Traveling Across Japan

To learn about a particular country, it’s important to know the language, as well as to learn about the country's culture and history. If you work hard and study, you can deepen your understanding of the country you’re trying to learn about. However, traveling to many areas in that country and coming into contact with its unique culture is one of the best ways to deepen your understanding of it.

In the Edo period (1603-1868) something known as the 伊勢参り (ise-mairi) was very popular. This was a trip that involved large numbers of Japanese people walking to what is considered Japan’s most sacred shrine "Ise Shine" in the city of Ise, Mie Prefecture, and praying there. From the ise-mairi, it’s easy to see how much Japanese people love to travel. Also, it’s easy to see that many places across Japan (not just Ise Shrine) have special meaning to the Japanese and are worth visiting.

The articles below feature places in Japan that are worth checking out. Some of the places featured are tourist attractions, but they’re all places that have been chosen specifically as places where you can get a deeper understanding of Japan. Some places shown here are easily accessible via public transportation, while others require a car as they’re a little bit out of the way and are quite possibly the sort of places that only locals visit. Throughout these articles, I hope that you can deepen your understanding of Japan and that you can get out and explore the “real Japan”.