Online Hostel Bookings Hostels and inexpensive ryokan from $10 per night!

Car Rentals Compact cars from around 4,000 Yen/day!

Related Pages

Forum

Japan Sightseeing Guide

Hokkaido Sapporo Otaru Hakodate Furano Abashiri Noboribetsu Niseko Lake Toya Daisetsuzan Shiretoko Rishiri Rebun Akan Tohoku Sendai Matsushima Hiraizumi Akita Kakunodate Nyuto Onsen Aomori Hirosaki Lake Towada Shimokita Hanto Dewa Sanzan Aizu Kanto Tokyo Yokohama Kamakura Nikko Kinugawa Hakone Kawagoe Kusatsu Ikaho Minakami Narita Chubu Nagoya Inuyama Mt.Fuji Fujigoko Izu Peninsula Nagano Matsumoto Kamikochi Kiso Valley Hakuba Yudanaka Sado Island Takayama Shirakawa-go Gujo Gero Onsen Kanazawa Kansai Kyoto Osaka Nara Kobe Himeji Kinosaki Mount Koya Kumano Yoshino Amanohashidate Hikone Iga Ueno Ise Shima Chugoku Hiroshima Miyajima Onomichi Okayama Kurashiki Matsue Iwami Ginzan Iwakuni Yamaguchi Hagi Shikoku Takamatsu Kotohira Naoshima Matsuyama Uchiko Kochi Tokushima Naruto Kyushu Fukuoka Dazaifu Nagasaki Kumamoto Mount Aso Minamata Beppu Miyazaki Takachiho Kagoshima Kirishima Yakushima Okinawa Honto Miyako Yaeyama

Survey

How can tourism in Japan be improved? More foreign language information Preserve natural and historic sites Ease immigration requirements Reduce cost of travel Make sights less crowded Other No improvement needed see results Other Surveys: Budget for ryokan stay Next trip to Japan Improvements to Tourism Financial Crisis Ski Destination Preferred way to stay at a ryokan Purpose of visit Most popular region Have you recently entered Japan?

japan-guide.com newsletter

Keeping you up to date on Japan travel and living related issues and site updates. Click here to subscribe!

