Tateyama: Beach near Tokyo

There are several beaches you can go out and spend your holiday near Tokyo . In spring, you can go shellfish gathering at low tide. After the rainy season in June, you will see many people and families enjoying swimming and sunbathing there.

Tateyama in Chiba (the east of Tokyo) has one of the best beaches near Tokyo, located 2 hours from Tokyo by train. Compared with the beaches in Kanagawa to the west from Tokyo, they are less crowded and cleaner.

Due to the sand composition made by volcanic activity, the color of the sand is not white but black or brown. But still you can relax on the beach seeing the Pacific ocean.

Eco-tour: Ogasawara-island (Bonin Islands)

Ogawasara islands belong to Tokyo. However, it takes 27hours by ship from the main land of Japan.

The islands are in the subtropical zone. Chichi-jima (Father island) and Haha-jima (Mother island) are the main islands where people live. As the ferry from Tokyo arrives at Chichi-jima, most of the inns and tour operators are in Chichi-jima. The popular activities in the island are swimming with dolphin and whale watching in the sea and serching Ogawasara Ookomori: fruit bat and Green-pepe: a glow mushroom at night in the land.

If you want to enjoy more nature in Ogasawara, cross to Haha-jima or Minami-jima (South island). the number of preple who can land the island is limited on Minami-jima for environmental protection purpose.

As shown in the photo, it is best and most fruitful for you to go hiking with a local guide. (note: you cannot not access to some areas on the island without a guide.)

The rainy season in Ogasawara is nearly over. Summer is just around the corner!

Spring in Hokkaido

After the long cold winter, finally spring has come to Hokkaido, the northen island in Japan.
While it is not the best season to travel around in Japan in June due to the rainy season, Hokkaido is the only place, which does not have a rainy season. The late May and June is the best season to visit Hokkaido.

In Furano and Biei at the center of Hokkaido, they call the places "the navel of Hokkaido", after the freezing season, plants and animals show up abruptly. They seem to enjoy the visit of spring. The contrast between the green land and white snow still left on the mountain is very beautiful. Feel a breath of spring by walking or cycling around there.

One thing you have to be careful: the sunshine in this season is pretty strong. So, put on sun screen before going out!

Grass Cherry blossom

Following the cherry blossom season in spring, you can enjoy Siba-Sakura (Grass Cherry), which has the similar pink-color petals to Sakura or Cherry blossom.

The proper English name of the flower is moss phlox (Phlox subulata).
Although the taxonomical point of view, it has nothing to do with cherry, the Japanese, Sakura-lovers, named it after their favorite flower. Grass Cherry: cherry blossms on the ground like grass. This sounds very beautiful for the Japanese. How about to you?

The Grass cherry can be seen near Tokyo,such as Chichibu in Saitama Pref. in April and in Hokkaido by the early June. Mt.Mokoto one is the most famous in Japan.

Ariakekai: inland sea in Saga Pref.

Ariake-kai is located between Saga Prefecture and Fukuoka Pref. in Kyushu island. The sea is famous for its great difference between the tidemarks and the unique creatures living there.

You can still see a traditional fishing method like the photo, which you may find in the rivers in Southeast Asia.

You can join a cruise tour by small boat and see many fisher men catching fish, octopus and sea weeds. It would be good to taste them after the tour. Some of the seafood are only avaible in this region. Though some looks weird, they taste very good. Try it!

Hiking in Japan

Although you may have an image of Japan as a highly develped place and no nature left, there are many hiking courses you can spend on your holiday in Japan. Spring time is one of the best seasons to go hiking. The photo was taken from the small hill called Myojin-san near Mt. Fuji. Get out of the city and breathe in fresh air!

Festivals in Tokyo: Kanda

It is fun to join a local festival in Japan.
Kanda Matsuri or Festival is one of the famous ones in Japan. You will find many protable shirines or floats here and there in Kanda at the center of Tokyo this time of the year.
One of the interesting features of Kanda festival is the combination of tradition and mordern technology. The festival has long histroy of over 200 years. However, as it is located at the very center of modern city, Tokyo, the festival takes an advantage of the advanced IT technology, too. You can find where each float or portable shrines are on the Internet or on your mobile phone. Also, there is online live broadcasting, too.
After Kanda festival, several early-summer festivals start in many places in Tokyo.
Enjoy the tradition of Tokyo through the festivals.

Wineries in Japan: Yamanashi Pref.

When it comes to Japanese alcohol, Sake (rice wine) may come up to your mind first. And You may not have any idea about Japanese wines.
However, since over 100 years ago, the Japanese started making wines in Japan. Katunuma in Yamanashi prefecture is one of the places where wines have been procuding for more than 100 years. The place is now called "Budo no sato" or a village of grapes. It takes only 90 min. from the downtown Tokyo by local train. There are over 30 wineries and you can see the factories and taste wines there. If you do not have a time to visit each winery, you can go to the place called "Budo no Oka" or a hill of grape and you will find most of the wines produced in Katunuma and taste them there.
The view from the hill is also very beautiful.
You may have another new aspenct of Japan when you visit there.

Baseball in Japan

It would be fun to go to a stadium to see a professional baseball game in Japan. If you come from the U.S., you will find how diffrent the way to cheer up a favorite team is. If you come from Asian countries, such as Taiwan and Korea, you may find the similarity, in stead.

You will hear musics and songs specutators play or sing to cheer each players. In some stadiums, most of the specutators fly ballons in the 7th inning. It is awesome to see all the seats for the specutators covered by ballons of the team color.

Even if you are not interested in baseball, you can enjoy the atomosphere in the stadium.

Sea of trees at the foot of Mt. Fuji

Mt. fuji is one of the most famous Japanese things for travellers from other countries to Japan. As the cities and transportation, including Shinkansen bullet-train between the cities on the Pacific coast have been more developed than those of inland, most of visitors in Japan see Mt. Fuji from the Pacific Ocean side. However, the mountain seen from the inland is no less beautiful than that seen from the Ocean side.
Also it is not well-known that the areas at the foot of Mt. Fuji are covered very thick forests and once you enter the sea of trees, you can never come out of it. You cannot use a compass because of the magnetic field coming from the earth of Mt Fuji.
Thus, it is notorious for the site to commit a suicide in Japan and you will find many sign boards in which dissuade those who try to kill himself/herself from entering the forests here and there.

So keep on the trail in trekking in forest at the foot of Mt. Fuji.