8 Locations to Find out in Japan off the Overwhelmed Path

Japan is getting a travel heyday correct now – and rightfully so – it is an outstanding region.  In reality, it is a person of my most loved countries to journey to. Nonetheless, in my quest to obtain the lesser-traveled locations anywhere I go, I invested a whole lot of time in Japan off the beaten route on a number of visits to Japan!
I’ll give you thoughts on going past the conventional Tokyo to Kyoto route and finding absent from the crowds.  I’ll introduce you to some preferred concealed gems from my travels in Japan, from the spectacular Iya Valley in Shikoku to the horse lifestyle of Tokachi to the snow-capped Japanese Alps and the wild shoreline of Tohoku. These destinations dwell in the shadows of Japan, which couple intercontinental site visitors know about.

Overtourism in Japan
According to the Japan Tourism Company, the amount of readers to Japan has returned to pre-pandemic amounts, with in excess of 17 million persons visiting amongst January and September 2023. The draw back to these website visitors is that they are inclined to flock to all the identical metropolitan areas Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. These towns are phenomenal even so, they are crowded.  The inflow of vacationers also provides elevated petty criminal offense, squander administration difficulties, sound pollution, and overcrowding, which can negatively have an impact on the ecosystem and disrupt the lives of locals. 
Travelers in Japan also are inclined to flock to Mt. Fuji.  Nonetheless, so several individuals climbed the iconic Mt. Fuji, queues ended up at the best, and the surroundings was damaged.
Impression by Jason Goh at Pixabay
This has led the Japanese Tourism Agency to build steps to relieve this overtourism. They lately specified 11 areas across the nation as “model tourism destinations“, hoping to really encourage abroad website visitors to explore past metropolitan parts though in the state.
In that vein, I too have determined a number of of my favourite Japan off-the-overwhelmed-path places! Obtaining distinctive travel encounters and lesser-traveled locations in the environment is my specialty.  Soon after in depth visits to Japan, I have often enjoyed these smaller villages, and lesser-regarded prefectures to the a lot more well known kinds.
I hope you can working experience a much more tranquil, significantly less populated side of Japan that immerses you further into its distinctive Japanese lifestyle.
Add These Hidden Gems to Your Japan Itinerary
I have not been almost everywhere in Japan, but I have been to every of the areas outlined down below.  Some are far more concealed than others, but all of them are excellent solutions to include to any Japan itinerary so that you can be confident to practical experience the slower, lesser-recognized facet of Japan in addition to places like Tokyo and Kyoto.  Basically – I also supplied an off-the-crushed-path Tokyo neighborhood in this record!
Some of these places are extremely certain spots within a prefecture, and some are larger sized regions you can vacation by way of that are much less traveled as a total. Thanks to Japan’s unbelievable transit possibilities – all of these lesser-recognised destinations are accessible by general public transit.  Isn’t that unbelievable?!
Map of Japan Off the Beaten Route Suggestions