Schauwecker's Japan Travel Blog by Stefan Schauwecker, webmaster of japan-guide.com This blog is intended to record my travel activities in Japan with an emphasis on practical travel information, i.e. how I got around, where I encountered difficulties, etc. My goal is not to spend more than an hour on each blog entry. 2009/11/18 - Tokyo Tokyo may not be known as an autumn color destination like Kyoto, but the city does offer quite a few nice spots for fall foliage in its parks and gardens. Today we went to check out three of them. We started the day at the Former Furukawa Garden (Kyu-Furukawa Teien)... read all 2009/11/12 - Kyoto Two months after this year's first autumn leaf report, the seasonal colors are finally descending into lower elevations of central Japan. Today, I made a first visit to Kyoto from where we will be reporting... read all 2009/11/09 - Fuji Five Lakes Around Tokyo, colors are currently best at altitudes of around 1000 meters, and that is where we headed today. For the second time this season, we paid a visit to Mount Fuji and the the Fuji Five Lakes... read all 2009/10/16 - Onuma Park I concluded my 3-day autum leaf report through Southern Hokkaido with a visit to Onuma Quasi National Park just north of Hakodate. The park is easily accessible by train and is centered around two lakes... read all 2009/10/15 - Noboribetsu Onsen I spent the second day of my 3-day autumn leaf report trip to Southern Hokkaido in Noboribetsu Onsen, one of Japan's best hot spring resorts. Noboribetsu is blessed with a beautiful jigokudani ("hell valley")... read all 2009/10/14 - Shikotsu-Toya National Park After several reports from Japan's main island of Honshu, I returned once more to the northern island of Hokkaido to check on the autumn colors as they are gradually reaching lower elevations there... read all 2009/09/30 - Kusatsu Onsen Today we drove along Japan's highest national route, Route 292, which connects Shiga Kogen in Nagano Prefecture with Kusatsu Onsen, one of the country's best hot spring resorts in Gunma Prefecture... read all 2009/09/16 - Tokachidake Onsen We spent the last night of our 3-day Hokkaido report trip at the Ryounkaku mountain lodge in Tokachidake Onsen, a small hot spring resort in the southwest of Daisetsuzan National Park, not far from Furano... read all 2009/09/15 - Ginsendai Today I visited Ginsendai, another famous autumn color spot in Hokkaido's Daisetsu National Park. Reached via a 15 kilometer unpaved road and consisting of little more than a parking space and an information center, Ginsendai is a base in... read all 2009/09/14 - Mount Asahidake Asahidake is Hokkaido's tallest mountain and the first place in Japan to see autumn colors each year. Therefore, we selected it as the first destination of our autumn color reports like in the previous year... read all 2009/07/14 - Furano Lavender in full bloom The lavender fields in Furano, Hokkaido, are now in full bloom. read all 2009/04/16 - Cherry Blossom Report: Fuji Five Lakes Reporting from Lake Kawaguchi. read all 2009/04/09 - Cherry Blossom Report: Nagoya Reporting from the Yamazakigawa Riverside. read all 2009/04/08 - Cherry Blossom Report: Yoshino Reporting from Yoshinoyama. read all 2009/04/07 - Cherry Blossom Report: Kyoto Reporting from Arashiyama, the Philosopher's Path, the Keage Incline, Maruyama Park and Kiyomizudera. read all 2009/04/06 - Cherry Blossom Report: Osaka Reporting from Osaka Castle, Kema Sakuranomiya Park, the Expo 70 Commemorative Park and Tsurumi Ryokuchi Park. read all 2009/04/03 - Cherry Blossom Report: Yokohama Reporting from Mitsuike Park, Sankeien, Negishi Forest Park and Mitsuzawa Park. read all 2009/03/30 - Cherry Blossom Report: Nagoya Reporting from Nagoya Castle, Yamazaki River and Tsuruma Park. read all 2009/03/25 - Cherry Blossom Report: Kyoto Reporting from the Philosopher's Path, Maruyama Park, Heian Shrine, Okazaki Canal and the Keage Incline. read all 2009/02/27 - Rainy Izu Peninsula Cherry blossoms, sea cucumber walls and a spectacular open air bath. read all 2009/02/26 - Cherry Blossoms in Kawazu Early hanami (cherry blossom viewing) in Kawazu Town on the Izu Peninsula. read all 2008/11/20 - Miyajima This year's western most autum leaf report brought me to Miyajima, the scenic island off Hiroshima. read all 2008/11/18 - Mino Park Autumn colors have finally descended into lower elevations and southern latitudes of Japan. Today, I visited Mino Park, one of Osaka's most popular koyo spots. read all 2008/11/12 - Fuji Five Lakes Great autumn colors but no weather luck on this report trip to Fujigoko (Fuji Five Lakes). read all 2008/10/28 - Shirakami Sanchi (2) Second day of our visit to Shirakami Sanchi, site of Japan's last virgin beech forests. read all 2008/10/27 - Shirakami Sanchi Autumn visit to one of Japan's least known world heritage sites, Shirakami Sanchi in the northern Tohoku region. read all 2008/10/16 - Nikko Observing autumn colors along the hiking trails of Oku-Nikko. read all 2008/10/10 - Akagiyama On my first autumn leaf trip to a destination in the Kanto Region this year, I visited Akagiyama in Gunma Prefecture. read all 2008/10/08 - Shiretoko Peninsula