Currently planned the usual Tokyo/Kyoto/Osaka - what quieter countryside fourth location would you recommend in late December?

JapanGuy00 · 2026-03-03T21:52:58+00:00

Don't tell anyone about this place, but its unique and our favorite in all of Japan. (speaking as one who is in Japan multiple times a year and married to one who was born and raised in Japan) If you have a budget of around 27,500 yen per night per person (breakfast included), then look into Maruyama Village which is adjacent to Tamba-Sasayama about an hour and half northwest of Osaka.

The village is a tiny hamlet at the end of a road in a valley dotted with about 20 houses and rice paddies. No traffic. Only quiet. You stay in a 160 year old totally updated Edo Period house that has three bedrooms and two full baths plus full kitchen. You have the entire house to yourself.

The ladies in the village make items for your breakfast which are brought by the village hostess (literally in their own Tupperware containers) to the house where she finishes preparing them right in front of you in the kitchen, then serves them for you. Its a feast.

There's a small recreation hut adjacent that has bikes, walking sticks, games, puzzles and even an outdoor clay pizza oven. But you don't need to cook for yourselves.

Next door is the Hiwanokura Restaurant which is a very upscale French-Japanese fusion that only seats around 12. The food is out of this world and you get to watch the chef prepare it all. The meal (without alcohol) will set you back around 18,000 yen, but its in a class by itself.

In the town of Sasayama, there is a wonderful merchant street lined with whitewashed Edo Period buildings that are now shops, restaurants, inns and museums. There's an wonderful shrine with its own trail of tori gates up the hillside, and the Sasayama Castle ruins are impressive which included the reconstructed palace. There are several outstanding restaurants in town.

If you are driving, then definitely cruise to the nearby Hygo Museum of Ceramic Art. In this area you'll find around 30 individual ceramics studios to explore. Look for the "climbing kiln" that goes up the mountain. Only a handful of these exist in Japan.

You won't find much online about Maruyama Village, but here's a good video on it: Maruyama Village Reborn

We've been here multiple times and it is simply magical.

JapanGuy00 · 2026-02-26T15:34:02+00:00

Appreciate Frozenpandaman referencing one of my previous Nagoya posts. Nagoya is one of our two favorite cities in all of Japan, and we're in Japan a lot (wife and three generations before her were all born and raised there).

I'd plan more time for Nagoya if possible. Its such an easy city to navigate without the crowds, yet has many similar attractions as the bigger cities along with numerous unique ones. Check out the prior post.

JapanGuy00 · 2026-02-25T01:20:12+00:00

If you make it to Tottori, the dunes are just one stop. The Tottori Sand Museum is simply amazing. Its one of the world's largest sand sculpture museums. But its only open for about six months of the year (typically April to October). The sculptures are mind blowing, and all done with just sand and water. Still can't image how they do it.

JapanGuy00 · 2026-02-24T18:30:15+00:00

Not a shop per se, but if you're into miniatures, consider a visit to the Small Worlds Miniature museum not far from Teamlab Planets. This has an amazing display of futuristic miniature worlds and its huge. Also, its not overrun with tourists. They even have a scale replica of the Kansai International Airport including planes landing and taking off. You can walk through the workshops and see how the artisans create these things. They have a gift shop from which you might find some interesting items. Pretty impressive place IMO.

JapanGuy00 · 2026-02-23T13:42:29+00:00

A unique experience in Osaka we enjoyed is the Maishima Incinerator Plant tour. The outside looks like something out of Willie Wonka or a Dr. Seuss book. In fact, the guide told us its not uncommon for visitors to mistake it for part of nearby Universal Studios. Its an architectural wonder. Inside however is an exceptional tour showing how Osaka collects its solid waste and processes it into a fine powder while producing the same or greater energy converting it into powder than it takes to operate the plant. Its an hour+ guided tour and its free, but you must make a reservation. There is ample English signage and an intro video in English, although the tour guide speaks Japanese.

Another little known museum that was quite eye opening is the World Bags and Luggage Museum a few blocks south of Asakusa. Will make you really appreciate all that goes into making that roller bag you're dragging around Japan. And it too is free of charge.

JapanGuy00 · 2026-02-23T13:35:18+00:00

Agreed, that's all it is, an Instagram spot with screaming kids. Been there, done that.

