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, the Takayama Spring Festial, or Sanno-sama Festival, and the Takayama Autumn Festival, or Hachiman Festival. Though […]
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 timber and carpenters, the city thrived under the direct control of the Shogun during the […]
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, where lords would have to alternate years of living in Edo with their home provinces. […]
Unique Japan Tours have just launched a New Autumn date for their most popular Small Group Tour to Japan (Japan Discovered), starting on October 28th. This will be the perfect time to see some of the best Japan has to offer, including Osaka, Koyasan, Kyoto, Kanazawa, Gokayama, Takayama, Matsumoto, Snow monkey park in the hills […]
After the heat of the summer months, autumn offers a welcome respite to the Japanese. There are a few popular axioms, shokuyoku no aki, dokusho no aki and finally supotsu no aki. They basically mean autumn is for eating, reading and exercise respectively. Autumn leaves at Nanzen-ji Kyoto.Source: https://flic.kr/p/dyVJ1W Why would you go to Japan in […]
We run a small group tour called Japan Discovered, and it really is a great way to discover what Japan is all about. You will experience everything you could hope to experience on this tour: from the neon lights of the big city, to the serenity of the mountainous countryside, to the peaceful sense […]
We’ve talked a lot recently about honeymoons in Japan. We told our story of how we helped a friend, Mary, organise her dream honeymoon to Japan. We’ve highlighted romantic activities in Tokyo. We’ve talked about the tropical Amami Oshima, an underrated paradise. We also talked about the illuminations that dominate Japan in winter, illuminations […]
If I asked you to think about Japan, what would pop into your mind? Ninja. Bright neon lights. Sushi. Crazy TV shows. Pokemon. Power Rangers. I bet there’s one thing about Japan you don’t think of, that doesn’t even enter your mind: Japan as a honeymoon destination. That is a big mistake. Let […]
Written by: Gail Gold who joined a self guided tour including Tokyo, Kyoto, & Takayama. Japan, to me, is where the future meets the past. You see it every day in every aspect of life. The first thing that struck me was the immaculateness of Japan. You see it on the streets, on any form […]
Japan Discovered Cherry Blossom Tour Feedback from Tour Leader by Yuki Ito “We finished the April Japan Discovered tour a few weeks ago. Each participant had his/her own highlights of the tour, but the group was able to particularly enjoy 2 seasonal highlights — cherry blossoms and Takayama Spring Festival. We were blessed with the […]
