Contents Lonely Planet 17 On the Road 4 Japan Highlights 6 Destination Japan 22 Getting Started 24 Events Calendar 29 Itineraries 31 History 38 The Culture 56 Food & Drink 76 Environment 97 The Onsen 102 Skiing in Japan 108 Architecture 113 Tokyo 121 History 122 Orientation 122 Information 123 Dangers & Annoyances 127 Sights 127 Activities 160 Walking Tour 160 Courses 161 Tokyo for Children 161 Tours 161 Festivals & Events 161 Sleeping 162 Eating 170 Drinking 181 Entertainment 183 Shopping 188 Getting There & Away 192 Getting Around 193 Around Tokyo 196 NORTH OF TOKYO 197 Nikkō 197 Around Nikkō 204 Gunma-ken 205 Mito 206 WEST OF TOKYO 207 Ghibli Museum 207 Takao-san 207 Oku-Tama Region 207 Mt Fuji Area 208 HAKONE REGION 215 Izu-hantō 219 SOUTH OF TOKYO 227 Yokohama 227 Kamakura 233 EAST OF TOKYO 238 Narita 238 IZU-SHOTŌ 240 Ō-shima 241 Nii-jima 242 Shikine-jima 242 Kōzu-shima 243 Miyake-jima 244 Hachijō-jima 244 OGASAWARA-SHOTŌ 245 Chichi-jima 245 Haha-jima 246 Central Honshū 248 NAGOYA 250 History 250
18 CONTENTS Orientation 251 Information 251 Sights 254 Festivals & Events 256 Sleeping 256 Eating 258 Drinking 259 Entertainment 260 Shopping 260 Getting There & Away 260 Getting Around 261 AROUND NAGOYA 261 Tokoname 262 Inuyama 262 Around Inuyama 264 Gifu 265 Gujō-Hachiman 267 HIDA DISTRICT 267 Takayama 267 Hida-Furukawa 275 Shirakawa-gō & Gokayama 276 JAPAN ALPS NATIONAL PARK 280 Kamikōchi 280 Shirahone Onsen 283 Hirayu Onsen 283 Fukuchi Onsen 284 Shin-Hotaka Onsen 284 NAGANO-KEN 284 Nagano 286 Togakushi 290 Obuse 290 Yudanaka 291 Shiga Kōgen 291 Nozawa Onsen 293 Hakuba 294 Bessho Onsen 296 Matsumoto 297 Hotaka 301 Kiso Valley Region 302 TOYAMA-KEN 304 TOYAMA 304 Tateyama-Kurobe Alpen Route 305 ISHIKAWA-KEN 306 Kanazawa 306 Noto-hantō 314 Hakusan National Park 319 FUKUI-KEN 320 Fukui 320 Eihei-ji 320 Tōjinbō 321 Tsuruga 321 Obama 321 Kansai 323 KYOTO 324 History 324 Climate 326 Orientation 326 Information 327 Sights 328 Activities 365 Festivals & Events 366 Sleeping 367 Eating 372 Drinking 378 Entertainment 378 Shopping 379 Getting There & Away 381 Getting Around 382 SHIGA-KEN 384 Ōtsu 384 Ishiyama-dera 385 Miho Museum 385 Hikone 385 Nagahama 387 NORTHERN KANSAI 388 Moroyose 388 Takeno 388 Kinosaki 388 Tango-hantō 390 Amanohashidate 390 Maizuru 391 OSAKA 391 History 391 Orientation 392 Information 392 Sights & Activities 393 Festivals & Events 401 Sleeping 401 Eating 403 Drinking 405 Entertainment 406 Shopping 406 Getting There & Away 407 Getting Around 408 KŌBE 408 Orientation 408 Information 409 Sights 409 Festivals & Events 410 Sleeping 410 Eating 412 Drinking 413 Getting There & Away 413 Getting Around 413 HIMEJI 414 Orientation & Information 414 Sights 415 Festivals & Events 416 Sleeping 416 Eating 416 Getting There & Away 417 NARA 417 History 417 Orientation 419 Information 419 Sights 420 Tours 423 Festivals & Events 423 Sleeping 423 Eating 424 Drinking 425 Getting There & Away 426 Getting Around 426 AROUND NARA 426 Temples Southwest of Nara 428 Around Yamato-Yagi 429 Asuka 430 Around Sakurai 430 Yoshino 431 KII-HANTŌ 432 Wakayama 433 Kōya-san 433 Shirahama 438 Kushimoto, Shiono-misaki & Kii-Ōshima 440 Nachi & Kii-Katsuura 440 Shingū 441 Hongū 441 Yunomine, Watarase & Kawa-yu Onsen 441
