Japan · Areas
Kanto
Tokyo and the six prefectures around it. From the remains of Edo Castle and the old capital of Kamakura to Nikko and Hakone, many places make an easy day trip from Tokyo.
Prefectures · Ibaraki · Tochigi · Gunma · Saitama · Chiba · Tokyo · Kanagawa
City guides
Start with a city
Every city guide has a timeline, stories of local figures, must-see sights, festivals and local etiquette.
Places to explore
Kanto
Sensō-ji
Beneath the great lantern of the Kaminarimon: where Edo charm meets Tokyo's everyday bustle
teamLab Borderless Azabudai
'A museum without a map': light flowing, merging and being reborn in a borderless space
Shibuya Crossing
Three thousand people cross on a single green light: urban performance art at the world's busiest crossing
.jpg?width=800)
Kamakura-Kōkōmae Station crossing
Straight out of the 'Slam Dunk' opening: a three-panel manga of train, sea, sky and level crossing
Kawagoe 'Little Edo'
'Little Edo, thirty ri away': a kimono stroll through kura-style streets and the Bell of Time
Edo Wonderland Nikkō Edomura
Back to Edo: a day's 'costume life' as a ninja, oiran or samurai
Meiji Jingū
A 700,000-m² 'urban forest' in the middle of the city, a tranquil sanctuary of Shinto culture
Tokyo Tower
The 333-m 'red tower of Shōwa', an undying romantic beacon for generations of Japanese
Akihabara Electric Town
An 'Electric Town' that 'changed careers' from post-war electrical black market to otaku mecca — the spiritual homeland of anime and manga devot…
Yokohama Chinatown
With more than 160 years of history, the largest Chinatown in Japan and Asia, where ten gates hold up a 'little China'. Chinese compradors who c…
Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse
Bonded warehouses from the end of the Meiji era reborn as Minato Mirai's most romantic cultural and shopping landmark. Two red-brick buildings s…
Great Buddha of Kamakura
A giant bronze Buddha that has sat in the open air for more than 700 years — the second-largest Buddha statue in Japan. 11.3 m tall and weighing…
Hase-dera, Kamakura
A 'temple of flowers' facing Sagami Bay, enshrining a 9.18-m Eleven-Headed Kannon. In early summer more than 40 varieties of hydrangea cascade d…
.jpg?width=800)
Enoshima
A sacred island in Sagami Bay, born of the legend of 'the heavenly maiden and the five-headed dragon', with shrines, gardens, a lighthouse, cave…
Ameyoko, Ueno
A downtown Tokyo 'bazaar' that grew out of the post-war black market: 400 shops squeezed under the elevated railway make a street-life symphony.…
Tokyo Disney Resort
Asia's first Disney resort: the classic fairy tales of the 'Land' and the globally unique romance of the 'Sea', with just a wall between them. T…
.jpg?width=800)
Sumidagawa Fireworks Festival
July 25, 2026
Japan's oldest fireworks festival, with about 300 years of history on the river in old Edo: about 20,000 shells light up the night sky over Asak…
Tsuchiura National Fireworks Competition
November 7, 2026
The only one of Japan's three great fireworks competitions held in one of the three big metropolitan areas — an autumn contest where about 800,0…
Otaki Castle
Around Otaki Town, Isumi District, Chiba Prefecture, now Otaki Castle Ruins Park; a flatland-hill castle housing the Otaki Branch of the Chiba P…
Odawara Castle
Jonai area, Odawara City, Kanagawa Prefecture, now Odawara Castle Ruins Park; a flatland-hill castle and one of Japan's 100 famous castles, whos…
Tomioka Silk Mill
Tomioka City, Gunma Prefecture, about 100 kilometres from Tokyo; Japan's first government-run modern silk-reeling factory, inscribed in 2014 on …
Kusatsu Onsen
Kusatsu Town, Agatsuma District, Gunma Prefecture, at about 1,200 metres altitude; counted in folk listings among Japan's Three Famous Hot Sprin…
.jpg?width=800)
Edomae sushi
Today's nigiri sushi began as Edo's street 'fast food'.
East Gardens of the Imperial Palace (site of Edo Castle)
Edo Castle, built by Ōta Dōkan in 1457, later became the residence of the Tokugawa shoguns; today the Honmaru area is open free as a garden.
.jpg?width=800)
Hakone
A natural barrier on the Tōkaidō: the torii in Lake Ashi, the Edo checkpoint, and Mount Fuji when the sky is clear.
Nikko Toshogu
Where Tokugawa Ieyasu rests: the dazzling Yōmeimon gate, the Sleeping Cat and the Three Wise Monkeys, hidden in a forest of towering cedars.
Kanda Matsuri
One of Edo's three great festivals: a day-long procession of the hōren and mikoshi through Kanda, Nihonbashi and Akihabara, then a weekend of ne…