In Japan, Kyoto is one of the more brilliant, albeit crowded, locations for viewing beautiful cherry blossom scenes in spring. The prefecture’s ancient shrines, temples, and rivers are the oh-so-scenic backdrops to your cherry blossom experience. Here are some of the best spots for hanami (cherry blossoms viewing picnic) in and around Japan’s cultural capital.

Cherry Blossom 2021 Travel Tips

• Use our interactive map on the homepage of GaijinPot Travel for the most up-to-date forecast!
• Festival dates may change to match the blooming of the flowers, so it’s worth double-checking before you go.
• Cherry blossoms are super popular in Japan, so even locations with a lower popularity ranking are likely to attract plenty of people. Visit on weekdays to avoid the worst of the crowds.

Japan’s southern regions, Kyushu and Shikoku, are the first to show signs of spring as the cherry blossoms bloom across Japan like a pink tidal wave. Kyushu’s capital, Fukuoka, is famous for its ramen, but don’t let your taste buds pull you away from Fukuoka’s superb flower viewing locations. Neighboring prefectures such as Kagoshima and Kumamoto, as well as the spectacular sakura views found in Shikoku, will make any trip to Japan’s southern islands this spring an excellent experience.

Cherry Blossom 2021 Travel Tips

• Use our interactive map on the homepage of GaijinPot Travel for the most up-to-date forecast!
• Festival dates may change to match the blooming of the flowers, so it’s worth double-checking before you go.
• Cherry blossoms are super popular in Japan, so even locations with a lower popularity ranking are likely to attract plenty of people. Visit on weekdays to avoid the worst of the crowds.

Hiroshima is in the heart of the Chugoku region on the western side of Japan’s main island of Honshu. Hiroshima and surrounding Chugoku prefectures such as Okayama, Yamaguchi, and Shimane are filled with traditional architecture, lush parks, and long stretches of awe-inspiring natural scenery.

Cherry Blossom 2021 Travel Tips

• Use our interactive map on the homepage of GaijinPot Travel for the most up-to-date forecast!
• Festival dates may change to match the blooming of the flowers, so it’s worth double-checking before you go.
• Cherry blossoms are super popular in Japan, so even locations with a lower popularity ranking are likely to attract plenty of people. Visit on weekdays to avoid the worst of the crowds.

Tohoku is the northernmost region of Japan’s main island of Honshu. It’s famous for some of the country’s most gorgeous natural scenery, fresh vegetables and seafood, plus its deep culture. Famous Japanese poet Matsuo Bassho was inspired to write a collection of prose and poems called Narrow Road to the Deep North based on his travels in Tohoku, and it’s sure to be inspiring to everyone who visits to this day.

Just a quick 90-minute bullet train ticket from Tokyo (around ¥10,000), Tohoku is a part of Japan you can visit again and again. Different prefectures in different seasons will provide an unforgettable experience each time.

If you’re a lover of dramatic alpine scenery, you really need to make the trip out to the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route, a path traversing the Northern Japan Alps in central Japan. The whole route is an impressive 90 kilometers, stretching from Tateyama Station in Toyama Prefecture to Shinano-Omachi station in neighboring Nagano Prefecture, climbing to an elevation of 3,015 meters as it crosses the peak of Mount Tateyama.

This spectacular route can be traversed via ropeways and cable cars, so children and those who are not avid hikers can also enjoy its incredible scenery. Each point where you change transportation has something to see and do, though the biggest stops along the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route are Murodo, Daikanbo and Kurobe Dam.

Murodo

Walled in by snow.

The famed Snow Corridor starts in Murodo, the highest point of the route 2400m up on Mt Tateyama, accessible by the “Highland Bus” from Bijodaira Station. It’s a mere width of two vehicles carefully cut out from the meters-high snow deposited in a place that gets one of the heaviest snow-falls in the world. This part of the route is probably the most well-known and widely photographed, drawing in many foreign tourists and domestic travelers alike during peak season. In mid-April, the road is opened for visitors to walk between the sheer snow walls often towering up to 20 meters high.

