KANTŌ TRIP | JAPAN.GG
Kantō is Japan's most visited region — seven prefectures spanning the Pacific coast to the mountains of the interior. At its centre sits Greater Tokyo, the most populated metropolitan area on Earth. Surrounding it: ancient capitals, UNESCO shrines, volcanic hot spring towns, seasonal flower fields, and feudal castle towns within two hours by rail. Each prefecture has its own character. All seven are worth knowing.
Top 3 Tokyo: Shibuya Crossing. Senso-ji Asakusa. Shinjuku at night.
The World's Largest City: Greater Tokyo is the most populated metropolitan area on Earth. Every neighbourhood is its own world.
Tokyo Never Closes: Kabukicho, Golden Gai, Omoide Yokocho. The city runs all night, every night.
Top 3 Kanagawa: Kamakura Great Buddha. Hakone with Mt. Fuji views. Yokohama Chinatown.
The Great Buddha Has No Roof: Cast in 1252 and hollow enough to walk inside — its hall was destroyed by a natural disaster and never rebuilt. It's been sitting outdoors ever since.
Best Fuji View: Hakone's Lake Ashi reflects the cone on clear mornings. The most accessible Fuji viewpoint from Tokyo.
Top 3 Tochigi: Nikko Toshogu UNESCO shrine. Kegon Falls. Ashikaga wisteria.
The Upside-Down Pillar: One pillar on Yomeimon Gate was deliberately inverted — completion of a perfect building was believed to invite its eventual collapse, so one flaw was intentionally built in.
150-Year-Old Wisteria: Ashikaga Flower Park's great wisteria covers nearly 1,000 square metres of trellis each late April. One of Japan's most photographed sights.
Top 3 Ibaraki: Hitachi Seaside Park. Kairakuen Garden. Kashima Shrine.
4.5 Million Flowers: Hitachi Seaside Park in late April — nemophila blanket the hillside in an unbroken blue. Same hill turns red-orange in October when the kochia peaks.
One of Japan's Three Great Gardens: Kairakuen was laid out in 1842 with thousands of plum trees across over 100 varieties — one of only three gardens in Japan to hold this designation.
Top 3 Gunma: Kusatsu Onsen. Minakami rafting. Ikaho stone steps.
Japan's #1 Onsen Town: Kusatsu's Yubatake produces Japan's highest natural hot spring flow. The water runs at pH 2. Steam through wooden buildings at night is one of Kantō's most atmospheric scenes.
Minakami Rafting: Whitewater on the Tone River all spring and summer, set against the Jōetsu mountain range. One of the best outdoor day trips from Tokyo.
Top 3 Saitama: Kawagoe Little Edo. Chichibu Yomatsuri. Nagatoro gorge.
Little Edo, Close to Tokyo: Kawagoe's kurazukuri storehouses survived the 1893 fire and look exactly as they did in the Meiji era. The bell tower has been ringing four times a day since the early Edo period.
One of Japan's Three Great Float Festivals: Chichibu Yomatsuri in December — massive floats, fireworks at midnight, and one of the most dramatic festival nights in the Kantō calendar.
Top 3 Chiba: Naritasan Shinshoji. Nokogiriyama cliff Buddha. The Boso Peninsula coastline.
DisneySea is One-Of-A-Kind: The only Disney park in the world built around a nautical theme — unique to Japan and found nowhere else on Earth.
Chiba Lotte Marines: Roki Sasaki called this home before the Dodgers. The prefecture that built him.
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