Viewing autumn colors on the Shiretoko Peninsula, a World Natural Heritage Site and one of Japan's wildest and most beautiful national parks. read all 2008/09/26 - Sounkyo Onsen Today I went to check out autumn colors in Sounkyo Onsen and Mount Kurodake above it. read all 2008/09/25 - Daisetsu Kogen Onsen Kogen Onsen's most popular attraction is a circular hiking course through the area's pond dotted highlands. read all 2008/09/24 - Mount Asahidake Mount Asahidake in Daisetsuzan National Park is Hokkaido's highest mountain and the first spot in Japan to see autumn colors (and snow). read all 2007/12/08 - Arashiyama Hanatoro From December 8 to 17, Kyoto's pleasant Arashiyama district remains crowded even after sunset, as lanes are lined by lanterns, ikebana works are exhibited in the streets, and forests and temples are lit up. read all 2007/04/12 - Kanazawa's wealth of attractions Almost four years after my last visit, I headed to Kanazawa with the purpose of collecting new material for the improvement of the Kanazawa sightseeing guide at japan-guide.com. read all 2007/04/04 - Sanyo Coast in Full Bloom I tried to coincide this trip to Hiroshima, Miyajima and Iwakuni with the peak of the cherry blossom season. Luckily, the sakura forecasts proved to be accurate. read all 2007/02/28 - Niseko and the Australian invasion Niseko is a ski resort on Japan's northernmost island of Hokkaido, famous for excellent powder snow and for its big popularity among foreign visitors. read all 2007/02/27 - Cassiopeia Night Train The Cassiopeia is a night train, connecting Tokyo with Sapporo on the northern island of Hokkaido. read all 2007/01/31 - Cherry Blossoms in Okinawa In the southernmost prefecture of Okinawa, cherry trees start flowering as early as late January to early February. read all 2007/01/26 - Skiing in Naeba The resort is dominated by the huge Naeba Prince Hotel complex, which offers more than 1000 guest rooms directly at the bottom of the ski slopes. read all 2006/12/03 - Chichibu Festival Today I went to see the Chichibu Festival, which is held every year on December 2 and 3 in the small city of Chichibu in the mountains of western Saitama Prefecture. read all 2006/12/02 - Tanigawa Onsen (Minakami) Tanigawa Onsen is one of several hot spring resorts within the municipality of Minakami Town in northern Gunma Prefecture. The small resort town is located at the foot of Mount Tanigawa. read all 2006/11/26 - Kyoto Autumn Color Report (11): Hotel Report While the autumn leaves were the main objective of our stay in Kyoto, a second objective was to get familiar with some of the city's leading hotels and ryokan. read all 2006/11/25 - Kyoto Autumn Color Report (10) Today was the last day of our Kyoto autumn color report tour. Our only koyo related activity was a visit to Kinkakuji. read all 2006/11/24 - Kyoto Autumn Color Report (9) In the morning, we visited Yoshiminedera, a spacious temple complex, built into the slopes of Kyoto's western mountains (Nishiyama). read all 2006/11/23 - Kyoto Autumn Color Report (8) The upcoming weekend will be the peak of this year's autumn leaf travel activities in Kyoto, but many spots are expected to remain in a beautiful state for at least another week. read all 2006/11/22 - Kyoto Autumn Color Report (7) With a delay of about one week with respect to the average year, the autumn leaf season is now approaching its peak in central Kyoto. read all 2006/11/21 - Kyoto Autumn Color Report (6) With disbelief we noticed today that the autumn leaf information board at the tourist office in Kyoto Station has not been updated for five days. read all 2006/11/20 - Kyoto Autumn Color Report (5) The weather remained overcast today with occasional showers. We visited the Sento Imperial Palace in the morning and Ohara in the afternoon. After dinner, we enjoyed lit up autumn colors. read all 2006/11/19 - Kyoto Autumn Color Report (4) It was raining today and I spent the afternoon working in the hotel room. In the morning I walked from Kiyomizudera to Gion and visited Kiyomizudera and Kodaiji. read all 2006/11/18 - Kyoto Autumn Color Report (3): Takao Today I made my first trip to Takao, a small temple town in a wooded valley in the mountains north of Kyoto, famous for autumn leaves. read all 2006/11/17 - Kyoto Autumn Color Report (2): Hieizan Today we went to Hieizan (Mount Hiei), one of the few spots in and around Kyoto where autumn leaves are reported to have fully changed colors already. read all 2006/11/16 - Kyoto Autumn Color Report (1) The second half of November is usually the best time to enjoy the colorful autumn leaves in Kyoto. During the next nine days, I will use this blog to report about this year's autumn leaf season in Kyoto. read all 2006/11/08 - Shima Onsen Shima Onsen is a hot spring town in the mountains of Gunma Prefecture, attractively located along the river of a wooded valley. The timing was good for viewing autumn colors. read all 2006/10/25 - Autumn colors at Mount Tanigawa Today I made my first visit to Minakami Town in northern Gunma Prefecture. The trip's objectives: autumn color viewing around Mount Tanigawa and hot spring bathing at Takaragawa Onsen. read all