Jamie Lafferty recently explored all 47 prefectures, from untamed Hokkaido in the north to tropical Okinawa in the south. Here are his highlights from 100 days of adventure.
My fiancee Katy Morrison and I were selected to take part in the Travel Volunteer project. The goal was simple: promote the country in the wake of the disasters triggered by the earthquake and tsunami. We travelled by day and blogged by night and felt incredibly privileged to see so much of the country.
Here are 10 of our most memorable experiences:
Nyutou Onsen, Akita Prefecture
High in the hills of northern Japan, a group of hot-spring baths known as the Nyutou Onsen is as traditional as they come. Small bamboo huts host steaming, milky waters rich with volcanic minerals piped straight from the ground. The waters are opaque, concealing the nudity of visitors. In autumn, the landscape is a blaze of colour, shimmering with leaves.
See www.tsurunoyu.com/english.html.
Namahage, Akita Prefecture
Yes, love and sweets can be effective carrots when seeking to motivate your children, but if the people of Akita's Oga district require the stick, they reach for the Namahage, the local bogeymen. These marauding ogres (played by young men in masks and traditional straw garments) emerge in winter to storm houses on New Year's Eve, demanding sake and the heads of misbehaving children. Unsurprisingly, the kids soon promise to behave through the coming year. If you're not in Oga city at new year, watch footage of this unintentionally hilarious tradition at the excellent Namahage Museum, in Kitaura, Akita.
See www.namahage.co.jp.
Ice monsters, Zao Onsen, Yamagata Prefecture
The mountain resort of Zao in Yamagata Prefecture has become hugely popular thanks to the ferociously warm volcanic water that bubbles from seams and runs through town. It provides a year-round reason to visit but for something otherworldly, visit in winter for the arrival of the ice monsters. Trees buried in pillowy coats of snow, these shapes make for some of the strangest scenery anywhere in Japan. If climate-change studies are to be believed, however, the monsters are on the retreat. Hurry if you want to see them.
See www.zao-spa.or.jp.
Yamazaki Distillery, Osaka Prefecture
The makers of Suntory Whisky knew how the team behind the film Lost in Translation were going to promote their brand, but assented all the same. Bill Murray's famous scene, in which he struggles to satisfy a manic director while making a Suntory commercial, is based on the real-life travails of Sean Connery, Sammy Davis jr and Francis Ford Coppola, all of whom have made ads for the brand over the years. For a more sober introduction to the country's biggest
whisky-maker, the Yamazaki Distillery invites tourists to learn about the supreme dedication and rich history of the brand, not to mention its fierce rivalry with Japan's other whisky-maker, Nikka.
Yamazaki, Osaka Prefecture. See www.suntory.com.
Pufferfish, Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture
Japanese history is rife with tales of unfortunate figures chowing down on the fat, spiky little fish known as fugu - pufferfish to Westerners. It's still a dish the Japanese Emperor is forbidden from eating. However, in the city of Shimonoseki the wide-eyed assassins are big business: half the country's catch is processed there and the restaurants are full of the stuff. As infamously expensive as it is potentially fatal, being close to the source also makes it a good deal cheaper here. (The Shimonoseki fish festival takes place in November.)
See www.shimonoseki-port.com; www.jnto.go.jp.
Paper, Kochi Prefecture
The Chinese technically invented the paper-making process but the Japanese adapted it and made it their own. Paper has been used for everything from kimono-making to money-printing and, of course, for origami. Kochi Prefecture is home to much of Japan's traditional paper (washi) and it's possible to try your hand at making anything from simple postcards to elaborate, decorative art. Don't be surprised if you fail to produce a work of tear-jerking delicacy on your first attempt, though - it's much harder than it looks.
See www.qraud-kochi.jp.
Studio Ghibli, Tokyo
Yes, it's the home of a massive studio that ostensibly produces cartoons for children, but Studio Ghibli strikes that fine balance between educating adults and entertaining kids. There's a reproduction of the brilliant founder Hayao Miyazaki's chaotic workspace; endless details on the process of animation; and a gigantic cat-bus for kids to climb in, on and over. Film memorabilia is everywhere and original shorts are shown in the basement cinema. Magical stuff.
1-1-83 Simorenjaku, Mitaka. See www.ghibli-museum.jp.
Battleship Island, Hashima, Nagasaki Prefecture
You could be forgiven for thinking Hashima, or Battleship Island, was devastated in 1945 when an atomic bomb was dropped by the Americans on neighbouring Nagasaki. The ruined buildings and eerie sense that Hashima was abandoned in a hurry seem apocalyptic. However, it was Mother Nature's fury that annihilated this former coal-mining community, which was evacuated in 1974. These days, there are boat tours to the island, which provide a strange vision of what the world might look like after humans, as well as some excellent photo opportunities.
See www.japan-guide.com.
Beppu, Oita Prefecture, Kyushu
The southern island of Kyushu is a lively place - home to the enormous Mount Aso caldera, the biggest in the world, and other volcanic peaks. These bring ample bathing opportunities, too, and nowhere more plentiful than at Beppu, in little-visited Oita Prefecture. The nine major geothermal springs there are dramatically named the "hells" of Beppu, but if you like to relax in hot water and are fond of the smell of eggs, this is the town for you.
See city.beppu.oita.jp.
Nishinoshima, Oki Islands, Shimane Prefecture
While Okinawa and Yakushima (see story, Page 12) receive thousands of visitors a year, the Oki Islands are a good deal more sedate. Small fishing communities call this little archipelago in the Sea of Japan home, living a peaceful life that contrasts with the violent beauty of their rugged coastline. There are dozens of cliff-top walks to enjoy, before returning to town for superb seafood. The abundant squid caught there is perhaps the finest in the country.
See www.jnto.go.jp.