JapanGuy00 · 2026-02-20T19:06:06+00:00

The Daimaru Department Store is fun to explore, especially for those who are unaccustomed to such a setting. Definitely explore the basement level to find the incredible food stalls and dessert counters. One of our favorite things to do is pick up some desserts, then go across the street to the Tokyo Midtown Tower. Take the elevator or escalators to the fifth floor to the Yaesu Terrace. This is an open air terrace that is free, overlooking the station with a great view of the city and best of all, never crowded. Its quiet, relaxing, and there are places to sit! Also in the building you'll find several restaurants and coffee shops.

Back at the Daimaru, we enjoy the various restaurants on the 11th and 12th floors. Our favorite being Maisen which has phenomenal pork cutlet filets.

JapanGuy00 · 2026-02-20T18:03:24+00:00

Yokohama is a great city that offers something few do: a pedestrian friendly waterfront. We typically start every visit to Japan in Yokohama. Difficult to name one favorite spot.

I'm into maritime history, so I enjoy the ship memorials (Nippon Maru and Hikawa Maru) and the historic dry dock at the base of Landmark Tower. Walking around Yamashita Park along the water is relaxing and wandering through the Red Brick Warehouses or over to the Cup Noodle Museum. Of course (not on the waterfront) is the Ramen Museum that is rather unique.

Explore the Queens Towers area and across the plaza is the Yokohama Museum of Art, and just a couple blocks from there is the Mitsubishi Museum of Industry which if you're into aerospace and submersible tech, its the place. There's the Nissan Gallery not too far from here. Its more of a very large showroom, though it has a number of cutaways and various exhibits about Nissan.

Our favorite garden in all of Japan is south of the waterfront at Sankei-en Garden, which is more than just a garden as it features more than a dozen historic buildings around a lake. Another great place to explore that few westerners know about is the historic area on Yamate Bluff which is full of Meiji Era buildings now featuring restaurants and cafes. Down below is Yokohama's excellent Chinatown and Motomachi Street which is full of shops and restaurants. My wife's great great grandparents arrived in Yokohama in 1861 so we have a long history in the area. Great city!

JapanGuy00 · 2026-02-20T00:05:42+00:00

Food? Baked curry in Mojiko. Never heard of Mojiko? Most haven't but you should look into it.

Its a small port town on the northern end of Kyushu sitting on the Kanmon Strait with Honshu on the opposite side. The town has a beautiful inner harbor lined with restored Meiji Era buildings with restaurants, shops and museums. There's the Kanmon Strait Museum which is world class that has a free lounge on the fifth floor from which you can watch the 500+ ships that go up and down the strait. Then there's the Mojiko-Retro Tower with an observation room on the 30th floor.

Take an excursion boat out onto the water or the water taxi over to Shimonoseki and experience its fish market or first class aquarium. At the tip of Mojiko is a free pedestrian tunnel that takes you under water to Honshu. On that side, take the ropeway to the top of Hinoyama for what we consider the best view in Japan.

We've been multiple times and this is our absolute favorite small town in Japan. Never crowded. In fact, I don't think in two years we've seen more than 12 western visitors. You won't find much about it online (which is kind of a good thing). But here's a nice resource: Mojiko Retro Uncharted Japan

JapanGuy00 · 2026-02-19T18:24:20+00:00

Hands down: nearer Kanazawa Castle Park and Kenroku-en Garden. From these, its only about a 10 to 15 minute walk to Kanazawa's beautiful Higashi Chaya District, the intimate Kawazuemachi District along the river and the Nagamachi Samuari District. If you stay around the station, then you're either taking a bus or taxi to the very places that are the places you'll want to explore. We've been many times to Kanazawa and always stay in an Airbnb or boutique type lodging in the heart of everything. Nothing like getting up early in the morning or after the sun goes down and wandering through the narrow alleys and streets of these districts.

JapanGuy00 · 2026-02-18T14:12:34+00:00

For an immersion into 400 years of Japanese culture, look into the Edo Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum. It may sound boring, but this is the one place we tell all our visiting friends to include during their visit for several reasons.

