Packed with historical breweries producing some of the most distinct and high-quality sake in Japan, Niigata’s sake history dates back hundreds of years.

Konnyaku! What is it? Why is it in many Japanese dishes? Why do they have choking hazard stickers on many of the products? Well, all your answers and more could be answered at the Konnyaku Park in Gunma Prefecture.

Like almost every other city in Japan, Kagoshima was carpet bombed during World War II, and little remains of its historic buildings. The entry point of modern Kagoshima is Kagoshima station, whose distinction is that it is the southernmost terminal of the Shinkansen line, and the building houses an IMAX theater and a Ferris wheel.

Come here to see why it is one of the most popular beers in Japan and how it is made.

There are 19 sites registered as a World Heritage throughout Japan as of May 2016, with some Meiji Industrial Revolution sites recently registered in 2015 including the Nirayama Hansharo reverberatory furnace. Nirayama Hansharo is one of the Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining registered by UNESCO, together with the sites in Kyushu, Yamaguchi and Iwate.

I live in Tokyo, the world’s largest metropolis, but my home is in the western region. Most tourists focus their attention on the busier areas like Ginza, Akihabara, Shibuya, or Shinjuku, but do not know of the many exciting places in western Tokyo along the Keio Line. For your next Tokyo vacation, here is are my top 15 fun recommendations in western Tokyo. Enjoy!

Seriously, anything with “sweat” in the name doesn’t exactly sound appealing. However, it was the right fluid at the right time and I was quickly crediting it as the magic potion that saved my life.

Instant ramen, soups, premade “just add meat” meals, frozen gyoza, microwavable cheese in hamburgers; what do they all have in common? Yes, they are all delicious, but they also contain a healthy amount of MSG!

This sake brewing factory in Sawai is not always for enjoying the sake but also the scenery. . After about 30-45 minutes of factory tour, cross the street or just pass the tunnel then you will see a beautiful garden near the river to enjoy the sake!

The number of cars coming out of a plant everyday and the increasing number of vehicles on our street couldn’t be even imagined.

For almost one hundred years, the Kewpie Corporation has made and distributed mayonnaise all over Japan and now the world. Inside the factory they offer a free tour for visitors to see how the mayo is made and what is inside it that has made Kewpie mayonnaise so popular and so distinctly Japanese.

The founder of Japanese whiskey, Shinjiro Torii, chose Yamazaki because of his preference for high quality water. Construction then began in 1923. Visitors are taken through the fascinating and delicate process of whiskey making.