Tokachi – Hokkaido Prefecture
We’ll get started at the northernmost portion of Japan – Hokkaido. Most persons adhere to Sapporo, the capital city of Hokkaido prefecture. Tokachi is an location of southeastern Hokkaido surrounded by nationwide parks. It felt like the Midwest of Japan with its landscapes dotted with small farms. The premier town in Tokachi is Obihiro, the place I was based mostly in the course of my visit. 
Tokachi’s rural landscapes
Points to do in Tokachi off the Beaten Route
Let us be real – only by likely to Tokachi, you are much off the overwhelmed route.  Pretty handful of worldwide visitors at any time take a look at below, which usually means it feels untouched in a way. 
It’s truly worth paying a day or so just examining out Obihiro with its charming parks and the Obihiro Town Museum. Moreover, due to the fact Obihiro is popular for its food stuff, be confident to consider “buta-don” (pork rice bowl), a neighborhood specialty. Also, try out “katsu-don” (breaded pork cutlet around rice) at a single of the city’s numerous dining places.
If you like mixology or Japanese Whiskey, then make certain you quit at A Glass Shot Bar.  You are going to fulfill the operator and award-successful bartender there, who mesmerized me with his mixology capabilities and methods. We could only converse via Google Translate and a few props.
If you are looking for a thing special, Banei Horse Racing is the only race of its sort in the world and can take place in Obihiro. Massive draft horses race on a distinctive training course in a 200 m straight line even though pulling an iron sled that weighs up to 1 ton. And to make it even a lot more particular, spectators can run and cheer on the facet of the course with the horse.
This is also a terrific probability to expertise extra of the Ainu indigenous tradition that exists in Hokkaido. The local Obihiro Ainu tradition preservation modern society is commencing to offer you travellers cultural encounters to much better understand the first Japanese background.
Make certain you get out into the rural spots that Tokachi is well-known for through a cycle tour by the agricultural countryside. You can knowledge Tokachi’s uniqueness with all 5 senses as you satisfy farmers, wander through the fields, and flavor the neighborhood develop, all though traveling by bicycle.  
Don’t miss out on your possibility to soak in a exceptional moor very hot spring in Tokachi.  Tokachigawa Onsen is a “moor sizzling springs” with a substantial material of organic and natural substances, which include plants.   Its large degrees of natural plant make any difference give the drinking water a brown and pink shade, and it is known to leave the skin sensation delicate and easy.  

Draft horses
Ainu share their cultural dances
Banei horse racing
Try out Buta-Don in Obihiro
A Glass cocktail bar
Biking by means of Tokachi rural backroads

How to Get to Tokachi
The Tokachi place can be accessed from Tokyo or by public transportation from Sapporo.
Fly from Tokyo to Tokachi-Obihiro Airport. It will take 30 minutes by auto or 40 minutes by bus to Obihiro Station from the airport. It normally takes all-around a few several hours from Chitose Airport or Sapporo Station to access Obihiro Station by practice.
Tohoku Location
The Tohoku region contains the 6 northernmost prefectures on Japan’s most important island: Aomori, Akita, Iwate, Sendai, Yamagata, and Fukushima. Incredibly several overseas guests wander off the overwhelmed route to Tohoku, so you’ll enjoy being an anomaly.
The region features terrific organic elegance and an abundance of natural methods, these as scrumptious fresh new seafood. There are quite a few sights to see, like the most stunning cliffs in Japan, the wonderful landscapes of the Ria shoreline, the sheer abundance of the world’s third-major fishing grounds, and far more.
I frequented Tohoku to check out out Japan’s most recent long-length hiking route, the Michinoku Coastal Path, a 1000+ km trail. The paved streets and forest trails tie collectively a location that joined in harmony to rebuild just after the 2011 East Japan earthquake and tsunami. It is a wonderful addition to Japan’s other ancient pilgrimage routes. Useless to say – there’s a great deal of journey in Tohoku along the coastal trail!
The rugged Kitayamazaki Cliffs in Tohoku
Points to do in Tohoku off the Beaten Route
One of the ideal hikes from the prolonged-length Michinoku Coastal Trail is the Urato Islands of Matsushima Bay.  The islands have not been designed as a vacationer vacation spot, and guests can appreciate the conventional tranquil Sanriku island landscapes.  In addition, the bay gives breathtaking landscapes consisting of oddly shaped rocks eroded by the waves of the Pacific Ocean. Just take a boat to see them up near!
For a true challenge, hike the Kitayamazaki Cliffs.  The 200-meter-tall sheer cliffs boast the most effective coastal natural beauty of any coastal landscape in Japan. This was my preferred hike as component of the Michinoku Coastal Path!
In addition to hiking sections of the coastal path, you can also bicycle it in lots of areas, these types of as the area all-around Rikuzentakata Town. You can pedal by rice fields and untouched coastlines – a actual concealed gem in Tohoku.
You just cannot invest time in Tohoku without having paying homage to the 2011 tsunami that devastated the location. To understand a lot more about the catastrophe and, most importantly, the resiliency of the men and women in the location – prevent at the Iwate Tsunami Memorial in Rikuzentakata City.
L’OreoleTanohata cafe is practically hidden, tucked in concerning the trees and cliffs of the Rias Coast. At lunchtime, L’OreoleTanohata is a preferred restaurant opened by a Japanese chef (French-trained) who is passionate about neighborhood resources and aims to produce the neighborhood food stuff culture. Dishes that bring out the goodness of the ingredients themselves with no avoidable seasoning express the richness of the land. 
Test out Soma City the place the trail begins.  You can take a look at the Nakamura Shrine and consider some tasty Soma beef Menchikatsu below. It is beef that is deep-fried on the location when requested! The warm and juicy menchikatsu is prosperous and total of flavor!
Get pleasure from having in the drinking water at Jodogahama Beach and Sanriku Fukko (reconstruction) Nationwide Park.  Cease in at the customer middle and walk alongside the boardwalk to view the gorgeous white rocks in the sea. The water is a attractive turquoise and fantastic for kayaking, stand-up paddle boarding, or swimming! I took a kayak tour, letting us to get up near to the abnormal rock formations.

