Behind the Bars of Nara Prison
Red brick, star-shaped wings, tiny cells and a future luxury hotel: at Nara, confinement simply changed its clientele. A visit to the empty prison before its next life.
Easy walk
Fukiware Falls: The Echoes of Water
Tucked in Gunma's countryside, the "Niagara of Japan." A powerful story of water carving rock, with local snake legends to discover.
Ogijima, the Crooked Island
Ogijima, a tiny Seto Inland Sea island off Takamatsu: a steep village clinging to the slope, sovereign cats, Setouchi Triennale art and an 1895 granite lighthouse.
Shōrinzan Daruma: The Market and the Flames
Every 6–7 January, Shōrinzan Daruma-ji in Takasaki holds its great daruma market — before returning the past year's wishes to the flames in the otakiage fire.
Some hiking
Ukiha Inari Shrine
Discover Ukiha Inari Shrine in Fukuoka, an enchanting place known for its vermilion torii, its quiet calm, and its panoramic views.
Comiket: A Day at the World’s Biggest Manga Fair
Comiket is the world's largest doujinshi fair: half a million fans, twice a year, at Tokyo Big Sight. What it is, the next dates, and how to actually go.
Megijima: The Demons Have Retired
Megijima, the oni island of the Seto Inland Sea: a beach, an ageing village, stone walls and a startling retro American cinema, 20 minutes by ferry from Takamatsu.
Off the map
Kyu-Sento-ji: At the Crossroads of Beliefs
Discover the mysterious ruins of Kyu-Sento-ji, an ancient mountain temple blending Buddhism and Shinto on the Kunisaki Peninsula.
Takachiho Gorge: Boats, Gods and Volcanic Walls
Kyushu's most photographed gorge: rowboats under the Manai waterfall, 100-metre volcanic walls, gods, a demon, and noodles that race down a bamboo flume.
