The Dotonbori district sits beside a 400-year-old canal. The bridge over the canal is a popular place to take your photo (look out for the Glico Man; the enormous runner towers over Ebisubashi Bridge and is a famous Osaka landmark).Almost a mile long, Shinsaibashi arcade stretches from Shinsaibaishi station to Dotonbori and is one of the busiest and oldest shopping streets in Japan. There are shops to suit every budget and tastes from high fashion to traditional crafts. Add on a limitless selection of cafes and restaurants, and you’ll be lucky to emerge before nightfall.

The main hall houses Kiyomizudera’s veranda, the most famous feature of the temple. Supported by traditional wooden Japanese construction, it stands 13 meters above the ground and is built without the use of nails.The veranda is usually crowded with visitors, but it’s worth venturing to the furthest corner and waiting your turn for a photo with the city of Kyoto in the background.

The ume concentration is even denser at Inabe City Bairin Park in Mie Prefecture. Also known as Inabe City Agricultural Park, the 4,500 plum trees here are close enough together that when viewed from above, they appear to create a plum blossom carpet stretching out to the park’s edge, or a canopy above as you walk beneath them.

The signature souvenir of Shizuoka Prefecture, Unagipie Pastries are sweet, crispy confections flavored with eel (or ‘unagi’ in Japanese), which is a Shizuoka specialty. Hand-made by Unagipie Artisans who produce roughly 200,000 pieces of pastry a day, Unagipie Pastries are known throughout Japan for their great taste and the unique concept of infusing a sweet snack with ‘unagi’ extract.

The most iconic view in the area is arguably that of Mt Fuji from the southeastern shore of Lake Ashinoko . Take one of the sightseeing boat tours to explore and enjoy views from the lake. The pirate ship-shaped boats operated by Hakone Sightseeing Boats add a little extra fun to the experience.

About a 10-minute walk from the ropeway station is the main volcanic zone, where you will find steam vents and bubbling pools. You can purchase hard-boiled eggs cooked in the volcanically hot waters. With shells blackened by a chemical reaction with the hot spring water, these eggs are said to extend your life by seven years. Although the shell is black, the inside is a normal boiled egg.

You can enjoy crab set.

The Kawazu Cherry Blossom Festival celebrates the earliest blooming cherry trees in eastern Japan. While most of Honshu has to wait until mid-March for blossom time, the Kawazu-zakura trees bloom around a month earlier. For this reason, the festival, which runs from February 2 to the end of the month, is incredibly popular with visitors keen to see the end of winter and the return of warmth and color.

This small village is a pretty retreat no matter what time of year you visit. Evergreens are interspersed with maple trees that turn a gorgeous amber in the autumn months, and in the winter, layers of snow add a magical quality to this tranquil village. It is a popular destination and often busy, but even so, the peacefulness of the area persists.The gift shop is seemingly as large as the village itself and sells a wide variety of gifts and souvenirs, as well as snacks. Much of what is on offer is adorned with Mt. Fuji motifs; you’ll also find trinkets on sale celebrating the eight ponds.

The origin of this striking temple is the stuff of legend. The story goes that all the way back in 628, two fisherman brothers pulled a statue of Kannon, the Buddhist goddess of mercy, from the Sumidagawa River. Although they tried to return it to the river, it always came back to them. They built Sensoji to house this sacred statue and to honor Kannon, completing it in 645.For centuries, a constant flow of visitors has come to pay their respects and pray in the temple’s main hall. Around the central building, you can also see the Goju-no-To five-tiered pagoda, several smaller halls, and charming little gardens, one of which houses Tokyo’s oldest stone bridge and wooden structure. To the right of the main hall, you will find Asakusa Shrine, where the three men who founded Sensoji are enshrined.