![]() Parts of Hokkaido reach -35☌ in Winter, with snow piling up far higher than two story buildings. The types of rare wildlife such as the Steller’s Sea Eagle, Blakiston’s Fish Owl, and enormous Ussuri Brown Bear are a huge contrast to the rest of Japan’s wild animals. Even a brief read about them will show readers just how different Japan is a far cry from the culturally homogenous stereotype the country often has.Īnnexed to Japan after the Meiji Restoration in 1868, Hokkaidō is lush with wide unpopulated landscapes such as the awe-inspiring Shiretoko Peninsula. I highly encourage anyone interested in history or indigenous cultures to read about the Ainu and how they survived in such harsh conditions. My base for the last two years, the beautifully cold and snowy island of Hokkaidō is the most recently populated island of Japan in terms of Japanese people, although its history to the indigenous Ainu is long and wrought with a beautiful yet difficult story. I couldn’t say enough about how beautiful it is down there. So different, in fact, that it used to be its own kingdom with its own language, and thus you’ll still be able to wander villages down there and hear languages that have little to do with Japanese. ![]() These islands are then split into eight regions: Hokkaidō (北海道), Tōhoku (東北), Kantō (関 東), Chūbu (中部), Kansai (関 西), Chūgoku (中国), Shikoku (四 国), Kyūshū (九州)-though trust me, if you’re planning on visiting Kyūshū, the Okinawan islands that belong to the Kyūshū region are a world of their own. It consists of four main islands: Hokkaidō (北海道), Honshu (本州), Shikoku (四国), Kyūshū (九州), and then there are the Okinawa (沖縄) islands stretching down to neighboring Taiwan. It was beautiful to say the least, but those stories are for another time! What I mean to say is that Japan is divided into eight regions, each offering its own unique history (and trust me, I do mean very unique due to Japan’s history of warring states and clans), dialects-some so different from one another that they aren’t really even mutually intelligible, and wonderful food. I drove through the regions of Japan and ate unforgettable foods at mom and pop restaurants and peeked into as much of the country as I could fit in. I lived in my car, taking advantage of Japan’s amazing network of rest stops (道の駅), which allow absolutely free car camping in a safe and convenient environment for anybody traveling the country by car. Uno is the end of the line and then once there simply walk across the road to the ferry terminal, where can take a ferry to Miyanoura Port to Naoshima.In August of 2018, I finished up my job in Tanegashima and started a 3 month journey from the southernmost island of Japan all the way up to the very top, and finally settling down in northeastern Hokkaidō. Take the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Okayama (3.5-4hrs), then from there take a JR Uno Line train to Uno Station. How to get to Naoshima Island? Visitors can reach Naoshima by train from Tokyo but it will take around a full day. Keep the minimalism theme going when you stay at Hoshikuzu. Now, you can expect to stumble upon underground stone mazes, subterranean museums like the Chichu Art Museum and ‘Pumpkin’ by Yayoi Kusama – a giant orange sculpture that’s become a symbol of the island. Wedged in the Seto Inland Sea, the island began being invested in during the early 90s by a Japanese publishing house that helped bring in celebrated Japanese architect, Tadao Ando, to design many of the island’s buildings and museums. While Tokyo and Kyoto might be the go-to choice for culture, the tiny island of Naoshima and its burgeoning contemporary art scene make it a worthy competitor. Cats in Tashirojima, Miyagiįor a tiny island, Naoshima is a world leader in contemporary art You can also fly directly from Osaka or Fukuoka. How to get to Yakushima Island? Most visitors to Yakushima pass through the coastal mainland city of Kagoshima, travelling on to the island by a daily car ferry or a high speed boat. Rent your own cottage amidst it all at Wa no Cottage Sen-no-ie. ![]() Within them, you’ll stumble upon all manners of natural beauty – think tumbling waterfalls, craggy peaks and wild Yaku deer (Yakushima is sometimes also known as Deer Island). Consequently, the island and its forests are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, almost ghostly in the quiet atmosphere they create. Centuries-old cedar trees known as yakusugi spread across the island – their towering, gnarled trunks (said to age for over 1,000 years) imbuing the forest with a magical, historical feel. The yakusugi trees are known for their gnarled trunksĪllegedly the inspiration behind Studio Ghibli’s hit anime Princess Mononoke, Yakushima is perhaps even more magical than its cinematic debut suggests.
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