Japan

Tokyo

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This town and mountain to the south-west of Fuji is the favorite weekend spot of locals. From October to April they come here to enjoy the view on the legendary peak and bathe in the famous hot springs. Right on the slope you will find a park with bubbling sulphur springs (quite smelly ones) – in one of this inferno wells they even boil eggs. The shell becomes black and even the whites change the color. Some say the taste is not the same either. If you want to carry the odd eggs home, you can take a special cable railroad built to transport them. Afterwards, don't miss the onsen experience – you have plenty to choose from. Or check the botanical garden, a museum or a theme park with Venetian glass. Enough fun for two days. To get to the site, buy Odakyu (http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2358_008.html) pass – it covers the fare and local transport – buses and a cable ride while your regular JR Card will bring you to Odawara only. Another option is a two-day Japanican pass. (http://www.japanican.com/en/tour/detail/VJF200_/).

Hakone

The most important Shinto shrine in the city of Kamakura is so postcard – enormous gates, a curved bridge over a koi-pond with lotus flowers, and a bell pavilion. Don't forget to check extravagant street food along the road to the shrine – chocolate bananas, yakisoba and lollipops. If you visit the place in May, walk around the pond to admire the peony exhibition – the scent will guide you. Entrance fee is 500 yens. Inside the shrine you can find a small museum with ancient kimono gowns and documents – but better spend the 200-yen fee some other way.

Tsurugaoka Hachimangu

Sensoji is one of Tokyo's oldest temples with typical Shinto interiors. So it would be more exciting to check the adjacent park with a five-level pagoda and lovely facilities – lacquered buildings, dwarf pines, a pond and a bridge – Japanese garden as you've pictured it. Sensoji and Nikko are the only two pagodas in the outskirts of Tokyo, so they're worth taking a picture. By the way, the entrance is free.

Sensoji Temple

This nice and cozy izakaya in Shibuya boasts affordable prices (as all such venues do), cleanliness (which the majority don't) and very atmospheric surroundings – a bamboo forest, stones and running water.

Himonoya

Meiji is the Shinto shrine easy to find without any guide or map as it is located at the popular Yoyogi Park. Dedicated to the Emperor Meiji, it was founded in 1920 and is an absolute must see. Due to its convenient locations, locals love to celebrate weddings here, as well as arrange various shows of traditional art, so one always has a chance to be part of something exciting.

Meiji Jingu Shrine

Tokyo Midtown is a large urban district packed with funky shops, restaurants and art galleries, located by the very city center (that's where the name comes from). After a warm welcome by sculptures created by Toshio Shimizu and Jean-Hubert Martin, check out the Suntory Museum of Art, Design Hub and Fujifilm Square.

Tokyo Midtown

Yumoto onsen

A mecca of Chinese expats in Tokyo. As this place is kind of Chinese-only, it's not that heavily decorated in red as Japanese restaurants. The interior is laconic, contrasted to abundant menu. My choice is stewed pork leg and chicken. Though it may sound creepy, it is really yummy. Lunch will cost about 2,000 yen and you will pay 1,500 for nomihodai all-you-can-drink option.

Chuka Ryori Heiwaken

Banks of the Tama River are picnic-perfect with Hyogojima, Tamagawa Futagobashi и Unane parks along them. Chill out on the soft grass in the shadow of Tamagawa Park. It is right by the river so you can walk down to look at stone islands amid the current. In April, admire cherry blossom of tender pink sakura trees in the park’s alleys.

Tamagawa Futagobashi

Japan is very mountainous, so, no wonder its cities are so upward. What but skyscrapers can one build, if one sees Fuji every day? Tokyo, like NYC is vertical with the arteries of highways, so to see its perspective you need to go up. Appu, as locals say. By the way, skyscrapers and towers are the living proof of Japanese technical skills and hope that the buildings will survive all quakes. The best way to admire the top of the top of Tokyo is autumn, winter and early spring when the air is especially transparent.

The roofs of Tokyo

Food is an ambiguous issue in Japan – on the one hand, it's a big deal – locals rush to cooking classes and watch hundreds of culinary shows but on the other, Japanese were not allowed to eat meat up to the 19th century and borrowed words for bread and cheese. Our guide for those looking for new tastes and are ready for surprises will bring you to the most interesting local food.

Tokyo for foodies looking for adventures

Here, in Tokyo, future is coming faster than in other parts of the word – due to its location and creativity of people. Odaiba Island is the major hi-tech hub – walk around to discover various wonders – from a gigantic robot to a supercar place.

Tokyo: World of the Future

Nikko is a small town in Tochigi prefecture with ancient shrines, crystal waterfalls and picturesque onsens. It's one of the most exciting suburbs of Tokyo and a perfect compromise between those who love nature and hiking and urbanists. A great one-day route.

A Day in the Countryside: Shrines, Waterfalls and Onsens in Nikko

Shopping in Tokyo will make you cry of happiness and excitement. It is also really convenient as all malls are concentrated in trade areas. But despite the rule of hi-tech and digital, Tokyo remains an Asian city with puller-ins, signs overhanging one above another and endless stalls. What an entropy!

Tokyo Shopping Spree

Tokyo doesn't have a single downtown but plenty of them – district for entertainment, skyscraper-backed business centers around the circle of Yamanote Line. Neighborhoods for teens, otaku freaks, hub for business guys and gadgets – all of them are from geographical center where the parks of the Imperial Palace are. This sacred home of the emperor stands as an untouchable oasis, there is even no subway line under it.

Tokyo

Routes

Places of Tokyo