Former Public Hall of Hakodate Ward

A colonial style building built in 1910 as a public hall. The 1st floor isn’t all that impressive. The 2nd floor, on the other hand, has a massive hall that is worth seeing. From the balcony of the 2nd floor, visitors can see a beautiful view of Hakodate Bay.

Shiretoko Pass

A 738-meter altitude pass located approximately halfway along the Shiretoko Highway connecting Utoro on the Sea of Okhotsk side and Rausu on the Nemuro Channel side. Popular as a photogenic spot where visitors can enjoy a magnificent view. Mt. Rausu — the highest mountain in the Shiretoko mountains — directly in front of you, the […]

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.

Shirogane Blue Pond

The pond’s crystal blue appearance, as though something had melted in the water, and the decayed larch surrounding it gives the pond a mysterious aura yet awesome vibe. The blue pond suddenly rose to international fame when it was once selected as one of Apple computer’s wallpaper. Now, this pond is by no means old. […]

The Imperial Palace

The Tokyo Imperial Palace – residence and palace of the Emperor – holds all sorts of official events; the Imperial Household Agency is located on Imperial Palace grounds too. If you include the outer gardens of the Imperial Palace, a total of 2.3 million sq m of flush greenery sits in the middle of Tokyo, […]

Takoya Dotonbori Kukuru Mainstore “Big Octopus”

This realistically-designed octopus installed in 2000 looks almost like the real thing. The one next to the Dotonbori Glico sign is the “father” and the one at the front of the shop is the “eldest son,” while the “mother” and “second son” can be found in the Dotonbori Konamon Museum. The father octopus’s eyes sometimes […]

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 […]

Abashiri Prison Museum

The open-air history museum opened in 1983. Used as a prison for felons since 1880, the historical buildings of the Abashiri Prison were sequentially moved to the current location or newly reconstructed. Visitors can learn about prison life and the harsh labor of prisoners at that time, as well as the history of Hokkaido’s pioneering […]

Carl Ojisan

“Carl Ojisan” is a simple, farmer-like bearded old man and the character that represents the “curl” snack. The sign was originally made by large food company Meiji Seika in 2008. On the hour, Kerota a frog comes out of his hat. Although once popular, in recent years the snack’s popularity has slumped and it is […]

Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse

A throng of red brick warehouse buildings made over 100 years ago face the bay.  Now, they exist as commercial complexes. Inside you will find around 40 shops, sweets vendors, and restaurants.

Lake Toya Pleasure Boat

A 50 min cruise on large boats such as the “Espoir” — designed to look like an old castle from the Middle Ages. The natural scenery of the lake and mountains seen from the ship is wonderful and healing. The boat cruises around the four islands, and visitors can disembark and go for a walk […]

Usu Ropeway

Yumoto Isaribikan

This place has a large cypress bath and an open air rock bath with a nice ocean view. Enjoy it at the low cost of ¥500.

Ibiza FUKUOKA

It is an affiliate of CLUB Cat’s, whose concept is to offer a nightlife like that of Ibiza, Spain. It has a floor area of 230 square meters, two floors, and nine VIP rooms. Genre: All mix, EDM, House, etc. Clientele: 20’s to early 30’s No one under 20 years old is allowed to enter.

Osaka Tenmangu Shrine

This shrine is where the Tenjin Festival, one of the three greatest festivals in Japan, is held. The shrine has a long history stemming from 650, when Emperor Kotoku built Naniwa Nagara-Toyosaki Palace. The “Shrine of General ” was founded to the northwest of the palace as a guardian deity. In 949, the God of […]

Lake Akan Hot Springs

Due to the volcanic land, the area around Lake Akan gush with high quality hot springs; one hot spring town on the lake’s south shore has around 20 lodging facilities. Among them, roughly 10 of the lodges (like the 2 below) allow you to enjoy their hot spring for about ¥1500 without having to stay […]

Niseko Village Ski Resort

This ski resort is directly connected to two luxury resort hotels: “The Green Leaf” and “Hilton Niseko Village,” and is known for advanced skiers. *  The luxury hotel chain, Ritz-Carlton, is scheduled to open in the near future. The layout is vertically long, with steep slopes, and many of the courses are generally difficult. There […]

Shirahige Waterfall

The water gushing out and falling 30 meters comes from Mt. Tokachi’s underground water. If you want a great view of it all, head over to “Blue River Bridge”, the bridge standing over Biei River. In winter, the splashes of water and steam magically create silver frost on the trees, depicting a fantasy-like wonder. And, […]

Doyamacho

Located in the Doyamacho area on the east side of Umeda Station there are around 230 restaurants – mainly gay bars – forming the largest gay town in west Japan. Foreigners are welcome in half of the bars so there is no need to feel nervous. On the other hand, if you have any issues, […]