Nagoya


Ranked number 4 among Japan largest city, Nagoya is ahead of the big brother Yokohama in terms of traveler’s choice, more for her business attraction than for sightseeing. Nagoya is where Japan’s top pastime, pachinko, was born. The mind-numbing pinball game’s mix of flashing lights and noise are reflections of the city.


Yokohama


Yokohama, neighbouring to Tokyo, is an open harbour front with generally low-rise skyline. Locals are proud of their city’s international heritage, the nineteenth-century European-style and Western-style buildings, the Chinese temples, the sizeable foreign community and most importantly the wide varieties of world cuisines.


Fukuoka


Fukuoka offers few historical sights; most renowned is the Hakata Machiya Folk Museum which is known for its festivals and folk crafts. Fukuoka maintains a lively entertainment lifestyle with tremendous vitality with the main focus on Canal City, a sparkling, self-contained cinema, hotel and shopping complex built around a semicircular strip of water.


Nagasaki


Nagasaki is not a particularly ancient city but is considered as one of Japan’s more picturesque cities. Nagasaki had more than two centuries of contact with foreigners when the rest of Japan was closed to the world and was unfortunately the target of second atomic bomb dropped on Japan. Today, it remains as appealing to traveler with its strong easy-going attitude and an unusually cosmopolitan culture. Successive communities of Chinese, Dutch, Portuguese and British have left their mark here to varying degrees, building colorful Chinese temples, Catholic churches and an array of European-style houses.


Sapporo


As Hokkaido’s main transport hub, Sapporo is the fifth largest city in Japan generously endowed with parks and gardens. Sapporo is dominated to the south by mountains making summer cooling and pleasant. Sapporo is best known for the beer brewing since 1891. Sapporo’s Summer Festival and Snow Festival (Yuki Matsuri) draws more than two million visitors every year.


Hiroshima


Hiroshima has become a byword for devastating, horrific effects of the atomic bomb dropped on it during World War. Japanese reconstructed the city with bigger, brighter and more vibrancy as a testimony to the power of life over destruction. Millions visit the city every year to pay their respects at the Peace Park and museum. Hiroshima is also the jumping-off point to several scenic islands.


Okinawa


Situated in the East China Sea between mainland Japan and Taiwan, Okinawa is made up of 160 islands divided into three archipelagoes: Okinawa, Yaeyama and Miyako. Beaches of Okinawa are reported to be the best in Japan and with its coral reefs, limestone caves and its sub-tropical climate, Okinawa makes an idyllic holiday destination for marine sports, scuba diving, fishing, water-skiing, sailing and surfing. Possibly Okinawa’s most famous cultural export would be Karate which is thought to be a cross between Chinese Kung Fu and Okinawan martial arts.


Narita


Narita is situated some 60km northeast of Tokyo. Narita’s main tourist attraction is Naritasan, a popular Buddhist temple with a history of over 1000 years. Naritasan has become a great destination for transit travelers with some excess time at the airport wanting to get a glimpse of traditional Japan. Another attractive sight next to the airport is the Sakura-no-Yama Hill where a lot of cherry blossom trees can be seen.