CONTENTS 19 ISE-SHIMA 442 Ise 442 Toba 445 Ago-wan, Kashikojima & Goza 446 South of Kashikojima 446 Western Honshū 447 OKAYAMA-KEN 448 Okayama 448 Bizen 454 Hattōji 455 Kurashiki 456 HIROSHIMA-KEN 459 Southern Hiroshima-ken 459 Northern Hiroshima-ken 462 Hiroshima 462 Miyajima 469 INLAND SEA 471 Shōdo-shima 472 Naoshima 474 Kasaoka Islands 475 Seto-Uchi Shimanami Kaidō 476 Inno-shima 476 Ikuchi-jima 476 Ōmi-shima 477 YAMAGUCHI-KEN 478 Iwakuni 478 Yamaguchi 479 Akiyoshi-dai 482 Shimonoseki 482 Tawarayama Onsen 486 Hagi 486 SHIMANE-KEN 491 Tsuwano 491 Ōda 494 Izumo 495 Matsue 497 Around Matsue & Izumo 501 Oki-shotō 501 TOTTORI-KEN 501 Daisen 501 Along the Coast to Tottori 502 Tottori 502 San-in Coast National Park 504 Transport Maps 509 Northern Honshū 513 FUKUSHIMA-KEN 514 Aizu-Wakamatsu 514 Kitakata 518 Bandai Plateau 519 MIYAGI-KEN 520 Sendai 520 Matsushima & Oku-Matsushima 527 Ishinomaki 529 Kinkasan 529 Naruko Onsen 530 IWATE-KEN 531 Hiraizumi 531 Tōno Valley 534 Morioka 538 AOMORI-KEN 540 Aomori 541 Hakkōda-san 544 Shimokita-hantō 545 Hirosaki 546 Iwaki-san 548 Aoni Onsen 548 Towada-ko 548 AKITA-KEN 549 Hachimantai 550 Tazawa-ko 550 Kakunodate 553 Akita 554 YAMAGATA-KEN 557 Tobi-shima 557 Tsuruoka 559 Dewa Sanzan 560 Yamagata 562 Tendō 563 Zaō Onsen 563 Yamadera 565 Yonezawa 565 NIIGATA-KEN 566 Niigata 566 Myōkō Kōgen 570 Sado-ga-shima 571 Naeba 576 Echigo-Yuzawa Onsen 576 Hokkaidō 578 SAPPORO 583 DŌ-NAN 593 Hakodate 593 Matsumae 598 Esashi 599 DŌ-Ō 599 Otaru 599 Niseko 602 Rusutsu 606 Shikotsu-tōya National Park 607 Muroran 612 DŌ-HOKU 612 Asahikawa 612 Wakkanai 616 Rishiri-Rebun-Sarobetsu National Park 618 Biei 622 Furano 623 Daisetsuzan National Park 625 DŌ-TŌ 630 Abashiri 630 Akan National Park 632 Kushiro 637 Shiretoko National Park 639 TOKACHI 641 Obihiro 641 Ikeda 642 Erimo-Misaki 642 Shikoku 644 TOKUSHIMA-KEN 645 Tokushima 645 Around Tokushima 651 Iya Valley 652 Southern Tokushima-ken 654 KŌCHI-KEN 656 Tokushima to Kōchi 657 Kōchi 659 Kōchi to Ashizurimisaki 662 Ashizuri-misaki 663 EHIME-KEN 664 Uwajima 664 Uwajima to Matsuyama 666 Matsuyama 668 Around Matsuyama 673
20 CONTENTS KAGAWA-KEN 673 Matsuyama to Takamatsu 674 Takamatsu 677 Around Takamatsu 681 Kyūshū 683 FUKUOKA-KEN 684 Fukuoka (Hakata) 685 Dazaifu 696 Futsukaichi Onsen 697 Tachiarai 697 Kurume 698 SAGA-KEN 698 Karatsu 698 Yobuko 700 Imari 700 Arita 700 NORTHWEST ISLANDS 701 Iki 701 Hirado-shima 701 Gotō-rettō 702 NAGASAKI-KEN 702 Nagasaki 702 Around Nagasaki 714 SHIMABARA PENINSULA 714 Unzen 714 Shimabara 715 KUMAMOTO-KEN 717 Kumamoto 