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2 min readJapan
Views: 0Japan's four seasons as a travel calendar
In Japan the seasons are not just weather; they shape festivals, food and where people travel. A season-by-season way of thinking about when to go, from plum blossoms in late winter to snow in temple yards.
2 min readJapan
Views: 0Kobe: a port city between mountains and sea
Squeezed into a narrow strip between the Rokkō mountains and Osaka Bay, Kobe grew into one of Japan's great ports and one of its most outward-looking cities. A profile of its geography, history and recovery.
2 min readJapan
Views: 0Mount Fuji and the Five Lakes
At 3,776 metres, Mount Fuji is Japan's highest peak and its most familiar symbol. A profile of the volcano, the lakes at its northern foot, and why Japanese art keeps returning to it.
2 min readJapan
Views: 0Kōyasan: the mountain monastery town
High in the forested mountains of Wakayama, Kōyasan is a small town made largely of temples. Founded by the monk Kūkai in the early 9th century, it remains the centre of Shingon Buddhism.
2 min readJapan
Views: 0Osaka: merchant city and the nation's kitchen
Osaka grew up around trade rather than a court. Its castle, its canals and its famous appetite for street food all come from that merchant past. A profile of Japan's most down-to-earth big city.
2 min readJapan
Views: 0Kyoto: layers of a former imperial capital
For more than a thousand years Kyoto was where Japan's emperors lived. The city today is a set of layers: a grid plan from the 8th century, temples from many eras, and an ordinary modern city in between.
2 min readJapan
Views: 0Tokyo: a city of many centres
Tokyo has no single downtown. It is a ring of districts, each with its own station, mood and history, held together by trains. A short profile of how the city grew and how to read it.