Circum-navigation of Japans Fall Foliage

Kobe has been an important port city for many centuries, and was one of the first Japanese ports to be opened to foreign trade in the late Edo Period. Today, Kobe is one of Japan’s ten largest cities. Sustaining heavy damage from the devastating Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995, the city has fully recovered, and remains one of Japan’s more cosmopolitan cities. A typical Japanese harbor town, foreign culture was introduced here centuries ago, and Kobe’s food and architecture posses a diverse and exotic flavor.

Kobe has been an important port city for many centuries, and was one of the first Japanese ports to be opened to foreign trade in the late Edo Period. Today, Kobe is one of Japan’s ten largest cities. Sustaining heavy damage from the devastating Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995, the city has fully recovered, and remains one of Japan’s more cosmopolitan cities. A typical Japanese harbor town, foreign culture was introduced here centuries ago, and Kobe’s food and architecture posses a diverse and exotic flavor.

Takamatsu is located on Shikoku, the smallest of Japan’s four main islands, in the Kagawa Prefecture on the Seto Inland Sea. During the Edo period, it was famous for its seaside castle, one of the few with a moat utilizing seawater. The castle was destroyed during the Meiji period, and today the so-called Sunport waterfront project has substituted the Symbol Tower, Takamatsu’s tallest building, for the castle tower that once graced its flag. Long an important port for Japan, Takamatsu was nearly destroyed in 1945 by Allied incendiary bombing. A portion of the famous castle, including foundations and part of the wall, still strand on the city-center park, and there are plans to reconstruct more of it. The Ritsurin Koen garden, first built in the Edo period, survives, and makes a welcome oasis in the city, with a folk museum, rest houses and a tranquil tearoom among lakes, hills and groves of cherry trees that bloom in the spring and flame into color in the autumn. The Shikoku Mura is an open-air museum with traditional buildings gathered from all over Shikoku on display. The Yashima area boasts an Isamu Noguchi Museum dedicated to the late designer, artist and sculptor, with several traditional buildings he relocated and used as work spaces and galleries, along with many finished and unfinished sculptures. There is also a lovely Yashima Temple halfway up the mountain, and at the top, an observation deck with breathtaking views of the city and port.

Busan is the second largest city in South Korea, and the country’s seaside connection to Japan and the West. Lovely urban scenery, the Pusan International Film Festival, and near-by hot springs has made Busan a popular leisure destination. Busan has the sophistication of a major city, as well as famous beaches that lure visitors from all over the world. The city is a microcosm of South Korea, a nation whose economic success often obscures, to Westerners, one of Asia’s most sophisticated and venerable cultures.

Renowned for its bounty of fresh seafood, Sakaiminato is a fishing town backed by mountains in the Honshu region. Izumo Grand Shrine is one of Japan’s most important Shinto temples, and the six-story, black Matsue Castle is one of the oldest surviving Tokugawa Samurai castles. View the snow-capped Mount Daisen, the vermilion, elaborately carved Hinomisaki temples or soak in the Kaike Onsen hot springs by the sea. The Adachi Museum holds a collection of modern Japanese art, while the Tottori Flower Road is a 124-acre flower garden. On the streets, a number of statues commemorate the Yokai figures created by the locally-born manga artist Mizuki Shigeru.

Tsuruga is a port city in central Japan. By the waterfront, the early-20th-century Red Brick Warehouse has a large-scale diorama of the historic city. Nearby, Kehi Jingū Shrine has a grand red torii gate. Kehi no Matsubara is a white-sand beach backed by pine trees. To the east, Nakaikemi-shicchi Wetland is known for birdlife and dragonflies. North of the city, ferries run to Mizushima, a tiny uninhabited island.

This important port on Japan’s northern Hokkaido Island was the first to be opened to European and American trade. The result of this is a trove of Western-style buildings in the suburb of Motomachi that gives the impression of a movie set. The bell of the distinctive Haristo Greek Orthodox church is designated one of Japan’s official treasured “100 soundscapes.” Hokkaido is famous for its hot springs, much beloved by the Japanese. Yunokawa Hot Spring enjoys a commanding view of the sea, and its botanical garden is home to the Japanese macaques called “snow monkeys” because of their habit of soaking in the hot springs during the northern winter. Goryokaku is a 150-year old star fortress that holds the Magistrate’s Office, an excellent example of traditional Japanese architecture. Get a panoramic view from the observation platform atop the Goryokaku Tower.