Nipponbashi ・ Ota Road

Originally centered on household electronics and parts, in recent years the downtown Nipponbashi area has experienced a dramatic increase in the number of otaku shops, much like Akihabara. On the side of Otaroad (“otaku road”) there is a large parking lot, where you can often find “itasha” cars decorated with pictures of cute anime girls. […]

羽田空港　展望デッキ

羽田空港では3つターミナル全てに展望デッキがある。 入場料もなく、眺めも良いので搭乗時間まで時間を潰すには良い場所かもしれない。 ここは小さな男の子連れのファミリーにとっては素晴らしい場所だろう。 のべつまくなしに発着する飛行機を間近に見ることが出来るので、普段は走り回って君達の言うことなど全く聞かない彼らも、ここでは大喜びで歓声を上げるだけで、基本的には良い子でいてくれる。   3つのターミナルの展望デッキは向いている方角がそれぞれ違うため、見ることの出来る景色が全て異なる。 各ターミナルの展望デッキの特徴を以下で記す。 第1ターミナルの展望デッキ(国内線/6階＋屋上) 高層ビル群や東京湾、(天気が良い時は)富士山など360度のパノラマを楽しむことが出来る。 ここは西向きのデッキなので夕陽が素晴らしく、また南側にある大きな工業地帯の夜景も美しい。 第2ターミナルの展望デッキ(国内線/5階) 東京湾を行き交う船や大きな橋など湾岸エリアのパノラマを楽しむことが出来る。 が、ここで一番素晴らしいのは、日没後のイルミネーションだ。 約4000個のLEDによる照明が滑走路の光と合わさって非常にロマンチックだ。 屋内には滑走路を見ながら食事ができるレストランもあるので、デートにも使える。 第3ターミナルの展望デッキ(国際線/5階) 滑走路までの距離が遠いため、飛行機が離着陸する際の迫力が国内線ターミナルの展望デッキと比べると少し落ちる。 ただ、第1ターミナルビルや管制塔など飛行場らしいものが良く見えるし、国際線ターミナルだけあって世界中から飛んできた色とりどりの航空機を見ることが出来るので、一番「飛行場にいる」と感じることが出来る場所だ。

The Osaka Museum of Housing and Living

This museum, located along the Tenjinbashi-suji Shopping Street, is a life-size replica of the streets of Osaka during the early 1830s of the Edo Period. Many tourists love to dress up in kimono here for just an extra 500 yen (in addition to the admission fee), then take many photos along the photogenic streets. It’s […]

Lake Oyunuma

Oyunuma is a gourd-shaped swamp (1 km in circumference) formed after a volcanic reuption created this crater and hot water accumulated at the site. Such a large scale hot spring swamp is extremely rare in the world and is highly valued academically. Sulfur spring water as hot as 130 degrees Celsius gushes out from the […]

Houkoku Shrine(Osaka)

Visiting this shrine will supposedly bring you success and good luck in the future. It is a 5-minute walk from the south side of the castle tower and was where Toyotomi Hideyoshi was deified. A 5.2-meter tall statue of this commander stands just right past the torii gate of the shrine.

Akan International Crane Center

Sapporo Beer Garden

Doraemon Wakuwaku Sky Park

Themed after Doraemon’s “himitsu no dogu” (secret gadgets). Various attractions and a strange photography spot are inside the park, as well as a shop and a cafe.

Sapporo Clock Tower

The clock tower was initially built in 1878 to serve as the military drill hall for Hokkaido University.

Munakata Taisha Okitsu-miya Yohaisho

A shrine built in the 18th century near the northern tip of Oshima to worship Okinoshima Island, which is off-limits to visitors. It stands in the middle of the slope facing the coast, with the magnificent ocean spread out below. On a clear day, Okinoshima Island can be clearly seen floating on the horizon. The […]

Outer Gardens of the Imperial Palace (Kokyo Gaien)

Free to roam at anytime the Japanese black pine trees and beautiful green grass laid out in the open space is a nice scene to take in. Interestingly, during the Edo period, this area was occupied with houses of senior statesmen. Below are the main viewing attractions. Nijubashi 2 bridges connect the outer gardens over […]

Giraffe Resort

The largest club in Kansai fits over 1400 people. Many foreigners visit the 4-floor building with a giraffe sign out the front. The 2nd and 4th floors have different genres of music playing, with the 2nd floor in particular being high tension (3rd floor is the VIP room). It opens and closes early so it […]

LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Tokyo

An indoor attraction for kids, the facility has over 3 million Lego blocks. Adults alone cannot enter. Build all kinds of stuff in themed classrooms, build a Lego race car, play shooting games or enjoy 4D cinema, all kinds of attractions and large models for families to enjoy.