Mountaineering Rias Coast
Beef Menchikatsu
Michinoku Coastal Trail
Matsushima Bay
Michinoku Coastal Trail
Jodogahama Seashore
Iwate Tsunami Memorial
L’OreoleTanohata
L’OreoleTanohata cafe

If you are wanting for a gorgeous put off the crushed path to knowledge cherry blossom time, approach to go to Hitome Senbonzakura together the Shiroishi River in the southern element of Miyagi Prefecture. Right here you will come across 8 kilometers of cherry blossom trees along the river embankment, creating a beautiful landscape with a majestic snow-capped Zao Mountains backdrop.
How to Get to Tohoku:
Tohoku Shinkansen is a bullet teach that connects Tokyo with Aomori at the northern suggestion of Honshu. The Tohoku Shinkansen is operated by JR East. You can make use of the JR Go for this coach.
Yanaka Neighborhood Tokyo
Thinking of Tokyo is the most popular position for holidaymakers, it is tough to uncover concealed sites in Tokyo – but it is doable! Welcome to the Yanaka neighborhood.
This historic neighborhood located in the Taito ward of Tokyo, Japan is regarded for its standard, aged-world environment.  It is well known to stop by if you want to experience the ‘old Tokyo’.  Thankfully, not quite a few holidaymakers want to see Aged Tokyo – they’d fairly adhere to the glitzy places.
Yanaka is also recognized for its big populace of stray cats. Some locals and businesses have taken measures to care for these cats, generating it a preferred vacation spot for cat enthusiasts like me!
Yanaka Neighborhood Tokyo
Points to do in Yanaka off the Crushed Route
Consider a food stuff tour in Yanaka from Arigato Food items Excursions and strike many of the areas outlined below.  I did this final time in Tokyo and fell in really like with the neighborhood. As well as – I realized so a great deal about Japanese food items and restaurants that I could utilize as I traveled throughout Japan!
Wander the Yanaka Ginza Procuring Avenue. The pedestrian-friendly buying street is lined with tiny outlets, cafes, and eating places. It’s a excellent spot to discover and check out common Japanese treats and souvenirs.
The Yanaka cemetery is a resting location for quite a few historic figures and a peaceful area with cherry blossoms in spring and vibrant foliage in autumn. Choose a walk by this beautiful room whole of 7000 gravesites, and stone paths, and soak in the tranquil atmosphere.
Nezu Shrine: A Shinto shrine with wonderful vermilion gates, a pond, and a well-manicured backyard. It is a serene spot for visitors to investigate.
Participate in a tea ceremony. The to start with flooring of Gallery Okubo is filled with antique tea utensils and pottery.  Nevertheless, wander upstairs and you will discover a special small tea area. Listed here you can practical experience an reliable Japanese tea ceremony. The best section is that they make use of antique teapots and cups, and they modify in each year.
Scai the Bathhouse: This modern day artwork gallery is housed in a renovated community bathhouse and functions a variety of modern artwork exhibitions. If you like modern day artwork – you’ll unquestionably want to cease listed here.

