To visit

A while back I made a list of places that I’d love to visit while in Japan. Well, it’d be best to be able to see and visit everything, but I have to stay realistic. The list below doesn’t include the more obvious places (such as Tokyo and all its districts), but it does include places which I’ve discovered relatively late, and it’s here mainly to remind me about them. Nevertheless, do read on - just the pictures are very inspiring.

nipomen2, Flickr.com

Hitachi Seaside Park (Hotachinaka, Ibaraki-ken) - it’s by the Pacific Ocean and takes up the space of about 3.5ha; and it’s a tourist spot almost all year round thanks to different parts having different types of flowers which, of course, bloom at different times. I admit, the picture on the right looks to me like from a fairy tale, and although Google Maps inform me that it’s not going to be a cheap or an easy trip, I feel that it’s going to be worth all the hassle!

Yuya Horikawa, 500px.com

Sagano bamboo forest in Arashiyama (Kyoto) - although I’ve been to Kyoto already, I never got to Arashiyama and I only know the bamboo forest from films and pictures. But this time I want to make up for this obvious loss. No doubt I’ll also visit a few other nearby spots, especially since 16km² is not that much (and definitely not compared to 3.5ha).

5DMark2, Mindphoto

Wisteria flower tunnel in Kawakuchi Fuji Gardens (Kitakyushu, Fukuoka-ken) - the Internet is warning me that the wisteria doesn’t bloom as beautifully as on pictures every year, after all a lot depends on the weather that year, but that won’t stop me from going. Because even if the reality doesn’t match the pictures, at least I’ll be able to say that I’ve been there, and who knows when will I get another chance to go.

K.K., Kimi-Tourguide

Takinoue Park (Takinoue, Hokkaido) - there are other attractions to see there, like herb gardens ad turkeys (!), but I plan on going there for the blooming shibazakura flowers (moss pink). Apparently these take up 100’000m² of the park’s space! And since the Japanese love to throw festivals for various nature things, these have their own too: the Shibazakura Festival (Shibazakura Matsuri), which is on from the 1^st of May to the beginnings of June. No two words about it, I have to go there.

Ainu Kotan (lake-akan,com)

Akan Ainu Kotan (Kushiro, Hokkaido) - given my fairly recent fascination with everything related to the Ainu, the ethnic minority of northern Japan, a visit to an Ainu village is a must (kotan in Ainu language means a village or a community). And sure, I see that it’s been made into more of a show for tourists than anything else, but they also have performances, traditional dances and a chance to enter a typical Ainu house - and the Ainu population of hundred and thirty people in one village is a bonus (who else will tell me if I’m pronouncing the few words in Ainu that I know correctly or not?).

Burlesque-roppong.com

Burlesque Theater Roppongi (Roppongi, Tokyo) - I adore burlesque. Being a massive magpie I can't help but love it, it's one of the best things on planet Earth. However, since I won't be able to go to shows in the UK, as I usually try to do, I looked on the Internet for various shows in Japan - and stumbled upon this little gem (literally and figuratively). From what I gather, it has an all Japanese cast and doesn't seem to invite foreign stars, so it will definitely be an interesting experience to see how it compares to the UK burlesque scene (which is exceptional, I tell you that). Who knows, maybe they twirl tassels differently over there?

@cat_tomocafe (Twitter)

Neko Cafe (Kanazawa) - the moment I discovered the existence of such wonder, on my sempai’s Facebook wall, I screamed and then squealed some more. Seriously, a cafe where you can have cheap lunch and then PLAY WITH KITTENS? (And rabbits, but I'm not that keen on rabbits). And then GO ON THE INTERNET? Depression simply cannot exist there and knowing my love for cats, I may become a permanent resident there. Our planet needs more places like that - and I've not even been there yet!

So far this is all I have. I wanted to add the light tunnel in Nagashima, Mie-ken, but as far as I know it’s been closed on the 31^st of March this year. Pity, the pictures looked stunning. But I’ll sure be adding things here once I find new places to visit.