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Japan

Illustration: Greg Straight

Save your yen: How to travel Japan on a budget

Japan is already a good-value destination, but here are a few key tips on how to make your yen stretch even further.

  • Brian Johnston
The Oita prefecture is known for its traditional rural scenery.

How to enjoy the simple life on a Japanese farm stay

This tourist experience offers a delicious taste of the simple life in Kyushu and insight into the Japanese concept of “ikigai”.

  • Ben Groundwater
Kagoshima, viewed from Shiroyama Observatory.

Port guide: Kagoshima, Japan

Japan’s southernmost big city is relaxed and easy-going, but has one almighty sight that might make you leap in alarm. Prepare for a smoking hot encounter.

  • Brian Johnston
Shimonada station, overlooks the calm waters of the Seto Inland Sea.

Forget Tokyo or Kyoto. This humble station is Japan’s most photographed

Not even the frenetic train terminals of Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto can match the Instagram appeal of this obscure whistle-stop station in a remote beauty spot.

  • Anthony Dennis
Beppu is an elemental place, you feel close to nature here, and you feel its power.

The secret I’m not supposed to tell you about Japan’s famous onsen town

My guide reveals the risque reason many people flock to this hot-spring hotspot. Then we get naked together.

  • Ben Groundwater
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Matsuyama Castle, one of Ehime’s main attractions.

The delightful region of Japan tourists haven’t discovered yet

More than 10 million visitors flocked to Kyoto last year, while this delightful region welcomed only 500,000.

  • Anthony Dennis
Japan in autumn.

Japan at its most beautiful? It’s not cherry blossom season

On this trip we see the beauty of Japan in full blaze. What we don’t see are crowds.

  • Kerry van der Jagt
The beach at Namiitakaigan.

As Japan struggles with tourists, this region is still waiting for them

At the train station we’re the only passengers who get off. At our accommodation, we’re the first foreigners our host has seen in a long time.

  • Catherine Marshall
Samurai Town and mushroom foraging tour.

There’s a new way to kill time at Tokyo’s major international airport

Cancelled during the pandemic, Narita has replaced its layover program with a new, improved version.

  • Julietta Jameson
Music at a record bar in Japan is like a conversation.

I discovered the secret to feeling like a local in Japan

I’m a sucker for a Japanese record bar. The drinks, the decor, and of course, the music are all sublime, coming together to create an experience where you share more than just a beer with the people sitting next to you.

  • Paul Marshall