Autumn Colors in Chubu

The only hotel on the whole route lies here, with the restaurant serving day-trippers affordable and well-portioned hot meals. From Murodo, you need to take the Tunnel Trolley Bus, powered by electricity generated from the Kurobe Dam to Daikanbo where the Tateyama Ropeway starts.

Daikanbo

Take the Tateyama Ropeway for some epic vistas.

At Daikanbo there are a few stalls selling souvenirs and snacks like onigiri (rice balls) and soft-serve ice cream to enjoy whilst taking in the view of the surrounding mountain peaks from the observation deck. From here, visitors need to hop on the Tateyama Ropeway to continue on the route to Kurobedaira. The 1.7 kilometer-long ropeway connects Daikanbo on Mount Tateyama to Kurobedaira on the neighboring mountain. With no supporting towers in between, this is Japan’s longest one-span ropeway.

The Tateyama Ropeway has panoramic views of the surrounding alpine scenery—tundra and snow-covered peaks in the spring, alpine flowers and teeming foliage in late summer, and colorful leaves in the fall. The trip is worth it just for this portion of the route.

Kurobe Dam

Dam! That’s big.

A five-minute cable car’s ride away from Kurobedaira soars the 186m high Kurobe Dam, the tallest in Japan to which visitors can come in extremely close proximity to. Explore the spectacular structure from viewing platforms carved out on the top and sides of this monster which discharges up to 15 tons of water per second from the Kurobe lake!

Apart from observing the dam from above, sightseeing cruises are offered on the lake in front from June to November, making it the highest altitude boat ride in the country. The dam is walkable and has a few shops selling hot food and souvenirs.

From the dam, you will need to cross to Akasawadake, the final mountain on this route, just a short walk away. The second Tunnel Trolley Bus runs from here to Ogizawa on the other side of the mountain, also the final stop on the route from which taxis and local buses that service the wider Nagano area pass through. A popular choice is to take a bus from Ogizawa to Shinano-Omachi Station, which has many convenient train lines and buses ready to bring you to your next destination.

About less than an hour away from the capital of Yamagata Prefecture by bus, Zao Onsen is a ski resort and hot spring town with a long history. While the most popular season to come visit is undoubtedly in the winter to take full advantage of the quality of snow, there’s still so many things to do and see regardless of the season.

Skiing and Ice Monsters

Carve through ice monsters at Zao ski resort.

There are multiple ski equipment rental shops available as well as several ski and snowboarding schools in town. Lift tickets are valid on all of the lifts throughout the resort, ranging from a 4-hour ticket for ¥4000 to a 7-day ticket for ¥21,600. There are also season ticket options. Suffice it to say, you have no excuse not to spend your day zipping down the scenic mountain slopes. With 15 slopes and 12 courses, there is enough of a range to satisfy complete beginners as well as seasoned pros.

Take a cable-car to the top of Mount Zao to get an aerial view of the juhyo or ice monsters – rows of snow-covered trees that look like gnarled creatures out of a dreamscape which you’ll have skied or boarded through earlier. Temperatures can go as low as -20C so make sure to bundle up.

Zao Onsen Outdoor Hot Springs

Photo by: Zao Onsen Dairotenburo The epic waters of the Zao Onsen Dai Rotenburo.

Once you’ve tired yourself out, wind down in one of the many onsen (hot springs) that give the town its name. Supposedly discovered in 110 A.D., Zao’s hot springs are the oldest in the Tohoku region. The waters are renowned for their high-acidity which helps heal skin conditions and gastrointestinal disorders – whatever the benefits, this is bath time at its most epic.

There are three public bathhouses and each hotel has its own fully fitted onsen too. However, it’s the three open-air onsen you should make time for. Sitting in a hot bath while looking out into the forest at any time of the year is an unforgettable experience.

