Osaka to Tokyo

As it has been for centuries, Osaka remains a city of commerce, one of the original Japanese towns at the core of a developing society that grew around trade with China. Although the nature of the city hasn’t changed, it is presently undergoing an architectural revolution with a dazzling display of gleaming skyscrapers. Its prime geography makes it an excellent gateway to famed locales – including the sacred site of Kyoto and the majestic tranquility of Nara.

Despite its brief period of travesty during the second World War, Hiroshima’s past and present are remarkably peaceful. Throughout the modern cosmopolitan city center lie cultural curiosities and a friendliness that permeates every facet of exploration here. Lush greenery is everywhere along the wide boulevards, as are monuments to 20th-century tragedies and historical Japanese temples and gardens that illustrate the city’s beautiful history of centuries past.

Home to one of the few medieval castles remaining in its original form in Japan – Matsue Castle, or “the Black Castle” – Sakaiminato is a relatively young city. Officially founded in 1956, the city has a deceptive amount of ancient history to explore. Visit the castle, completed in 1611, as well as the Izumo Taisha, or Grand Shrine, and explore its mysterious beginnings that trace beyond the 8th century.

It rivals Kyoto in historical significance and is virtually unrivaled in its beauty. Kanazawa is home to Japan’s most celebrated garden, Kenrokuen, an elaborate natural landscape of tranquility and color. A remarkably preserved samurai quarter, Higashi Chaya geisha district and Ninjadera temple with secret doors and traps juxtaposed with busting dining and shopping areas make this charming modern city an epicenter of intrigue.

Aomori is the capital city of Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of Japan. As of 1 April 2020, the city had an estimated population of 278,964 in 136,457 households, and a population density of 340 people per square kilometer spread over the city

From the timeless beauty of the Meiji Shrine to the glittering Ginza District and impressive Tokyo Tower, Tokyo is a complex blend of East and West where houses of wood and paper stand beside soaring steel skyscrapers while kimono-clad women stroll along trendy teenagers. Here in this city of more than 11 million people, the timeless Imperial Palace bears testament to Japan’s enduring traditions, existing in a verdant parkland of isolation.