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
By Unique Japan Tours on 20/10/2015 in Japan, Beauty, History, Himeji, Knowledge, Travel, Tours, Autumn, Castle, Culture, Testimonial, Food, Tea House, Awa Odori, Tokushima, Gardens, Olive, Somen, Shodoshima, Round Up
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
…JNTO FamTrip 2015: Iya Valley & Tokushima
By Unique Japan Tours on 16/10/2015 in Beauty, Himeji, Knowledge, Travel, Tours, Autumn, Castle, Culture, Tea House, Awa Odori, Tokushima, Gardens, Kurashiki, Okayama, Old Town, Cherry blossom, Dancing
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
…JNTO FamTrip 2015: Okayama & Kurashiki
By Unique Japan Tours on 13/10/2015 in Beauty, Himeji, Knowledge, Travel, Tours, Autumn, Castle, Culture, Tea House, Awa Odori, Gardens, Kurashiki, Okayama, Old Town, Cherry blossom
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 …
JNTO Familiarization Trip 2015
By Unique Japan Tours on 07/10/2015 in Japan, Beauty, History, Himeji, Knowledge, Travel, Tours, Autumn, Castle, Culture, Testimonial, Food, Tea House, Awa Odori, Tokushima, Gardens, Round Up, Kurashiki, Okayama
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
By Unique Japan Tours on 21/08/2015 in Summer, Japan, Traditions, Beauty, History, Knowledge, Travel, Samurai, Tours, Culture, Hiking, People, Winter, 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
By Unique Japan Tours on 12/08/2015 in Festivals, Art, Japan, Beauty, History, Knowledge, Autumn, Culture, Cherry blossom, Shrine, Matsuri, Takayama
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
By Unique Japan Tours on 03/08/2015 in Japan, Traditions, Beauty, History, Knowledge, Tours, Autumn, Culture, Food, Cherry blossom, People, Takayama, Kanazawa, Religion
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
By Unique Japan Tours on 24/07/2015 in Osaka, Japan, Traditions, Beauty, History, Knowledge, Travel, Samurai, Tours, Culture, Hiking, Shrine, Religion, Nara, Kyoto, Buddhism, Shinto, Ritual
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
…Samurai Postal Routes: The Nakasendo, Tsumago & Magome
By Unique Japan Tours on 17/07/2015 in Japan, Traditions, Beauty, History, Knowledge, Samurai, Tours, Culture, Magome, Tsumago, Edo
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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