Kon\u2019nichiwa! After slow-travelling for two months in this beautiful country is easy to say that there are so many incredible places to visit in Japan, and there are many more places I want to visit over there as I consider that in all of that time I may have only seen about half of the country!<\/p>\n
NOTE: This blog contains affiliate links to pages selling products and\/or services, I may get a small commission if you make a purchase through these links at no extra cost for you<\/span><\/em>. There\u2019s no sponsored content on this blog.<\/p>\n Even so, this post lists the best experiences and places to visit in Japan where I adventured myself!<\/p>\n If you\u2019re travelling on a budget as I did, take a look at my post about everything you need to know for hitchhiking in Japan<\/a><\/strong> as this can make a huge difference on your budget as the transport costs \u2013 specially trains \u2013 could make you to have to chose in between some of the places to visit in Japan above others.<\/p>\n Another great tip if you\u2019re backpacking in Japan on a budget is to do some couchsurfing, in my two months travelling there I spent only a couple of nights in hostels<\/a><\/strong>, the rest was couchsurfing and wild camping.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re travelling in Japan you most likely have the usual suspects to visit on your plans: Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Osaka; and you should definitely visit them as they\u2019re all very different, with lots to learn, incredible local foods to try and wonderful people to meet. I spent plenty of time exploring them, so my list of recommendations of places to visit in Japan are mostly near these 4 main locations as my travels took me from Fukuoka to Tokyo.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re backpacking in Kyoto you will most certainly want to visit the Fushimi Inari Shrine, one of the most iconic places to visit in Japan!<\/p>\n For us tourists, It is famous for its thousands of vermilion\u00a0torii gates, which straddle a network of trails behind its main buildings. The trails lead into the wooded forest of the sacred Mount Inari, which stands at 233 meters and belongs to the shrine grounds.<\/p>\n But as I tend to improvise my adventures, when I was visiting the Shrine, I found an unexpectedly beautiful hike through the so-called Kyoto Trail.<\/p>\n An unexpected detour right after the summit of the shrine pointed towards a castle. This ended up being a stunning walk via completely deserted bamboo groves, stunning forest walk and a viewpoint of Kyoto from the top of mount Oiwa.<\/p>\n The end of the trail was at Fushimi Momoyama Castle, which dates originally from 1594 and rebuilt in 1964.<\/p>\n In Kyoto I had to spend a couple of nights in hostels as I couldn\u2019t find a place for couchsurfing, the Samurai Home Hostel<\/a><\/strong> was nice considering it was the cheapest I could find.<\/p>\n Lake Biwa is the largest freshwater lake in Japan and it\u2019s located just outside of Kyoto. At its longest is just over 63Km!<\/p>\n The lake is of\u00a0tectonic\u00a0origin and is one of the world\u2019s\u00a0oldest lakes, dating to at least 4 million years ago.<\/p>\n This is a beautiful place for water sports as well, I was lucky to meet Khatsu who created the GOODTIMES<\/a><\/strong> outdoor adventures , and I can highly recommend his company for all sort of summer and winter sports.<\/p>\n As I loved this place so much, I also wrote a post about my adventures camping in Lake Biwa<\/a><\/strong> in case you want to know all the details, this was one of my favorite things to do in Japan!<\/p>\n Yamazaki is where Japanese whisky was born and you can plan your visit as a half-day trip from Kyoto.<\/p>\n To visit the home of the first Japanese whisky to ever win a gold medal at the International Spirits Challenge in 2003 you need to book well in advance but I can tell you that after the little distillery tour, whisky library walk and a great tasting it\u2019s definitely worth it!<\/p>\n To continue with the spirits theme, the little town of Saijo is famous all over Japan for its wonderful Sake and it\u2019s just a short trip away from Hiroshima, which makes it a perfect half-day activity to do while visiting this city.<\/p>\n The conditions in Saijo are ideal for brewing sake. Perfectly clean and crisp water, lots of rice fields, expert master brewers and a cold winter which is the ideal season to brew Japan\u2019s most famous alcohol.<\/p>\n All over town you can spot the brick chimneys where each brewery is located. As it was not the right season when I visited, I couldn\u2019t see the masters at work but in Saijo you can visit within walking distance 9 different breweries that are over 100 years old. If like me you also visit in the \u201cwrong\u201d season (aka summer), there\u2019s a lot of information still to learn about the how its made and there are free tastings!