717 Yamaga & Kikuchi Onsen 723 Aso-San Area 723 Kurokawa Onsen 726 Amakusa Archipelago 727 KAGOSHIMA-KEN 727 Kirishima-Yaku National Park 727 Kirishima-Shi Kokubu 730 Kagoshima 730 Sakurajima 738 Satsuma Peninsula 740 Around Satsuma Peninsula 741 Ōsumi Peninsula 741 MIYAZAKI-KEN 741 Miyazaki 741 Aoshima & Kaeda 745 Udo-Jingū 747 Obi 747 Nichinan-kaigan & Cape Toi 747 Saitobaru 747 Takachiho 748 ŌITA-KEN 750 Usuki 750 Beppu 750 Kunisaki Peninsula 756 Yufuin 756 Yufuin to Aso-san 757 Okinawa & the Southwest Islands 758 KAGOSHIMA-KEN 761 Ōsumi-shotō 761 Tokara-rettō 768 Amami-shotō 768 OKINAWA-KEN 774 Okinawa-hontō 774 Islands Near Okinawa-Hontō 783 Miyako-shotō 785 Yaeyama-shotō 789 Directory 803 Accommodation 803 Activities 808 Business Hours 809 Children 809 Climate 810 Courses 811 Customs 811 Dangers & Annoyances 811 Discount Cards 812 Embassies & Consulates 812 Festivals & Events 813 Food 813 Gay & Lesbian Travellers 814 Holidays 814 Insurance 814 Internet Access 814 Left Luggage 815 Legal Matters 815 Maps 815 Money 815 Photography 817 Post 817 Shopping 818 Solo Travellers 820 Telephone 820 Time 821 Toilets 821 Tourist Information 822 Travellers With Disabilities 822 Visas 823 Volunteering 824 Women Travellers 825 Work 825 Transport 827 GETTING THERE & AWAY 827 Entering The Country 827 Air 827 Land 830 Sea 830 GETTING AROUND 831 Air 831 Bicycle 832 Boat 833 Bus 833 Car & Motorcycle 834 Hitching 837 Local Transport 837 Train 838 Health 843 BEFORE YOU GO 843 Insurance 843 Recommended Vaccinations 843 Internet Resources 844 Further Reading 844 IN TRANSIT 844 Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) 844 Jet Lag & Motion Sickness 845 IN JAPAN 845 Availability & Cost of Health Care 845 Infectious Diseases 845 Traveller s Diarrhoea 846 Environmental Hazards 847
Lonely Planet CONTENTS 21 Women s Health 847 Travelling With Children 848 Traditional Medicine 848 Language 849 Grammar 849 Written Japanese 850 Romanisation 850 Language books 850 Pronunciation 850 Accommodation 851 Conversation & Essentials 851 Directions 852 Health 852 Language Difficulties 853 Numbers 854 Question Words 854 Shopping & Services 854 Time & Days 854 Transport 855 Glossary 856 The Authors 860 Behind the Scenes 863 Index 866 Map Legend 880 Regional Map Contents HOKKAID± pp580 1 NORTHERN HONSH p515 CENTRAL HONSH p249 WESTERN HONSH p449 KANSAI p325 KY SH pp686 7 SHIKOKU p646 AROUND TOKYO p198 TOKYO pp128 9 OKINAWA & THE SOUTHWEST ISLANDS p760 Lonely Planet. To make it easier for you to use, access to this chapter is not digitally restricted. In return, we think it s fair to ask you to use it for personal, non-commercial purposes only. In other words, please don t upload this chapter to a peer-to-peer site, mass email it to everyone you know, or resell it. See the terms and conditions on our site for a longer way of saying the above - Do the right thing with our content.