The Dai Rotenburo (Big Outdoor Spring) sits deep in a mountain ravine. With views that overlook the surrounding snow-coated mountains and forests, it makes stripping off in front of strangers totally worth it. Plus, this particular onsen is one of our Top 30 Tattoo-friendly onsen in Japan.

Hiking Mount Zao

Most famous for having the shape of a pot, Okama crater can only be seen at a distance.

If you miss the winter season, Zao Onsen is a hiker’s paradise during the rest of the year. Mountain guides can be hired to show you around or simply choose one of its many courses and explore by yourself. Most routes lead to the enormous Okama crater, or the Five Color Lake, in the middle of volcanic Mount Zao.

Take the Zao Echo Line trail to Kattadake, from where you can get a view of the crater from a picture-perfect distance.

Zao is a magical place, filled with natural elegance no matter the season.

It is not difficult to see why countless visitors flock to the famous “hell” in Nagano Prefecture especially in winter.

The world-famous “Snow Monkey Park” is located in the Valley of Yokoyu River in northern Nagano, where steep cliffs and steaming hot springs in the area resemble harsh hell-like conditions — but in a picturesque kind of way. Hence the park name Jigokudani, which literally means “Hell Valley” in Japanese.

Thanks to the heavy snow that the park receives each year, we are able to watch families of Japanese macaque monkeys happily bathe in roasting hot springs up close.

Hell Valley

Can’t monkeys get a little privacy?

The drive up to Jigokudani through a mountainous forest is quite bendy and narrow. But once you arrive, you will instantly realize the changes in your surrounding landscape. Suddenly, there are only cliffs, rivers and steam coming from small hot springs.

Explore Nagano

The park is open all-year-round and is beautiful in all seasons. Winter, though, is by far the best season to visit as the snow monkeys are most likely to be bathing in the hot springs, which is listed as one of GaijinPot’s Travel’s iconic cultural experiences. Needless to say, the bathing monkeys are cute to watch. Monkey babies napping on their mother’s tummy also makes an adorable scene.

Bathing macaques

The famous snow monkeys of Nagano.

There are over 160 snow monkeys at Jigokudani. Visitors can get close, but make sure you don’t touch or feed them. (There are plenty of staff members checking human behaviors.)

Unfortunately, the outdoor hot bath is only for the monkeys, but there is no need to be jealous. You can take a dip in the ryokan (Japanese style inn) called Jigokudani Onsen Korakukan, which is on your way to the park entrance.

If you’d like more hot spring options, know that you’re in a hot spring town already! Shibu Onsen and Yudanaka Onsen are two other popular destinations in the Yamanouchi area, so make sure you take your time and soak in the Nagano vibes besides adoring fluffy, pink-faced snow monkeys.

Connoisseurs of Japanese noodles must head north to the capital of Iwate Prefecture, home of the “Three Great Noodles of Morioka.”

Criss-crossed by rivers and hemmed in by mountains, Morioka has been nicknamed “the capital of forest and water” for its natural beauty. A generous array of festivals truly makes this city come alive with color and excitement.

Morioka cherry blossoms

Cherry Blossoms in Morioka.

The Ishiwarizakura, or rock-splitting cherry tree, is Morioka’s most intriguingly unique attraction, and a national treasure of Japan. Located on the grounds of the district courthouse, it’s a beautiful 400-year-old cherry tree growing mysteriously through two broken halves of a granite boulder.

The beloved tree is an inspiring sight, especially when change-heralding sakura bloom in the spring.

Three Great Noodles

Famous wanka soba.

With Morioka’s three types of famous noodles, you could eat a different bowl for every meal of the day.

Reimen and jajamen have worldly influences: potato-starch based ramen noodles are based on a Korean dish and often served with kimchi and even a slice of fruit, while tasty jajamen is the local version of Chinese black bean noodles.

But the most interesting dish of all is wanko soba, arguably the most fun and game-like noodle-eating experience you could have.