Antique Tea Cup
Tea Ceremony
Foods Tour
Yanaka Cemetery

Discover about my other Tokyo off the Overwhelmed Path recommendations
How to Get to Yanaka
You can get to Yanaka simply utilizing public transportation. The nearest educate station to Yanaka is Nippori Station, which is very well-connected to the rest of Tokyo by means of the JR Lines.
Matsumoto in Nagano Prefecture
Matsumoto is not always a little city but a lot more of a lesser-visited city.  The peaks of the Japanese Alps can be found in the distance. While the centre of city is quite modern day, the town retains much of its heritage from olden moments, and many of the vestiges are however seen in the again alleys and outlying locations.
It is probably most effective acknowledged for its castle, constructed in 1504.  The first moats and stone walls even now continue being intact. The castle was just one of my preferred items to take a look at in this place so really don’t miss out on it!
Matsumoto Castle
Issues to do in Matsumoto off the Beaten Route
Tour the Matsumoto Castle:  Matsumoto Castle is a single of 5 castles selected as ‘National Treasures of Japan’ and the oldest 5-tiered, 6-story castle tower remaining in Japan. You are going to obtain a modest stand in close proximity to the castle entrance that properties English-talking tour guides.  They are volunteers and their companies are free (no guidelines permitted).  I beloved our guideline and uncovered so considerably. It’s a excellent way to see the castle and find out about the record of the samuari there.  They run year-round from 10:00 to 15:00 everyday.
Matsumoto Town Museum of Art:  Get pleasure from common Japanese calligraphy and present day artwork.  The museum genuinely focuses on neighborhood expertise which includes Yayoi Kusama and her properly-known is effective.
Go to Daio Wasabi Farm – A quick practice experience from Matsumoto, this farm is a delight to wander all around and learn about how wasabi is farmed and made use of in Japan. Make confident you prepare your visit around lunch so that you can attempt the many various dishes that incorporate wasabi…even ice product! Moreover you can include a enjoyment bicycle journey to this outing from the teach station to the farm and again.  It’s genuinely scenic and wonderful to do on a wonderful day.
Timepiece Museum:  Love timepieces of all models and dimensions from all over the globe. You can’t skip the entrance with a large pendulum clock on the outside of the creating.

Daio Wasabi Farm
Building soba noodles in Matsumoto
Matsumoto Castle

How to Get to Matsumoto
Matsumoto is very easily accessible via JR lines from Tokyo’s Shinjuku Station, Nagoya, and Nagano Metropolis. Or if you are coming from Takayama, you can travel by bus.
Shirakawago in Gifu Prefecture
Shirakawago was named a UNESCO Entire world Heritage Website in 1995. This little village is crammed with standard gassho-zukuri farmhouses, several of which are 250 decades old.  They are recognised for their thatched sloped roofs. 
Take a stroll around the properties, some of which have museums inside. Be positive to quit at the Wada residence and the Shiroyama viewpoint for a gorgeous overview of the valley and the Japanese Alps. You can stop by the old village ecosystem for a working day or remain right away in a thatch household Ryokan. They even have normal incredibly hot springs you can love though keeping in Shirakawago.
UNESCO village Shirakawago with Japanese Alps in track record
How to Get There to Shirakawago
There are a number of each day specific bus products and services to and from Shirakawa-go from Takayama or Kanazawa. Even so, in the winter season months, it can be challenging to get to as sometimes it will get snowed in!
Takayama in Gifu Prefecture
This charming of-the-overwhelmed-path little city is surrounded by peaks of the Japanese Alps.  The old city has been beautifully preserved and it is what tends to make this town so particular. There is also a substantial amount of shrines and museums devoted to crafts, previous lifestyles, and other neighborhood traditions.
Takayama Previous City
Things to do in Takayama off the Beaten Route
Wander about San-machi Suji (Outdated Town).  The vivid narrow streets are comprehensive of outdated structures, craftsman workshops, common stores, restaurants, and sake breweries. This is the fantastic chance to genuinely enjoy the old architecture.
Sake Breweries:  Speaking of sake breweries, Takayama is a wonderful spot to do a much more in-depth sake tasting.  You will acknowledge the sake breweries indicated by a ball made of cedar hanging outside the house the store.
Sakurayama Hachimangu Shrine: At this advanced, be sure to prevent at the Takayama Yatai Kaikan, a museum that residences some examples of the floats paraded twice annually as a result of the streets as element of the spring and autumn festivals.
Hida Beef: Make positive you attempt the famous Hida beef. It is a single of Japan’s special sorts of finely branded beef known for its unique aroma, texture, and flavor. It also has elaborate marbling, providing it excessive juiciness when cooked. Quite a few community dining places serve it but attempt it at Kitchen area Hida if you can.

