Unknown Places to Discover in Japan

Japan is full of fantastic places to visit, many of them on the most classic tourist routes in Tokyo and Kyoto. But there are spectacular places outside the usual routes, in less known destinations among foreign tourists.

And not all travelers look for the same. Those who travel to Japan for the first time it is very possible that you may want to see the most typical Japan, the most “basic” destinations. But many times you have told us that you liked Japan so much that you repeat travel. And precisely in this case, it is interesting to discover another Japan, those less known destinations.

Actually, there is no single valid way to travel to Japan. Each trip has unique and personal characteristics that make it special for each traveler. And that is why, for those of you who are going for the first time, we recommend you start with these impressive places that you should not miss in Japan. Or if you prefer, you can consult some of the routes and itineraries that we have already created for you.

But for those who have already gone several times, or are going to take a long trip and want to balance the most touristy Japan with a secret Japan, a Japan to discover full of less known destinations, let us surprise you next.

Actually, there is no single valid way to travel to Japan. Each trip has unique and personal characteristics that make it special for each traveler. And that is why, for those of you who are going for the first time, we recommend you start with these impressive places that you should not miss in Japan. But for those who have already gone several times, or are going to make a long trip and want to balance the most tourist Japan with a secret Japan, a Japan to discover full of less known destinations, let us surprise you next.

Is there an unknown Japan?

Sometimes it may seem that there are places in Japan that are so unique that no one has stepped on them before. And accustomed to large masses of people in cities like Tokyo or Kyoto, we understand that something like that may be of interest!

However, we are of the opinion that what is in Japan are more or less accessible places, nothing more. The Japanese have been using mobile phones with cameras and data connections for many years and they love discovering new corners and telling about it. So virtually anywhere we are thinking, however remote, there may have been someone who has visited it before.

Angel Road in Shodoshima

What is true is that, if the place is difficult to reach, many tourists will leave it aside. Because they have few days and because it would take a long time to arrive.

Luckily, Japan is our passion and in addition to having lived there in the past, today we continue to travel several times a year. This allows us to visit these more remote places to be able to offer you the best information in Spanish about Japan. And so you, when planning the trip to Japan, you can decide what you want to see.

Japan to discover

Therefore, for all those who want destinations outside the traditional tourist circuits – what in English is known as off-the-beaten path -, we leave you a list of corners and less frequent places in Japan. You will see that there are some even in places like Tokyo and Kyoto, because even the most popular places have hidden corners.

And to make them easier to consult, we have distributed these ideas and destinations based on the interests we may have when traveling to Japan. We may want to visit castles, but not so typical, for example. Or maybe we are interested in some different Japanese cuisine. In this list you can find all these ideas clearly and visually.

What we have tried to do is not repeat destinations. That means that there are places with beautiful festivals, sanctuaries, with delicious cuisine. But instead of mentioning it several times, we have only included it once. And so that you don’t miss anything anyway, everything has links to articles in which you can expand information.

Of course, these places appear here does not mean that they are not interesting tourist destinations, but simply that they do not usually appear on the most frequent routes. And, because of this, they often go unnoticed.

Castles

Japanese castles are always visited by tourists. And it is that their architecture and aesthetics make them totally different from what we can be used to.

Unfortunately, there are only 12 original castles left in Japan, as the others were either destroyed in the Meiji Restoration or in World War II. In some cases those castles have been restored (with varying degrees of success) but sometimes, we can only see ruins.

Here we want to show you castles that are interesting for their structure, their longevity or for the historical events of which they were protagonists. But, yes, all of them outside the usual routes.