In late September and early October, Unique Japan Tours joined a familiarization trip organised by the Japan National Tourist Organisation. The purpose of these trips is to introduce new, unique places in Japan to promote trips there. The familiarization trip
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JNTO FamTrip 2015: Shodoshima
In late September and early October, Unique Japan Tours joined a familiarization trip organised by the Japan National Tourist Organisation. The purpose of these trips is to introduce new, unique places in Japan to promote trips there. The familiarization trip
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JNTO Familiarization Trip 2015
In late September and early October, Unique Japan Tours joined a familiarization trip organised by the Japan National Tourist Organisation. The purpose of these trips is to introduce new, unique places in Japan to promote trips there. The familiarization trip
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Towns of Japan: Kawayu Onsen
The Kumano Kodo is a religious experience in itself, a multi-day mountain hike (though you can also go by bus), following in the footsteps of royalty, visiting some of the most magnificent temples and shrines on the islands of Japan.
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Festivals of Japan – The Takayama Festival
In our last blog post we talked about Takayama, one of our favourite cities in Japan. Located high in the Hida Mountains, its home to one of Japan’s most popular festivals. The Takayama Festival actually refers to two festivals,
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Cities of Japan – Takayama
Unique Japan Tours loves Takayama. It’s a beautiful city, located high in the Hida mountains (hence why it’s sometimes called Hida-Takayama). After the hustle and bustle of modern Tokyo, Takayama is a welcome reprieve. A merchant city famed for it’s …
Japanese Pilgrimage Route: The Kumano Kodo
The Kumano Kodo are a series of pilgrimage trails, located in the Kansai region of Japan, south of Kyoto and Nara. Kumano is the name of the area, and “kodo” means the “old ways”, so the name literally translates as
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Samurai Postal Routes: The Nakasendo, Tsumago & Magome
In our last blog post we talked about the Gokaido, the five routes built in the Edo period of Japan, which connected the capital of Edo, modern Tokyo, with the outer provinces of the country. We also talked about the
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Samurai Postal Routes: Gokaido and Tokaido
In 1601, soon after he came into power, the Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu started to build five routes connecting the capital of Edo (modern day Tokyo), with the other provinces. These routes were essential for the success of the Sankin-Kotai system,
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Cities of Japan – Matsue City
Matsue is the capital of Shimane prefecture, located in the south western Honshu, the main island of Japan. Matsue sits on the banks of the Ohashi River, which connects the lakes of Lake Shinji and Nakaumi. Matsue is home to
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