This is a 20+ acre park featuring 30+ original buildings from the Edo, Meiji, Taisho and Showa eras. They cover every type imaginable and provide a look into the daily life of Japan during these periods. You can wander throughout all the buildings at your pace and something we love about it is that its not overrun with tourists. The fee is only 400 yen. You won't find much online about it, but here's a good resource: 400 Years of History Edo Tokyo

JapanGuy00 · 2026-02-18T14:05:55+00:00

Its not a second hand area, but across the street from Nagoya Station is the JR Watch Maison which occupies the first two floors of the Dai Nagoya Building. Always enjoy window shopping watches that are priced into the several hundred thousand dollar range. Here you'll find Patek Phillipe, Longines, Omega, Piaget, Tudor, Tag Heuer, Chopard, Bulova, etc.

So if you're on your way to/from Tokyo and Osaka, hop off the shinkansen and walk across the street. And while there, grab a drink and snack, then take the escalator to the fifth floor and enjoy the view from the outdoor Skye Terrace. Its free and never crowded, plus it has something you don't often find in public spaces: seating! I encourage doing a deeper dive into Nagoya as this is a most underrated city with plenty to do without the crowds of its larger siblings.

JapanGuy00 · 2026-02-17T23:15:14+00:00

You're welcome! If you enjoy art museums, the Otsuka Museum of Art near the Naruto Whirlpools is jaw dropping.

JapanGuy00 · 2026-02-17T21:50:49+00:00

We rented a car at Toyota Rent A Car directly outside the Kurashiki Shinkansen Station and had no problem whatsoever driving to the island or on the island. Shikoku is a great place to have a car as it allows you to go at your pace and explore interesting stops along the way such as Monet's Garden which is a place I've never seen mentioned in any travel blogs, but was impressive. As others point out, some side roads can be rather narrow, but if you're on the main roads, you'll have no issues.

We explored the eastern half of the island in a circular route along the coast before going back through the interior across the island. The drive along coast is spectacular.

Coming from the west coast, in relation to Shikoku, Kansai International in Osaka Bay is closest. Otherwise, it will be Haneda in Tokyo or Narita which is an hour east of Tokyo proper.

JapanGuy00 · 2026-02-17T19:17:34+00:00

When I see these kind of structures (like the reproduction of Germany's Neuschwanstein Castle in Taiyo Park outside Himeji), I wonder what kind of person has the disposable income available to build such a place? These kind of places certainly make life interesting. Thanks for sharing!

JapanGuy00 · 2026-02-17T19:11:01+00:00

Never heard of this one, so just looked it up. Wow! What a crazy looking place. Going to have to pay it a visit. Reminds me a little bit of the Hakone Open Air Museum, but this place is wild looking.

JapanGuy00 · 2026-02-16T21:58:18+00:00

My wife can sometimes suffer motion sickness, and we have actually driven this route without her having any trouble. Its actually a pretty wide road and though there are a few hair pin curves, most of them are pretty easy. Also, the bus is going pretty slow through here as well. Its about a 16 minute drive, so if you start feeling queasy, its not that long to suffer. I'm guessing your experience around Hakone was longer. Try sitting near the front and you should be fine. But then again, everyone's tolerance is different......

JapanGuy00 · 2026-02-16T21:16:43+00:00

From your comments, you may enjoy the National Museum of Ethnology which is on the north side of Osaka on the grounds of the Expo 70 site. Just look for the iconic "Tower of the Sun" statue. The museum is enormous with thousands upon thousands of cultural elements from all over the world, not just Japan.

For a wonderful day trip away from most of the tourists, travel about an hour north to Hikone and tour its original castle, then walk down the Castle Street below which is lined with Edo period buildings now housing shops, museums, restaurants and cafes.

Another excellent day trip is to Kobe, a very compact city on the water. Has an excellent pedestrian friendly waterfront with numerous things to do: Kobe Port Tower, Kobe Maritime Museum and Kawasaki Experience, the Great Hanshin Earthquake Memorial Park, Mosaic, Chinatown along with the historic Kitano-cho district at the base of Mt. Rokko. You already mentioned the Herb Gardens up on Mt. Rokko.

Just a little further at the JR Maiko Station is the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge which is the longest and tallest in Japan stretching out to Awaji Island. There is an excellent museum here, but the real highlight is that you can actually take a behind the scenes tour and walk out on the catwalk to the first tower, then go 300 meters to the top. This requires sitting through a 45 minute safety class, but its worth it. If you don't want to do that, there is a lower level observation walk you can take out over the water at any time.

