hard Off, Off House and Hobby Off reuse complex in Hachioji, western Tokyo - a secondhand treasure hunt with old kimono, Showa retro, ceramics, folk crafts and 600-plus guitars.
A guide to Japan best-preserved post towns (shukuba-machi): Magome, Tsumago, Narai, Unno, Seki, Kumagawa and Ouchi. How they compare, which to choose and how to visit them well.
Kumagawa-juku in Wakasa, Fukui is the key post town on the Saba Kaido Mackerel Road to Kyoto, with a clear water channel down the whole street. What to see, how to get there and when to go.
Seki-juku in Kameyama, Mie is the 47th Tokaido post town and, by the city account, the only one whose historic townscape survives whole: what to see, the road forks to Ise and Nara, access and when to go.
Unno-juku is a preserved 650m street on the old Hokkoku Kaido in Nagano, an Edo post town that reinvented itself as a Meiji silk village. What to see, how to read the houses, access and when to go.
Asuka-mura is a quiet Nara village where Japan's first centralised state took shape, its rice terraces, old plaster-and-lattice houses (the Oka townscape) and ancient tombs protected by a special national law. What to see, how to get around, and when to go.
A stone-paved Nakasendo post town in the Kiso Valley, and the trailhead for the classic 9 km walk over Magome Pass to Tsumago: access, the hike, luggage forwarding and the best time to go.
In October 2026, autumn reaches Japans highlands weeks before the Kyoto maples. Six hidden gems-the Northern Alps, Kiso post towns and old forests-at their best.
Takinoya, an old-school tatami-room soba shop in Shinkawa, Mitaka (west Tokyo): a 1,100 yen duck soba, closed Wednesdays, cash or QR only, and a genuine local feel off the tourist track.
A local's running guide to Japan's hidden gems: 44 off-the-beaten-path places organized by region - from a sunken forest in Akita to boat villages and castles in the clouds - each with a detailed guide.
Every image on Hidden Japan Gems was personally photographed on a Sony α7 across five years of walking Japan. Please don't re-use without permission — reach out if you'd like to.
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