Destinations

Check our extensive guides to destinations and places to visit all over Japan to help you travel and get around, and find what to do and see in each location.

Find the best points of interest you can visit by train, how to get there, main attractions and off the beaten tracks suggestions in Japan’s four islands.

How to get from Narita Airport to Osaka

Narita International Airport is the gateway most travelers take into Japan. It is located in the Chiba prefecture some distance from Tokyo. There are a number of options available for travel to Osaka after your plane touches down. The following guide can help you select the travel services that are right for you.

Osaka has become a destination by its own merits. As a port city, Osaka is known for its merchants and delicious food, especially street food. In fact, Osaka is sometimes referred to as “the kitchen of Japan.”

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Super Nintendo World set to open in 2021 at Japan’s Universal Studios

Announced in 2015, Japan’s much-anticipated Super Nintendo World is currently under construction. It is estimated that the project will cost between $350 and $550 million USD. The park is set to open in February 2021 as part of Universal Studios Japan (USJ) – the tenth “land” of that theme park. This video game inspired theme park is located in Osaka, and Nintendo fans are hungry for pre-grand opening details.

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Gotokuji Temple: Birthplace of Maneki-neko

Gotokuji temple (護国寺 in kanji) is well known across Japan as the supposed origin of Maneki-neko, the “beckoning cat” figurine which is said to bring good fortune and success to its owner if kept in their bedroom or place of study.

Many people across the world mistakenly believe that this good luck talisman is Chinese in origin due to its popularity among Chinese and Vietnamese communities. However, the birthplace of Maneki-neko is undoubtedly in Japan, and one of the most popular legends links it directly to Gotojuki.

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Ginkakuji, the Silver Pavillion in Kyoto

The Ginkakuji Temple is also known as the Silver Pavillion, although, curiously, it is not coated in silver plating as one would expect from the name, although that was indeed the original intention of its designer.

A Rinzai Zen temple located in Kyoto, Ginkakuji is situated in the Higashiyama eastern mountains in the city’s Sakyo ward and also goes by the name Jishō-ji, which means the Temple of Shining Mercy.

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Kagoshima: Access and what to see

Located in Kagoshima prefecture at the southwestern tip of the island of Kyushu, Kagoshima is the largest southernmost city on the main islands of Japan and is often considered the friendliest Japanese city for visitors.

Kagoshima has a long history as an important commercial port, especially during the medieval period and the Edo period from 1603–1868, is widely regarded as the birthplace of the industrial revolution in Japan. It was officially inaugurated as a city in 1889.

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