The thin buckwheat noodles are served in bite-size portions in tiny bowls, but every time you slurp a bowl down, an attentive server will immediately replace it. The noodles are all-you-can-eat, and customers typically compete with each other to see who can stack up the most empty dishes.

Seasonal festivals

The Morioka Sansa Odori Festival.

For a small city, Morioka hosts some spectacularly vibrant and popular festivals.

Chagu Chagu Umakko Festival

On the second Saturday of June, the adorably named Chagu Chagu Umakko Festival sees 100 horses paraded through the streets and hills. Chagu chagu is an onomatopoeia for the sound of tinkling bells, and it’s fitting because the horses are decked out in beautiful traditional decorations.

Morioka Sansa Festival

August 1 to 4 brings the Morioka Sansa Festival, the largest taiko parade in the world. In the pulsing heat of summer, teams of dancers twirl energetically through the streets to the sound of taiko drums and flutes.

Morioka Fall Festival

The Morioka Fall Festival is a shrine festival held annually from September 14 to 16. Floats are paraded through the streets, and a traditional Yabusame ceremony is held at Hachimangu Shrine, where archers shoot targets from the backs of galloping horses.

The parade starts from the shrine at 1 p.m. on the first day of the festival, and at 6 p.m. from Morioka Castle Ruins Park on the second day. The exciting horseback archery kicks off at Hachimangu Shrine at 1 p.m. on the last day of the festival.

Iwate Prefecture hosted two matches during the 2019 Rugby World Cup in nearby city Kamaishi. Check out our Kamishi travel guide to plan your trip! 

It’s been a scary year, and everyone is looking for an escape. We asked our readers to vote for their top 10 travel destinations in Japan for 2021 (once travel is safe again), and these are their picks.

Each destination highlights an escape from busy tourist spots and everyday life for a chance to reflect and get back in touch with nature or even discover the heart of communities in rural and small-town Japan.

If you’re traveling to one of these destinations, we want to hear about it. Tag us on social media with #GaijinPotTravel.

Higashiyama Onsen is a historical onsen (hot spring) town located on the eastern outskirts of Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima Prefecture. More than 1,300 years old, the town’s healing waters have been a respite for Buddhist priests, noble samurai, and weary travelers alike.

Today, Higashiyama Onsen is known as one of Tohoku’s top three onsen resorts. About 15 different hot spring hotels and ryokan (traditional inn) and hotels sit along the tranquil Yu River, nestled in a scenic valley. The old-style wooden ryokan are the best option, as they give you the impression of stepping back in time and make you feel like an honored guest in real traditional Japan.

Mukaitaki Ryokan

Photo by: M Murakami Onsen for nobles and pilgrims alike.

Mukaitaki Ryokan is undoubtedly the most famous among Higashiyama Onsen’s ryokan. It’s well known as the valley’s most prominent landmark. It also offers its guests one of the most authentic onsen experiences you can have.

Discover Aizuwakamtsu

The Mukaitaki offers several onsen baths, one of them being kazoku style, where you can enjoy the hot spring in private with your family.

The food on offer is decidedly Japanese and features local ingredients. The Aizu region is famous for sweet-water fish, beef, and delicious vegetables. The sake made from local rice is divine. Depending on the season, you will get served the best in a multitude of dishes.

Enjoy a geisha performance

Photo by: Sayaca Autumn in Higashiyama Onsen.

Higashiyama Onsen is a certified geisha district. Thus, you can experience what it’s like to be entertained by a real, traditionally trained geisha.

The geisha of Higashiyama Onsen, locally known as geigi or kanariko, are refined stage performers, masters at playing the shamisen, and singing ancient songs about love and life. Seeing them dance and perform in their elegant kimono is utterly unforgettable.

Booking a geisha for a performance at your dinner table is also possible. While on the pricey side, sharing the bill with a group of friends would make it still quite affordable.