Japan: ancient temples, neon cities & quiet mountain towns

Tokyo

A sprawling capital of neon districts, quiet shrines and endless street life.

Tokyo is the world's most populous metropolitan area, a constellation of distinct districts rather than a single center. Shibuya and Shinjuku deliver the dense neon and crowds most associated with the city, while areas such as Yanaka and Kagurazaka preserve low-rise lanes, old shopfronts and a slower pace. The contrast between hyper-modern architecture and pockets of Edo-era calm runs through the whole city.

The city is exceptionally walkable in stretches and tied together by one of the most extensive rail and subway systems on earth. At street level after dark, signage and reflections turn the lanes electric, while observation decks such as those in Roppongi and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building open up free views over the urban grid toward Mount Fuji on clear days.

Where to take photos

• Shibuya Crossing — the famous scramble intersection, seen best from above at the Shibuya Sky observation deck or the Starbucks overlooking the crowds.
• Senso-ji — Tokyo's oldest temple in Asakusa, with the great Kaminarimon lantern and a five-story pagoda, calmest just after dawn.
• Shinjuku Omoide Yokocho — a tight warren of postwar alleyways lined with tiny lantern-lit eateries that come alive after dusk.
• Meiji Shrine — a forested Shinto sanctuary near Harajuku where towering torii gates frame a calm, tree-shaded approach.

Kyoto

The old imperial capital, dense with temples, gardens and geisha districts.

Kyoto served as Japan's imperial capital for over a thousand years and retains more than 1,600 Buddhist temples and several hundred Shinto shrines. Spared the heaviest wartime bombing, it preserves wooden machiya townhouses, raked gravel gardens and historic geisha quarters such as Gion. The city is the country's clearest window onto traditional aesthetics.

The headline sites grow extremely crowded by mid-morning, so early starts are essential. Beyond them, the Higashiyama and Arashiyama districts reward slow wandering through stone lanes, bamboo groves and riverside paths. Autumn maples and spring blossom transform the temple gardens, while the surrounding hills hold the city in green and russet through every season.

Where to take photos

• Fushimi Inari Taisha — thousands of vermilion torii gates climbing a wooded mountainside; arrive at dawn to walk the tunnels before the crowds.
• Kinkaku-ji — the Golden Pavilion, a gold-leafed temple mirrored in its reflecting pond, at its finest under snow or autumn foliage.
• Arashiyama Bamboo Grove — a towering corridor of green stalks on the city's western edge, hushed in the soft early hours.
• Gion — the historic geisha district of wooden teahouses and lantern-lit lanes, at its most evocative at dusk along Hanamikoji Street.

Osaka

A brash, food-obsessed port city famous for its dazzling nighttime signage.

Osaka is Japan's third-largest city and the commercial heart of the Kansai region, long known for a more direct, easygoing culture than the capital. Its reputation rests on street food and exuberant neon, concentrated around the Dotonbori canal where giant animated billboards reflect in the water. The city blends a working port, a major castle and a dense entertainment core.

The compact downtown makes Osaka easy to cover on foot and by subway, and it serves as a convenient base for day trips to Kyoto, Nara and Kobe. After dark the Dotonbori signage, including the iconic Glico running-man billboard, lights up the canal and draws the evening crowds. Osaka Castle and its surrounding park add a historical counterpoint to the modern bustle.

Where to take photos

• Dotonbori — a canal-side strip of giant illuminated signs and the famous Glico billboard that defines the city after dark.
• Osaka Castle — a reconstructed feudal keep set in a moated park, ringed by cherry trees in spring.
• Shinsekai — a retro entertainment quarter beneath the Tsutenkaku tower, full of vintage neon and street-food stalls.
• Umeda Sky Building — twin towers joined by a floating observatory offering sweeping rooftop views over the city.

Nara

Japan's first capital, where free-roaming deer wander among ancient temples.

Nara was Japan's capital in the 8th century and preserves some of the country's oldest and largest wooden structures. Most of its major monuments cluster within and around Nara Park, an expansive green space at the foot of the eastern hills. The park is famous for its hundreds of freely roaming sika deer, regarded as messengers in Shinto belief and accustomed to visitors.

The sheer scale of Nara's temples defines a visit, anchored by Todai-ji, whose Great Buddha Hall is among the largest wooden buildings in the world. The compact, walkable layout makes the city an easy day trip from Kyoto or Osaka, though staying overnight lets you wander among the deer and temples in the quiet early morning before tour groups arrive.

Where to take photos

• Todai-ji — a vast temple housing a monumental bronze Great Buddha, approached through a towering wooden gate guarded by fierce statues.
• Nara Park — open parkland where tame sika deer roam freely among the lawns and visitors, often wreathed in morning mist.
• Kasuga Taisha — a Shinto shrine famed for hundreds of moss-covered stone and bronze lanterns lining its forested approach.
• Isuien Garden — a classical strolling garden whose ponds borrow the surrounding hills and temple roofs into the view.

Hakone

A mountain hot-spring resort with volcanic valleys and Mount Fuji views.

Hakone is a mountainous hot-spring region in Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, long popular as an escape from Tokyo roughly an hour and a half away. Set around the caldera of an active volcano, the area combines steaming sulfur vents, a crater lake and traditional ryokan inns built around natural onsen baths. It is one of the surest places near the capital to see Mount Fuji.