How to Get to Takayama
Takayama is straightforward to entry from the key cities of Honshu like Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka or Kyoto. The prepare is the best way to get to Takayama until you are coming from Kanazawa, in which circumstance a bus is your very best wager.
Iya Valley – Shikoku Tokushima Prefecture
The Iya Valley is usually referred to as just one of the most distant locations in Japan.  It is significantly less of a valley and much more of a steep and deep river gorge.   Most of the landscape is inaccessible, historically making it a best spot for feuding clans to conceal in the late 12th century.
There is not a person straight highway in the Iya Valley.  In truth – my finest tip is to provide Dramamine. All of the streets appear to be to be perched on the steep hills with sharp drop-offs to the river gorge beneath. Having said that, with all of this ruggedness, arrives an enormous total of beauty. 
Iya Valley
Issues to do in Iya Valley off the Beaten Path
The valley is stuffed with exclusive issues to do, but a single of the best things to expertise is a stroll about the kagura-bash (Vine Bridge) that crosses the Iya River. This utilized to be utilized by the locals as a way throughout the gorge, even so right now it is just for travellers. You pay out a smaller payment to cross the wobbly bridge, and it’s definitely not for individuals who are scared of heights! Its vines are replaced every 3 yrs, and steel cables are laced inside of the vines for basic safety.
If vine bridges weren’t uncommon adequate, check out Iya Valley’s Scarecrow Village.  Yes – that sounds like a put discovered in a horror movie – but it’s a serious town – Nagoro in Iya Valley.  The streets, fields, and properties are filled with hundreds of life-measurement ‘dolls’ stuffed with paper.  The scarecrows outnumber the residents, of whom there are only 30. Wander all-around the village and be guaranteed to go into the outdated principal school for an uncommon sight.
Of course, in these types of a lush setting, there is some terrific climbing to be accomplished.  Hike to the leading of the greatest mountain in Tokushima Prefecture and 2nd best in western Japan, Mt Tsurugi. And when you are finished, you can enjoy a person of the many scorching springs all-around the valley.
For a really exclusive onsen experience at Hotel Iyaonsen, experience a cable car or truck down to the river at the bottom of the gorge to take pleasure in the pure incredibly hot springs.
Iya Valley Vine Bridge
How to Get to the Iya Valley
The simplest and most popular way to achieve the Iya Valley from elsewhere is via educate to JR Oboke Station. Restricted Categorical trains go to/from listed here about at the time an hour and most regional buses head out from below.
Kotohira – Shikoku Kagawa Prefecture
Kotohira is house to the most well-known shrines in Shikoku, historic sites, and cultural belongings, making it a excellent put to stroll by way of historical past. Even although there are a good selection of memento outlets and guests, I nevertheless consider it off the crushed path simply because most of those readers are Japanese travellers.  You won’t come across many intercontinental site visitors in Kotohira.  
Kotohira climb to Kotohiragu Shrine
Items to do in Kotohira off the Crushed Path
The climb to Kotohiragu Shrine is unforgettable and complicated. There are 785 measures to get to the primary shrine, but there is so a lot to see along the way, which supplies heaps of small relaxation breaks.  You can even end and have lunch along the way if you want!
Once you attain the top, check out the many shrines, ponds, and gardens, and soak up the panoramic sights of the town.   And if you want to see a genuine concealed gem, then walk further more to the 2nd temple. However, you will have to climb 583 much more stairs to get to the interior shrine and greet the deity!
Pay a visit to Kanamaruza Theater, a traditional Kabuki theater situated around Kompira-san Shrine. Built in 1835, the shrine has been meticulously preserved and is nonetheless employed currently. Even if you don’t check out a overall performance, you can take a look at the theater to take pleasure in its historical and architectural significance. I did not get to see a functionality, on the other hand, the tour backstage was intriguing. 
One particular of the most exclusive things I did even though in Kotohira was consider their two well-recognised ice product cone treats. Get a cone with Oiri (Japanese sweet) on it.  The vibrant spherical candies are light and sweet – like cereal on your comfortable provide cone. Or, if you are seriously adventurous, test the soy sauce ice cream with green onions.  I can’t say it was my favored, but I was glad I tried using it!
Are you prepared for a cooking knowledge you won’t obtain wherever else?  Consider a Sanuki udon noodle-building course. You will find out all the ways to make your possess udon noodles and even get to try to eat them at the conclusion. However – be well prepared for some surprises along the way.  The class is type of 50 % cooking course, 50 % Japanese game exhibit.  I guarantee that you will have exciting, and have a delectable lunch!

