Niemonjima. Have you heard of it? If you're not a history buff, then perhaps you haven't. Located off the coast of southwest Chiba, this tiny landmass was the secret hideaway of one of the greatest generals in Japanese history. Minamoto-no-Yoritomo was one of the founders of the Kamakura Shogunate, and after a battle with a rivaling faction, he fled for safety behind the shoreline rocks of Niemonjima.

Not far from Tokyo, Shizuoka prefecture has a lot of natural beauty to explore and unique food experiences to offer. If you are traveling to Japan, make sure to seek experiences beyond what is available in the major cities. We at runAway Japan did just that! Early on in our 50-day adventure through Japan, we traveled to Shizuoka prefecture and found a beautiful waterfall and tasted a flavor of ice cream unlike anything we had tried before!

Gifu City is a fantastic place to see cherry blossoms on display, and one of the best perks is that you can visit a wide range of gorgeous, easy-to-reach sites for cherry blossom viewing in a single day.

Here we present 15 things to do in the rural area above Tokyo known as Chiba. From spectacular mountains, beautiful temples, Disneyland and more. Chiba has a magic to it, few other prefectures have.

Motosu City is in the countryside of Gifu, and the main attraction is the Usuzumi cherry blossoms. At the park, there is one very large, old tree on display. The explanation next to the tree, in all Japanese, explains that Usuzumi is over 1500 years old and is considered one of three great cherry blossom trees in Japan.

Tomogashima Island in Wakayama Prefecture is a natural and historical treasure that combines the allure of crumbling architecture with lush natural greenery and impressive rock formations.

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.

For non-first time Kyoto travelers who seem to feel that the over-visited Kiyomizu-dera, Ginkakuji, Kinkakuji, Heian Shrine, Fushimi-inari Shrine, or Arashiyama have become too cliché for tourism, there are other numerous worthwhile treasures in Kyoto to explore, quite off the beaten path.

The third tallest peaks of Japan named the Hotake Mountain are situated near the Takayama area of Gifu prefecture. It is a snow covered region attracting a lot of tourists in the spring and early summer season. One of the biggest ropeways of Asia is situated in these mountain ranges which takes us to the top of the Hotake Mountain with an altitude of 2156 meters.

Let me share with you why this place makes for a great snow sports holiday for all, and more! The huge resort area actually takes in four major parks and three smaller areas, with over 60 courses ranging from 900 m to 8,500 m: something for boarders, skiers and snow-scooters of all levels and ages!

Daisekirinzan ( 大石林山) is an incredible natural wonder of Okinawa. Located in the island's remote north, the “Big Stone Woods Mountain”, as its name is translated, is a 200-million-year-old limestone “forest”, with bizarre rock formations and beautiful scenery.

Charmant is a lovely, compact resort that can be enjoyed by all! People of all ages: skiers, snowboarders and ski scooters of all levels. Oh! I forgot to mention! Great snow? Charmant is renowned for huge dumps of snow and deep powder, and a long winter season!