Experience Being a Temple Maiden for a Day
Ever wondered what it would be like to do the work of a shrine maiden? Well, at a shrine in Hyogo Prefecture you can actually dress up and experience all the work 'miko' do!
Taiko-Lab: Learn to Drum in 60 Minutes
Located just north of Senso-ji Temple in Asakusa, Taiko-Lab offers a chance to learn the basics of 'taiko' drumming in about 60 minutes—an essential part of any Japan experience!
Kaya no Sato: Life in Thatch
This association on the edge of Mount Fuji is working to preserve the thatching techniques needed to preserve many of Japan's historic structures, including the 'praying hands' houses of Shirakawa-go.
Zuzuya: Ink Talismans at a Fuji Pilgrim's Inn
With a history of some 400 years, Zuzuya is one of only two pilgrim's lodgings in Kamiyoshida still offering rooms to Fuji worshippers preparing to climb their sacred mountain. It's also a great spot to make an ink talisman from an Edo Period wood block!
Drink With Geisha For an Affordable Price
Foreign guests welcome at lobby lounge function that sidesteps the cost and pretense of orthodox geisha services.
Togawa Oshi House: Lodging for Fuji Pilgrims
'Oshi' houses traditionally provided lodging for worshippers preparing to ascend Mount Fuji. Reaching their peak in the 19th century, a number of these houses can still be seen in Kamiyoshida in Yamanashi Prefecture.
Enter the 'Womb' of Mount Fuji
This system of caves beneath the surface of Mount Fuji are believed to represent the womb of Konohana Sakuya-hime, the goddess of the mountain. And you can climb right inside!
Undiscovered Japan: Fukushima & Miyagi
While Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures were both badly hit by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, the region has now largely recovered, and is looking to see travelers flock in once again.