A celebrated loop ties the region together using a mountain railway, a funicular, an aerial ropeway and a sightseeing boat across Lake Ashi. The ropeway passes over the Owakudani volcanic valley, while from the lake a red torii gate stands with Fuji rising behind it on clear days. The Hakone Open-Air Museum adds large-scale sculpture set against the mountain scenery.

Where to take photos

• Lake Ashi — a caldera lake whose floating Hakone Shrine torii gate stands before Mount Fuji on clear days, finest at dawn.
• Owakudani — a sulfurous volcanic valley of steaming vents crossed by the Hakone Ropeway, with Fuji visible beyond.
• Hakone Open-Air Museum — an outdoor sculpture park set against forested hills, including a hall of Picasso works.
• Hakone Shrine — a lakeside Shinto shrine with a bold red torii standing in the water at the forest's edge.

Takayama

A preserved Edo-era town tucked deep in the Japan Alps.

Takayama sits high in the mountains of the Hida region in Gifu Prefecture, its relative isolation having preserved an exceptionally intact old town. The Sanmachi Suji district is lined with dark wooden merchant houses, sake breweries and lattice-windowed shopfronts dating to the Edo period. The town's craftsmanship and twice-yearly festivals, with ornate floats, are widely renowned.

Morning markets along the Miyagawa River and a cluster of small museums round out the old quarter, while the surrounding peaks frame the town in every direction. Takayama also serves as the gateway to Shirakawa-go, a UNESCO-listed village of steep thatched gassho-zukuri farmhouses that look their most arresting under a blanket of winter snow.

Where to take photos

• Sanmachi Suji — a beautifully preserved district of Edo-period wooden houses and sake breweries, quietest in the early morning.
• Miyagawa Morning Market — a riverside market of produce, crafts and snacks set against the old townscape.
• Shirakawa-go — a nearby UNESCO village of thatched gassho-zukuri farmhouses, dramatic when blanketed in snow.
• Higashiyama Walking Course — a temple-lined hillside path on the town's edge offering elevated views over the rooftops.

Kanazawa

A former castle town with a celebrated garden and intact samurai and geisha quarters.

Kanazawa, capital of Ishikawa Prefecture on the Sea of Japan coast, prospered under the wealthy Maeda clan and emerged from the war largely undamaged. It preserves entire historic districts, including the Nagamachi samurai quarter and the Higashi Chaya geisha district of wooden teahouses. The city is also a noted center for gold-leaf craft and traditional confectionery.

Its centerpiece is Kenroku-en, considered one of the three great landscape gardens of Japan, laid out over centuries with ponds, streams and meticulously shaped pines. Direct Shinkansen service from Tokyo has made the city far more accessible, yet it keeps a refined, less hurried pace than the larger metropolises.

Where to take photos

• Kenroku-en — one of Japan's three great gardens, with ponds, teahouses and pines held up by rope frames against winter snow.
• Higashi Chaya District — a preserved quarter of latticed wooden teahouses, several finished in gold leaf, warm with light at dusk.
• Kanazawa Castle — a reconstructed feudal castle with distinctive white-and-grey turrets beside Kenroku-en.
• Omicho Market — a covered market hall of seafood and produce stalls, lively and colorful by day.

Hiroshima

A rebuilt city of remembrance, peace memorials and a famous floating shrine nearby.

Hiroshima was destroyed by an atomic bomb in 1945 and rebuilt into a modern, green city centered on its Peace Memorial Park. The preserved skeletal dome of the former Industrial Promotion Hall, now the A-Bomb Dome, stands as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a stark focal point along the river. The park and its museum form a sober, reflective heart to the city.

Just offshore lies Miyajima island, home to Itsukushima Shrine and its great vermilion torii gate that appears to float at high tide, one of Japan's most iconic sights. The island also holds tame deer and forested hiking up Mount Misen. Together the city and island balance solemn history with sweeping coastal scenery.

Where to take photos

• A-Bomb Dome — the preserved ruin of a domed hall left as it stood after the 1945 blast, mirrored in the adjacent river.
• Itsukushima Shrine — on Miyajima island, its great torii gate appears to float on the sea at high tide and catches the light at sunset.
• Peace Memorial Park — a riverside park of monuments and an eternal flame, especially poignant in cherry-blossom season.
• Mount Misen — a forested peak on Miyajima reached by ropeway and trail, offering views across the Seto Inland Sea.

Japan's must-eat dishes

Ramen

Steaming bowls of ramen served with a glass of cold beer make for the quintessential Japanese comfort meal. Every region puts its own spin on the broth, from rich tonkotsu pork to lighter shoyu and miso varieties.

Tonkatsu with Japanese curry

A crisp panko-breaded pork cutlet served with a ladle of rich, savory Japanese curry over rice. Katsu curry is hearty comfort food found in casual diners across Japan.

Teishoku set meal

A teishoku is a balanced Japanese set meal built around rice, miso soup and a selection of small side dishes such as sashimi and pickles. It offers a perfect way to sample several local flavors in a single sitting.

Udon

A bowl of udon — thick, chewy wheat-flour noodles in a light dashi broth, often topped with spring onion. Comforting and mild, it's a Japanese staple eaten year-round.

More guides to explore

Japan

14-Day Japan Itinerary: Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka & Hiroshima

Nara, Japan

Nara Travel Guide: Bowing Deer & the Great Buddha

Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo Travel Guide: Neon Districts, Ancient Shrines, and the Imperial Palace