Fancy a Spot of Fire-walking? The Mt. Takao Fire-Walking Festival (hiwatari matsuri) is an annual event held on the second Sunday in March a 5-minute walk up the road from Keio Takaosanguchi Station. The festival is organised by the Takao-san Yakuo...
Caving in Tokyo: Then and Now There was a time not so long ago when visiting a tourist cave was a popular way to spend a lazy weekend. Rewind to the early 1980s and there were seven such caves operating in Tokyo now sadly more than half of them have...
The Mystery Surrounding Kanto’s Longest Cave The Greater Tokyo Area features some fairly good tourist caves including the Nippara Limestone Cave in Tokyo and the Fujido Cave in Gunma Prefecture which are worth checking out. Recreational caving...
Vestiges from the Old Japanese Army Chofu Air Base Surrounding Chofu Airport in western Tokyo finds several remarkably well preserved Second World War concrete aircraft hangars. Two of these shelters lie adjacent to one another whilst a third one is...
A Building Resolute with the Passing of Time A derelict 1930s electrical substation resting blissfully in the middle of a suburban park isn’t something that you would normally expect to find; less one ravished by gunfire from the Second World War...
Terrific Day Trips Within Reach of Tokyo With inbound tourists visiting Japan surging to a record 19.73 million last year means more visitors than ever are looking for avenues to not only escape the crowds, but check out some less familiar...
Hiking to the Hyakuhiro Waterfall in Okutama On a dreary overcast day last week I decided to check out a towering waterfall in the Okutama watershed. One of the major drawcards hiking Mount Kawanori is passing by the rather impressive Hyakuhiro...
Largest Illumination Event in the Greater Tokyo Area A short one hour train ride from downtown Tokyo ushers you to the largest illumination spectacle in the Kanto area, the Sagamiko Illumillion. Illumination events in Japan are immensely popular...
The Arrival of Spring Heralds in Plum Blossoms In past years I have been somewhat reluctant venturing into areas invested with sugi (a Japanese conifer) at this time of year with a predisposition towards lengthy sneezing bouts. But decided to risk...
Nippara Limestone Cave the Biggest in Tokyo Located in the sleepy village of Nippara on Tokyo’s outskirts finds Nippara Cave one of the best karst limestone caves in Japan. I previously visited the caves a few years back though was keen to return on...
Worthwhile Excursions Away from the Bustle of Tokyo Whilst downtown Tokyo offers a seemingly endless array of sightseeing possibilities, sadly not enough visitors get the chance to broaden their horizons and travel beyond the city limits. Included...
Winter Waterfall Wonders at Odake Falls Tokyo contains some rather noteworthy waterfalls including the Hossawa Falls which are included in the One Hundred Waterfalls of Japan. While at the Odake Falls 大岳滝 are around half the height of the Hossawa...