Tree of Ken and Mary

Standing straight and tall towards the sky is this poplar tree. It measures 31 meters tall, and because there are no other tall trees it clearly stands out from a long distance.   The tree became famous when it was introduced as part of a 1972 commercial for Nissan’s Skyline sports car. In the ad was […]

Tochoji Temple

Tochoji Temple was first founded in 806 by Kobo Daishi (774-835)—the founder of the Shingon sect of Buddhism, a form of esoteric Buddhism—and a very famous high priest in Japan. It it also the first temple he founded. It houses the Fukuoka Daibutsu, the largest wooden seated statue of Shaka Nyorai in Japan. Made from […]

Lake Mashu Observatory No.1

There are three observatories on Lake Mashu, but this one is the most popular and famous. Located at the top of Lake Mashu’s outer rim at an elevation of about 520 meters, the observatory offers a panoramic view of the deep blue waters of Lake Mashu, Mt. Oakandake, the Kushiro plains, the Pacific Ocean and […]

Ice Breaker Garingo

Get up close and personal with the drift ice on this sightseeing boat from/to Monbetsu Port. The 1 hour cruise runs from mid-January to the end of March. Originally built for oil field development in Alaska, the Garingo II is a beautiful red-bodied icebreaker. The two special screws at the bow of the ship break […]

Grand Hirafu

With 22 runs, this is the largest ski resort in the Niseko United ski area, and its facilities are state-of-the-art. It is adjacent to Niseko HANAZONO Resort, and lift tickets are shared, so you can use the slopes of both ski resorts — total of 30 courses that can be skied. n addition, there are […]

Yumoto Saigriyu

This is the only public bathhouse in Noboribetsu Onsen. Because you can bathe in hot spring water quality for a very low fee it is very popular. Although there is only an indoor bath, visitors can enjoy two types of spring water: alum spring (myobansen) and sulfur spring (iōsen). The facility is still new, having […]

Tsutenkaku

Tsutenkaku is the symbol of Shinsekai, and it is even called the “Eiffel Tower of Naniwa (Osaka)” – likely an over-exaggeration. It was built in 1912 but deconstructed in 1943 after experiencing a fire, and rebuilt in 1956 with a great increase in height from 64 meters to 103 meters. The 5th floor is known […]

Kyushu National Museum

One of only four national museums in Japan. (The others are located in Tokyo, Nara, and Kyoto.) Based on the concept of “understanding the formation of Japanese culture from an Asian historical perspective,” the museum introduces the history of cultural exchange with other Asian regions in five easy-to-understand themes. The museum’s greatest feature is that […]

Lavender East

The largest lavender field in Japan is operated by Farm Tomita, with approximately 90,000 lavender plants on a 140,000㎡ site. It is open to the public only in July. The view from the observation deck in the center of the grounds is splendid. The lavender fields spread out below you, and you can see the […]

知念岬公園

太平洋に向かって突き出した岬の先端にある公園で、あまり人が多くない“穴場”だ。 高台にあり、三方が海に囲まれているので、視界を遮るものがなく非常に眺めが良い。 公園の下は、エメラルドグリーンの珊瑚礁となっており、その先はグラデ―ジョンが美しいコバルトブルーの海と水平線、青い空が広がっている。 そして沖縄で“神の島”と呼ばれている久高島も間近に見える。 また、知念岬は東側に向かって開けているので、海から昇ってくる真っ赤な太陽を見ることが出来る“日の出観賞スポット”としても有名だ。 そして周りに光源がほとんどない場所なので、夜は星空や月が非常にクリアに見える。 公園内はきれいに整備されており、赤瓦屋根の東屋や歩きやすい遊歩道があるので、散策すると非常に気持ちが良い。 なお、公園内に売店やレストランなどはない。