Oiri Ice Product
Kotohira soy sauce ice product
Kabuki Theater
Kotohiragu Shrine

How to Get to Kotohira
Kotohira is available from Takamatsu Airport on Shikoku or from Okayama Station on the Sanyo Shinkansen. From Takamatsu Station, choose a train to possibly JR Kotohira or Kotoden Kotohira Station through Takamatsu-Chikko Station, next to Takamatsu Castle. Both journeys get about an hour.
Make the most of 12Go to Get to Japan’s Concealed Gems
With so a lot of public transportation choices to get about Japan, it can be confusing to determine out how to review costs and timetables. On the other hand, 12Go aids you look at diverse modes of transportation in Japan simply from their internet site or cellular app. You can search on dates and destinations and discover all of the options and reserve ideal from the website – which include buses, ferries, trains, hotel-airport transfer, and more.  

How to Plan Your Japan Off the Beaten Route Adventure
I have utilized a handful of companies that specialize in making itineraries that expose you to Japan’s concealed gems. In addition, I have uncovered a handful of of my possess!
I design Japan itineraries that will take you off the beaten route on a tailored foundation. Let me know your interests, timeframe, and budget, and I will put together a personalized itinerary which include data about Japan transportation and ideas. To learn extra, speak to me at [email protected]
I can assistance style custom made Japan Travel Itineraries
Oku Japan specializes in Japan off the overwhelmed path and hiking in Japan. I have carried out a pair of tours with them, such as the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage, and really like the distinctive activities they provide with locals, this sort of as indigo dying, prospects to fulfill monks, and a lot more. They operate guided, self-guided, and custom excursions all-around communities deep in the countryside that protect the traditions of the previous.
You can get a 5% discount off Oku Japan bookings when you use the code OTTSWORLD5. Friends will have to have to enter the code in the ‘Notes and Special Requests’ area when they ebook on OkuJapan.com to have the low cost utilized.
Inside Japan Excursions is also a excellent tour corporation with great guides who will immerse you in the concealed gems of Japan.  
Encounter Japan A lot less Traveled
Japan gives a prosperity of charming ordeals over and above its famous tourist locations. Venturing off the crushed route to any of these eight places makes it possible for tourists to uncover hidden gems, immerse by themselves in genuine cultural encounters, and witness the attractiveness of Japan’s a lot less-explored locations. By stepping away from the tourist crowds and embracing the serendipity of discovery, vacationers can forge further connections with the country’s loaded record, lifestyle, and purely natural natural beauty, building their stop by to Japan unforgettable.

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