Around the world | travel
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hinkansen Travel in Japan
Seasonal Festivals
Art Direction Kaori Price Words Kaori Price Illustration Kaori Price Photography from various online locations
Hokkaido
Shinkansen, Japan’s high-speed railway system known as the bullet train, may be the best way to travel around Japan. It is punctual to the minute, clean and safe as it is perfectly controlled and maintained by each regional JR company. You can always reliably travel from Tokyo to Osaka in as fast as in 2.5 hours, and you don’t have to arrive early at the station. Over 90 Shinkansen stations cover Japan from North to South, connecting Hokkaido and Kagoshima. When you go to Japan, do travel to each region and enjoy the life, customs, food and culture that developed distinctively unique to the area.
Chugoku
Ishikawa Toyama Fukui Tottori
Shimane Hiroshima Okayama Kagawa Yamaguchi Ehime
Fukuoka Nagasaki
Saga
Oita
Kumamoto Miyazaki
Kagoshima
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Kochi
Kyoto Shiga Hyogo
Gifu Aichi
Osaka
Nara
Niigata
Miyagi
Shikoku
Tohoku
Fukushima Tochigi
Gunma Nagano Saitama Ibaragi Yamanashi Tokyo Kanagawa Chiba Shizuoka
Mie
Tokushima Wakayama
Kyushu
Iwate
Akita Yamagata
Kinki
Hokkaido
Aomori
Chubu
Kanto
YUKIMATSURI, Hokkaido NEBUTA, Aomori NAMAHAGE, Akita CHAGUCHAGU UMAKO, Iwate HANAKASA, Yamagata TANAB ATA, Miyagi CHIBUYA, Saitama SETSUBUNKAI, Chiba KANDA MATSURI, Tokyo ABARE, Ishikawa KENKA MATSURI, Hyogo EBISU KAIMON, Hyogo HADAKA MATSURI, Okayama HAGIYAKI, Yamaguchi YOSAKOI, Kochi AWA ODORI, Tokushima GION MATSURI, Fukuoka KUNCHI, Nagasaki ARITAYAKI, Saga
Regional Cuisines ISHIKARINABE, Hokkaido KIRITANPO, Akita HARAKOMESHI, Miyagi JIBUNI, Ishikawa OYAKI, Nagano HITSUMABUSHI, Aichi TEKONEZUSHI, Mie FUNAZUSHI, Shiga MEHARIZUSHI, Wakayama KANIJIRU, Tottori FUKURYORI, Yamaguchi TAIMESHI, Ehime SAWACHIRYORI, Kochi BASASHI, Kumamoto HIYAJIRU, Miyazaki TSUKEAGE, Kagoshima
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Pottery/Porcelain Towns AIZUHONGOUYAKI, Fukushima MASUKOYAKI, Tochigi KASAMAYAKI, Ibaragi MINOUYAKI, Gifu SETOYAKI, Aichi TOKONAMEYAKI, Aichi KUTANIYAKI, Ishikawa ECHIZENYAKI, Fukui IGAYAKI, Mie SIGARAKIYAKI, Shiga KIYOMIZUYAKI, Kyoto TANBATACHIKUIYAKI, Hyogo BIZENYAKI, Okayama HAGIYAKI, Yamaguchi TOBEYAKI, Ehime KARATSUYAKI, Saga IMARIYAKI, Saga ARITAYAKI, Saga
E S Shinkansen Line and Stations Pottery and Porcelain Town Special Regional Cuisine Historic Seasonal Festival The Most Beautiful Village
The Most Beautiful Villages Biei; Shibetsu; Trurui; Akaigawa; Kyogoku; Kuromatsunai, Hokkaido Kosaka, Aomori Higashinaruse, Akita Okura; Iide, Yamagata Iitate; Mishima; Kitashirobara, Fukushima Nakagawa, Tochigi Showa; Nakanojo, Gunma Ogawa; Takayama; Oshika, Nagano
Doshi, Yamanashi Hayakawa; Matsuzaki; Nagiso, Shizuoka Nakagawa; Ikeda; Umase, Gifu
Higashishirakawa; Wazuka, Kyoto Ine, Hyogo
Soni; Yoshino; Totsukawa, Nara
Kami, Tottori Shinjo, Okayama Ama, Shimane Kamijima, Ehime Kamikatsu, Tokushima Umaji; Motoyama, Kochi Toho; Hoshinomura, Fukuoka Tsukahara, Oita Ojika, Nagasaki Minamioguni; Takamori; Kuma, Kumamoto Aya; Takaharu, Miyazaki
Around the World | Travel
Around the World | Travel
Explore the most beautiful villages in Japan One of the most interesting sides of Japan is the mixture of modern and tradition. You are more likely to find traditional ways of living in rural areas. The map shows 47 villages that are registerd as “the most beautiful villages in Japan (http://www.utsukushii-mura.jp/).” Old towns and stunning nature awaits you at these destinations.
Enjoy the historic seasonal festivals Like any other place in the world, festivals play a big part of people’s lives in Japan. Some festivals have their roots in Chinese festivals but have undergone dramatic changes as they mixed with local customs. Some are so different that they do not even remotely resemble the original festival despite sharing the same name and date. Either way, the energy you encounter at Matsuri is incredible.
Sample various regional cuisine Traditional Japanese food is typically seasoned with a combination of dashi, soy sauce, sake and mirin, vinegar, sugar and salt. These are typically the only seasonings used when grilling or braising an item. Each region has its own ratio that they use to cook specialty dishes using local ingredients from sea and mountain. The method of cooking and preparation is often handed down from generation to generation.
Peruse exclusive craftsmanship Japan has a long tradition with ceramic. Japan’s prehistoric periods are referred to as the earthenware of the time, such as the Jomon or Yayoi period. In the fifth and sixth centuries, Japanese artistic ceramicware was greatly influenced by the introduction of techniques from Korea and China. After that, each regional style was developed. Today, as there is a plentiful supply of materials at the traditional kilns in each district, highly skilled ceramic artists create countless beautiful pieces.
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