<\/p>\n This was without a doubt one of those magical adventures that I\u2019ll always remember and it was one of my favourite places to visit in Japan.<\/p>\n To see the sunrise on top of the highest mountain in the country of the rising sun had a bit of a romantic meaning to me. I wrote all the details you need to know on this post about how to hike Mount Fuji without a guide<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n I didn\u2019t know about Miyajima Island but my couchsurfing host in Hiroshima recommended me to go.<\/p>\n The small island is full of temples, some of which are very unique! And full of deers as well that are just wandering around near everyone else.<\/p>\n You can also do a short hike to a summit with beautiful views.<\/p>\n All in all, it\u2019s an excellent option for a day trip from Hiroshima! I wrote all the details on how to get there on this post<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n The town of Uji which is just outside Kyoto is one of the best places to try matcha tea and take part in a traditional tea ceremony.<\/p>\n Green tea\u00a0is now ubiquitous in Japan, but when it first arrived from China in the 700\u2019s, the drink was unknown except to a handful of priests and noblemen. A few hundred years later during the\u00a0Kamakura Period\u00a0(1192-1333), green tea leaves imported from China and cultivated in\u00a0Uji\u00a0started becoming popular among the nobility.<\/p>\n Eisai, the Zen priest who imported\u00a0Zen Buddhism\u00a0to Japan from China, introduced the benefits of the beverage in a book and advised the Uji priests in tea plant cultivation and preparation. Tea drinking later became popular among the masses, and Uji earned a reputation for excellent tea production as one of the first places to engage in\u00a0tea cultivation.<\/p>\n They don\u2019t allow to take photos during the ceremony, but I can guarantee is the best tea I\u2019ve ever had and the ceremony was a great experience as well!<\/p>\n Uji also has a few Unesco World Heritage Sites to visit and even a short hike up a mountain for a viewpoint of the city. I highly recommend this as a day trip from Kyoto!<\/p>\n When I was backpacking in Okayama my host recommended me to go to Naoshima Island<\/a><\/strong> and this ended up being in my opinion one of the best places to visit in Japan!<\/p>\n The island of Naoshima is a hidden gem for art lovers, with a few museums, installations and urban art spread all over the island.<\/p>\n Featuring artworks by Yayoi Kusama and buildings by Tadao Ando. All within walking distance all over the island. My day there was a bit rainy but I walked a lot and it was totally worth it!<\/p>\n![\"places](\"https:\/\/planetofadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/20190614_140332-01-1024x768.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/planetofadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/20190614_125947-01-1024x768.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nHike the Kyoto Trail<\/h2>\n
![\"hiking](\"https:\/\/planetofadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/20190619_091457-942x1024.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n![\"hiking](\"https:\/\/planetofadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/20190619_101426-1024x768.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nGo camping, kayaking and SUPing in Lake Biwa, near Kyoto<\/h2>\n
![\"kayacking](\"https:\/\/planetofadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/IMG_20190622_180010_827-01.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nVisit a Japanese Whisky Distillery<\/h2>\n
![\"visiting](\"https:\/\/planetofadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/20190926_144008-01-767x1024.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nVisit Sake Paradise<\/h2>\n
![\"saijo](\"https:\/\/planetofadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/20190611_133919-768x1024.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nClimb Mount Fuji<\/h2>\n
![\"climb](\"https:\/\/planetofadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/20190711_054439-02-1024x540.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nVisit Miyajima Island<\/h2>\n
![\"deer](\"https:\/\/planetofadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/20190609_162547-01-768x1024.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nAttend a Traditional Tea Ceremony<\/h2>\n
![\"traditional](\"https:\/\/planetofadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/20190620_140827-1024x768.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nVisit an Outdoor Art Gallery-Island!<\/h2>\n
![\"places](\"https:\/\/planetofadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/20190614_150337-01-1024x768.jpeg\")