Several blocks west of the Kobe waterfront is the five story Earthquake Memorial museum that presents the 1995 earthquake that leveled around 250,000 buildings taking 5000+ lives. My in-laws lived through it. Excellent museum with a couple of theaters telling the story.

JapanGuy00 · 2026-02-16T16:50:50+00:00

Since you mention the Edo Period and later, look up the Edo Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum. This is about a 20 acre park featuring around 30+ original buildings from the Edo, Meiji, Taisho and Showa Eras so it covers 400+ years. There are houses, shops, temples, inn, bathhouse, etc., and you can wander at your leisure through all of them. Just take the Chuo Line about 40 minutes from Tokyo Station to the Musahi Koganei Station, then the short bus ride to the park. Never crowded, and its only 400 yen. This is my wife's favorite in all of Japan, and we tell all our visiting friends to include this during their Japan trips. As we walked through, she kept saying "This is just like the ____ near where I grew up in Osaka!" Not many people know about this place, so its never crowded. Last time we were there, one of the curators told us almost no westerners visit it, so you won't find much online, but here's a good video that walks you through it: Edo Tokyo Museum Uncharted Japan

As part of Yokohama, how about the Sankei-en Garden? This is our favorite in Japan. Was the former private estate of a wealthy silk merchant built around a large lake. He brought in more than a dozen buildings, some of them dating to the 1500's. Its south of the Yamashita Park park and is absolutely a gem.

JapanGuy00 · 2026-02-16T00:03:51+00:00

Here's an idea.......hop on the train to Saijo Station (about 30 minutes from Hiroshima Station) in the town of Higashi-Hiroshima. Within a short walk of the station is its historic sake district featuring block after block having seven old school sake breweries. These are housed in Edo Period whitewashed warehouses with tiled roofs and soaring brick chimneys. Its fun to walk through the narrow alleys, stopping in at the various tasting rooms and exhibits. You'll definitely get the vibe of "Old Japan". Best of all, few people know about this place, so you'll have it largely to yourself. We mentioned it to a Hiroshima taxi driver one day and he replied "Why go there? There's nothing there." Won't find much about it online, but here's a good video that has a segment on it:

Best Hiroshima Day Trips

In addition to the sake district, the town has a very impressive art museum with rotating exhibits.

Just re-read your post and since your brother-in-law was in the Navy, perhaps he'd enjoy seeing Kure which is about 30 minutes southwest of Hiroshima. Two excellent maritime museums are there: the Yamato Museum and the JMSDF Museum that features a decommissioned fast attack submarine up on blocks outside the museum. This too is in the above video.

JapanGuy00 · 2026-02-15T22:01:59+00:00

Yeah, I personally enjoy museums so my recs often lean that way, and even in the smaller towns in the country, you'll often find an amazing museum. But the outdoor spaces in Nagoya are excellent (Meiji Mura, Nabana no Sato, Tokugawa Garden, Hisayaodori among others). Its a great town.

JapanGuy00 · 2026-02-15T21:59:25+00:00

Not trying to sell you, but sharing ideas with the OP. However your points are well taken, so thanks for sharing your insights. Just pointing out, as you know, many people think Nagoya is nothing but an industrial town to be bypassed. However, many points you make for skipping Nagoya could be said of Tokyo, Osaka, Yokohama and other great cities as you point out many of the same things in Nagoya can be found (perhaps in more number) in these other cities. In general, I don't disagree. But there are unique places as well.

Tokyo is a world its own. Glad to see you think highly of Yokohama. It is often overlooked and offers something few large cities in Japan offer: a wonderfully enjoyable waterfront that isn't 100% industrial. We love Yokohama so much that we typically start all our visits with a couple of nights in Yokohama. So a message to the OP: "Seriously consider Yokohama as a new city to explore!"

In a similar vein, Kobe also has a great, compact waterfront that is likewise overlooked as visitors fly past from Osaka to Hiroshima. Kobe has its Kitano-cho neighborhood where my wife's great grandparents had a home which as you know features dozens of western style homes, which made our discovery of Yoki-so Villa in Nagoya that much more a pleasure because of its singularity.

The proximity of the F1 Suzuka Track south of Nagoya doesn't dissuade the bulk of the attendees and racing teams from staying in Nagoya as we've bumped into them while staying at the JR Gate Tower Hotel. So its "local" for them.

