If you ask anyone, where’s the best place to capture a slice of Hiroshima most people recommend the famous Torii gate and the friendly deer on Miyajima Island. However, to experience the vastness of this place, you would need an entire day. Instead, why not experience both the historical and modern aspects this wonderful prefecture has to offer, all within four hours?

Since I moved to Chiba Prefecture, I found a garden I really fell in love with, this beautiful garden is “Keisei bara en” it is a 30,000 square meter and the area has 10,000 roses of 1,600 varieties.

The garden is known for its wide array of stones, of all sizes and shapes. It is said the garden dates back to the Edo-period and was a former mansion site of a wealthy man named Kinokuniya Buzaemon in 1716. Then in 1878 Iwasaki Yataro (the founder of Mitsubishi) purchased the land and turned it into a place of recreation for his employees and distinguished guests.

Due to its position in the far south east of Japan, Miyazaki was largely undeveloped for most of Japan's history and as such is home to some beautiful untouched landscapes and national parks, as well as natural locations that tie into Japan's earliest mythology. Miyazaki City, the prefecture's capital, tends to be a little overlooked when considering what Miyazaki as a whole has to offer.

These scenic paths stretch across Tokyo with lush and varied vegetation, for the most part, on either side of the path that passes a range of interesting sites. Some notable paths among many are the Chidorigafuchi, Kenzawa, Jiyugaoka, Tachiaigawa, and the Karasuyamagawa Green Roads.

Although it can be difficult to have a pet of your own in Japan as an expat, especially if you live in a city, there are plenty of places to go where you can spend time with cute animals and get your fluff fix. One of these is “Sekai no Meiken Bokujo” a communication park for dogs and people, in Gunma Prefecture.

Known for its annual snow festival, Sapporo is one of Japan’s most vibrant cities and is extremely visitor-friendly. It has fantastic food and plenty to do. Here’s a sampling.

Viewing the reds and oranges of Japanese autumnal foliage on a crisp and clear day is unbeatable. Only one thing makes it better - when it's at night. First things first: where is Shinrin Koen? It lies almost exactly in the center of Saitama Prefecture, just north of Tokyo. The nearest train station is “Shinrin Koen” (森林公園), about 1 hour from Ikebukuro on the Tobu Tojo Line.

During my trip to Fukushima prefecture I had to change my initial plans and ended up visiting Koriyama for a bit less then one day. And you know what? I totally did not regret it, and actually wish I could have stayed there for more days to enjoy the lovely atmosphere of this town.

Happen to miss the cherry blossoms in Tokyo or Osaka this year? No worries, it’s not too late to see them in Hokkaido!

When most people visit Japan for the first time, there’s few itineraries they have in mind. Very few of them involve a visit to the Hokuriku region. Here's why you definitely should go, and a sample itinerary stretched across the region's three main cities.

Saitama is rare because it is a Prefecture with balance. Sandwiched between Tokyo in the south and the mountains of Gunma in the north, it's easy to escape from one jungle to another.