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Karato Ichiba
A highlight of a trip to Shimonoseki is an early-morning visit to the Karato fish market. Its a great opportunity to try sashimi for breakfast or lunch, and the fish doesnt get any fresher – a fair bit of it will still be moving. The best days to come are Friday to Sunday, when sta
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Matsumoto
Must-see Matsumoto-jō is Japans oldest wooden castle and one of four castles designated National Treasures – the others are Hikone, Himeji and Inuyama. The striking black and white three-turreted donjon was completed around 1595, earning the nickname Karasu-jō (Crow Castle). You ca
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Sado Kinzan
Youll have to venture up a steep mountain to access this gold mine, which produced large quantities of gold and silver until its demise in 1989. Descend into the chilly depths, where youll encounter robots that dramatise the tough existence of former miners. A further 300m up the m
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Umeda Sky Building
Opened in 1993 and named one of the worlds top 20 buildings, the Sky Building resembles a 40-storey, space-age Arc de Triomphe. Twin towers are connected at the top by a floating garden (really a garden-free observation deck) with breathtaking 360-degree city views day or night. Ge
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Atomic Bomb Dome
Perhaps the starkest reminder of the destruction visited upon Hiroshima in WWII is the Atomic Bomb Dome. Built by a Czech architect in 1915, it was the Industrial Promotion Hall until the bomb exploded almost directly above it. Everyone inside was killed, but the building was one o
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Suwa
Situated on a forested hilltop and reached via multiple staircases, this enormous shrine was established in 1625. Around the grounds are statues of komainu (protective dogs), including the kappa-komainu (water-sprite dogs), which you pray to by dribbling water onto the plates on th
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National Museum of Ethnology
Located within the expansive Osaka World Expo Park (Banpaku-kōen), this fabulous museum brims with interesting and colourful objects for a whirlwind tour through many of the worlds cultures. Exhibits range from Bollywood movie posters to Ainu textiles, Ghanaian barbershop signboard
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Meiji
Known for unifying Western and Japanese architectural elements, few Meiji-era buildings have survived due to war, earthquakes and development. In 1965 this open-air museum was created to preserve this unique style. Over 60 buildings from around Japan were painstakingly dismantled,
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Kōchi
Kōchi-jō is one of just a dozen castles in Japan to have survived with its original tenshu-kaku (keep) intact. The castle was originally built during the first decade of the 17th century by Yamanouchi Katsutoyo, who was appointed daimyō by Tokugawa Ieyasu after he fought on the vic
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Hikone Castle
Completed in 1622, this diminutive castle of the Ii family of daimyō (domain lords) is rightly considered a national treasure; much of it remains in its original state. One unusual feature: teppōzama and yazama , outlets for shooting guns and arrows, designed to be invisible from t
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Tottori
Used as the location for Teshigahara Hiroshis classic 1964 film Woman in the Dunes , the Tottori sand dunes are on the coast about 5km from the city. Theres a viewing point on a hillside overlooking the dunes, along with parking and the usual array of tourist schlock. You can even
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Shōren
This temple is hard to miss, with its giant camphor trees growing just outside the walls. Fortunately, most tourists march right on past, heading to the areas more famous temples. That is their loss, because this intimate little sanctuary contains a superb landscape garden, that yo
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Ama
One of Shintōs loveliest shrines honours the cave where Amaterasu hid. The cave itself is off-limits, but Nishi Hongū (the shrines main building) sits right across the river Iwato-gawa. If youre with a Japanese speaker, ask a staff member to show you the viewpoint behind the honden
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Open
In the park Ryokuchi-kōen, this fine open-air museum features a collection of traditional Japanese country houses, transported here and painstakingly reconstructed. Most striking is the giant gasshō-zukuri (steeply slanting thatch-roofed) farmhouse from Gifu Prefecture, and a thatc
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Sensui
The island of Sensui-jima is just five minutes across the water from Tomo-no-ura town. Theres a walking path that hugs the coast, passing by interesting rock formations and offering views across the water, especially lovely at sunset. After a stroll, drop into Kokuminshukusha Sensu
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Kōkō
Across the castles western moat is this stunning reconstruction of the former samurai quarters. Nine Edo Period–style homes boast gardens with various combinations of waterfalls, koi ponds, intricately pruned trees, bamboo, flowering shrubs and a wisteria-covered arbor. It feels li
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Art House Project
In Honmura, half a dozen traditional buildings have been turned over to contemporary artists to use as the setting for creative installations. Highlights include Ōtake Shinrōs shacklike Haisha , its Statue of Liberty sculpture rising up through the levels; James Turrells experiment
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Kenchō
Established in 1253, Japans oldest Zen monastery is still active today. The central Butsuden (Buddha Hall) was brought piece by piece from Tokyo in 1647. Its Jizō Bosatsu statue, unusual for a Zen temple, reflects the valleys ancient function as an execution ground – Jizō consoles
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Tenman
Poet-scholar Sugawara-no-Michizane was a distinguished Kyoto figure until his exile to distant Dazaifu, where he died two years later. He became deified as Tenman Tenjin, god of culture and scholars. Among the countless visitors to the grand, sprawling Tenman-gū, his shrine and bur
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Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
The main building of Hiroshimas premier museum houses a collection of items salvaged from the aftermath of the atomic bomb. The displays are confronting and personal – ragged clothes, a childs melted lunch box, a watch stopped at 8.15am – and there are some grim photographs. While
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