Culture Renkoji Temple Star Festival 2027 Kim Bergström Every January, Renkoji Temple in Ishikawa's Kaga City hosts a traditional event known as the Star Festival, a ritual focused ...
Culture Sugo Isobe Shrine Bamboo Splitting Festival 2027 Kim Bergström Each winter, Sugo Isobe Shrine in Ishikawa Prefecture hosts the Bamboo Splitting Festival, a Shinto ritual that has been pass...
Beauty & Spa Myoko Suginohara Ski-jo Anonymous Myoko Suginohara Ski-jo in Niigata boasts Japan’s longest continuous run.
Beauty & Spa Hekinan Aquarium Chris Glenn There’s not a heck of a lot to do in Hekinan! Its the No.1 fig growing area in Japan. But then who gives a fig? Oh, and ther...
Activities Reap Interest from the Money Museum Chris Glenn One of the great things about The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Money Museum is that you don’t need any money to enjoy it. Ent...
Culture Coffee and Snack Festival 2026 Kim Bergström Niigata Prefecture's coffee scene might not make international headlines, but it has been building into something impressive....
Activities Togakushi's 'Lost' Torii Robert Grey When visiting the shrines of Togakushi, you'd be hard pressed to find the first torii gate. Its location is quite off the bea...
Food Kikushin Restaurant in Yuzawa Rufus Starbuck Stunning mushroom tempura using on the best locally grown ingredients, hand made soba and udon noodles. Kikushin Restaurant i...