08 Nights / 09 Days

Japan Heritage

Highlights

Japan is  a place  of  ancient  gods and customs,  but  is  also  the  cutting  edge of  cool  modernity.  High- speed trains whisk you from one end of the country to another with awe-inspiring punctuality. In the suburbs of a sprawling metropolis, you can catch sight of a farmer tending his paddy field, then turn the corner and find yourself next to a neon-festooned electronic games parlour. One day you could be picking through fashion in the biggest department store on earth, the next relaxing in an outdoor hot- spring pool, watching cherry blossom or snowflakes fall, depending on the season.

Northern Honshu sees surprisingly few visitors, but its sleepy villages and nicely laid-back cities deserve to  be  better known. The Golden Hall of Hiraizumi more than justifies the journey, and can be  easily combined with the  islet-sprinkled Matsushima Bay or rural Tōno.  The region is also known for its vibrant summer festivals, notably those at Sendai, Aomori, Hirosaki and Akita, and for  its sacred mountains including Dewa-sanzan, home to a sect of ascetic mountain priests, and the  eerie, remote wastelands of Osore-zan. For obvious reasons Hiroshima is the  most visited location inWesternHonshÅ«. On the  way there,  pause  at  Okayama to  stroll  around  one   of  Japan's  top   three gardens,  Kōraku-en,  and the appealingly preserved Edo-era town  of Kurashiki. The beauty of the  Inland Sea, dotted with thousands of islands, is best appreciated from  the  idyllic fishing village of Tomonoura, the  port  of Onomichiand the relaxed islands of Nao-shima, Ikuchi-jima and Miya-jima.

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