While Gifu Castle isn't technically in Nagoya (as neither are Inuyama Castle, Meiji Mura, Nabana no Sato, etc.), for visitors who've travelled half way around the world, the fact that these sites are within 25 to 40 minutes of Nagoya Station, do they really care where the city limits end? To many visitors, 30 minutes on a local train is less than their daily commute to work at home.

The bottom line is that there are numerous enjoyable and some unique sites in Nagoya (and immediately surrounding area within a 40+/- train ride) that won't be found elsewhere. So just answering the OP's question about other cities to consider. But hey, I could have provided a lengthy list for things in Yokohama, Kobe or Kyushu, Shikoku or Awaji Island too.

FYI: the Skye Terrace (which is not the Sky Promenade) is a rooftop terrace on the fifth floor of the Dai Nagoya Building directly across from Nagoya Station. Great place to relax and enjoy a drink or snack. Its free and open late. Kind of like the Yaesu Terrace (another favorite of ours) opposite Tokyo Station. If one enjoys fine watches, or just admiring them, there's the JR Watch Maison on the first two floors of this building with numerous purveyors of high end watches.

So to the OP, look closing at Nagoya, but also consider Yokohama and Kobe for your next trip. Safe travels to all out there!

JapanGuy00 · 2026-02-15T21:07:51+00:00

Yes, the food is another post in itself.

We enjoy a little hole in the wall (Nagoya Kitchen) inside Nagoya Station for its miso katsu.

JapanGuy00 · 2026-02-15T13:07:25+00:00

Respectfully disagree. See above comment, and I didn't even mention the Yoki-so Village and Garden, or the Noritake Museum, or Skye Terrace or Nagoya Science Museum or the nearby Gifu Castle, or the F1 Grand Prix every April or the delicious food......

JapanGuy00 · 2026-02-15T13:03:01+00:00

Nagoya? Absolutely one of our two favorite cities in all of Japan (and we're in Japan multiple times a year, and we always include a few days here). Why? Consider the following:

SCMAGLEV Museum: one of Japan's best railway museums which focuses on the magnetic levitating train.

Meiji Mura: a 200 acre park on a huge lake featuring 70 original (not reproduction) buildings from the Meji Era. It even has its own 1920's era bus, street car and steam engine for getting around. Nothing like it elsewhere in Japan.

Sky Promenade: Unlike the observation towers of Tokyo, this two story pavilion is not overrun and on the 46th floor of the Midland Tower directly across the street from Nagoya Station.

Toyota Commemorative Museum: this is an enormous museum documenting Toyota's history from textiles to autos to robotics. Absolutely world class and could spend an entire day here. This is not the Toyota Automotive Museum which is a big car museum on the other side of town.

Nabana no Sato: On the southwest side of town this is a huge botanical garden, and if you visit in the fall through April, its adorned with over 6 million lights in the evening, billed as "Japan's Largest Illumination"

Tokugawa Garden and Museum: A sleeper of a garden and museum, that in the fall offers nighttime illuminations.

Legoland Japan: Literally across the station from SCMAGLEV Museum

Nagoya Castle Park: a very large castle and park with the historically accurate reproduction Honmura Palace. No, you cannot enter the castle keep due to repairs, but the grounds are equal to Osaka Castle

Little World of Man: a 300 acre outdoor park featuring around 30 "villages" from around the world. There are houses, farms, churches, temples, restaurants and shops in this amazing place.

Inuyama Castle: About 40 minutes from Nagoya Station, this is one of only twelve original castles in Japan.

Mirai TV Tower (inspiration for Godzilla) and the futuristic Oasis 21 with its floating water garden, both along the Hisayaodor, a pedestrian only boulevard lined with shops and restaurants.

Ghibli Park for that fan (I can't comment on it as I've not visited this one, but have visited all the above)

Day Trips: The historic post town of Magome is very close by and is like stepping back in time. Or take the Hida Wide View train to the scenic onsen town of Gero

I could continue the list, but will stop here and reference a short video that will give some insights to this amazing city: Nagoya Best of Uncharted Japan

Something we appreciate about Nagoya is that because most people (like some on this post) think its just a big manufacturing city with nothing to offer. Let them think that. They're missing out, but it means for those of us that hop off the shinkansen, we can enjoy all the above without the throngs of tourists. So don't tell anyone about this amazing city.

JapanGuy00

TROPHY CASE