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.

Nagatoro in Saitama Pref.

Nagatoro is only 60 min. away from the downtown Tokyo by train.
You will be surrounded by nature there. You will hear the sound of a breeze through trees, singing of many birds and the murmuring of a stream there.
If you like to see flowers, it is one of the best places near Tokyo. You can enjoy colorful flowers in each season, such as pale pink of cherry blossoms and yellow of rape blossoms in spring.
If you like more active things, you can enjoy river rafting, canoeing and trekking there.
When you feel tired in the crowds in Tokyo, get out of the city to Nagatoro!

Narai in Nagano Pref.

Narai-jyuku is located in the southwest of Nagano Prefecture, Central Japan. "Jyuku" means a stage where travellers take a rest on their trip in Japanese. So, Narai is in the middle between Tokyo and Kyoto. The town prosperd over 2-300 years ago when Japan had the "Edo" era. At that time, all "Daimyo" or feudal lords in Japan had to go to Tokyo or "Edo" every other years.
Even now, you can see inns and shops which were used in the Edo period in Narai. The town is old in the mountain but very beautiful.
You may feel that you are travelling back in time to 300 years ago there.

Tottori sand dune

A sand dune in Japan!? You may not have such an image of Japan. But there is a sand dune in Japan.
The biggest one is in Tottori prefecture, west part of Japan facing to the Japan sea (the East sea). It takes a few hours by train from Kyoto. The sand dune in located to the north of Tottori city. 20 min. bus ride to get the dune from Torrori city.
On the sand dune, you see some enjoying paragliding. Also camels and horse carriage are seen there.
Visit and walk on the dune, then add a new idea to your image of Japan.