PIL27: Best of Japan

L O N G D I S TANCE LOV E AF FAIR

1. Nagano: Monkey Spa, Monkey Do

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2. Hokkaido: Cheers to Sapporo

e c i v d A Expert

3. Takayama: City Of Festivals 4. Tokyo: World’s Gastronomic Capital

The Best of Japan

5. Nagasaki: Risen from the Ashes

Our experts give you their highlights and tips on how to explore some of this amazing destination By John Borthwick, Kris Madden, Ian Talbot, Roderick Eime

10. Kumano: 5 In High Spirits

Amid a snow-clad pine forest near Shiga-Kogen in northern Nagano Prefecture there’s a fuming hot spot called Jigokudani.

The name means Hell’s Valley because of the numerous hot springs that seethe, Hades-like beneath the pines. This, however, is monkey heaven. In the Jigokudani Monkey Park a troop of some 30 Japanese macaques revel in what can only be called a monkey spa. The forest floor, not to mention the air, might be thick with snow but the red-faced macaques have their own natural hot tub here. – JB Jigokudani Monkey Park: http://en.jigokudani-yaenkoen.co.jp

Hokkaido: Cheers to Sapporo The Sapporo Beer Museum on the northern island of Hokkaido pays homage to the Japanese art of brewing. Brought to Japan

by Seibei Nakagawa in 1876, the young and energetic lad who took off to Europe on his own when such expeditions were forbidden was, instead of being arrested on his return, installed as head brewmaster at the new Sapporo Beer Factory. Today the three-floors of the 125-year-old red brick Sapporo Beer Museum occupies the original brewery and contain historical machinery, artefacts and marketing of Japan’s oldest beer brand, now sold worldwide and brewed in locations as far away as USA and Canada. – RE Sapporo Beer Museum http://www.sapporobeer.jp/brewery/s_ museum/

Takayama: City Of Festivals Tucked away in the mountainous Hida region of Japan’s Gifu Prefecture, Takayama retains a traditional charm, unlike few other Japanese cities. Surrounded by mountains in every direction, and nicknamed ‘Little Kyoto’, it makes an ideal side trip between Tokyo and Kyoto. The biannual Takayama Matsuri, held in spring (April 14 and 15) and autumn (October 9 and 10), is regarded as among Japan’s most beautiful festivals, attracting large crowds. If you cannot be there for the festival, at other times of the year the Takayama Matsuri Yatai Kaikan

7. Myoko: Powderhound delight 8. Osaka: and a Cherry Blossom on Top

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9. Nagano: Monkey Spa, Monkey Do 10

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or Takayama Festival Floats Exhibition Hall displays four of the eleven spectacularly ornate floats, which demonstrate Takayama’s legendary craftsmanship. – KM Takayama website: http://www.hida.jp/english/

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Tokyo: World’s Gastronomic Capital

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With more Michelin-starred restaurants than Paris, Tokyo is the undisputed gastronomic capital of the world. Tokyo is deservedly revelling in its number one ranking for the most three-star awarded Michelin restaurants for the past ten years, the entire time the Michelin Guide Tokyo has been published. In fact, the 2019 guide lists 230 restaurants with the prestigious stars, compared to the likes of Paris. While 10 three-star restaurants are located in the French capital, Tokyo has 13.

Paris has 16 and 92 two- and one-star restaurants, respectively, to Tokyo’s 52 and 165. Even for humble ‘street food’, Onigiri Asakusa Yadoroku in Taito Ward, has a focus on rice balls. – KM Michelin Guide Tokyo 2019: https://guide.michelin.co.jp/

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Nagasaki: Risen from the Ashes The historic port city of Nagasaki, in the far western Kyushu region, was all but obliterated in a few fiery seconds on August 9th 1945, but this city is fascinating for many reasons besides its tragic history. In the 16th Century, Portuguese traders arrived in Japan turning the once tiny fishing village into a bustling international trade centre. Dutch, English and Russians traders arrived later, creating a ‘special economic zone’ where Christianity was tolerated. Many European arts, crafts and influences entered Japan through Dejima Island, now a historic living museum, including photography, the piano, paint, coffee, chocolate and beer. –RE Travel guide www.japan.travel > Nagasaki Opposite page top right: Daimon-zaka cobblestone staircase on the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage route. Below right: The 133m Nachi-no-Otaki – Japan’s highest waterfall – seen from Nachi Taisha grand shrine

PICTURES:Rod Eime

Nagano: Monkey Spa, Monkey Do

6. Toba City: Pearls of Wisdom

islandliving | 23 pacific

Toba City: Pearls of Wisdom A shrine to this most desirous jewel can be found on a tiny island just off Japan’s port city of Toba in the Ise-Shima region of Mie Prefecture. The museum on Mikimoto Pearl Island is at the centre of the pearl universe. Visitors will see vast exhibits including culturing demonstrations and displays of mouthwatering pearl jewellery; crowns, watches, necklaces and even a 12,760 pearl-encrusted, five storey pagoda. There’s also a re-enactment of the centuries-old traditional pearl harvest once performed by hundreds of skilled women who would dive to the sea floor on a single breath and collect the pearl-bearing oysters.–RE Mikimoto Pearl Island http://www.mikimoto-pearl-museum.co.jp

Myoko: Powderhound delight On the northern outskirts of the Myoko ski area and just two hours from Tokyo, this resort re-opened in December 2017.

Thanks in part to an extension of the main train route from Tokyo via Nagano, it’s a bonus for Australian skiers and snowboarders seeking an alternative to the popular, sometimes crowded snow resorts on the main island of Honshu. The Joetsu-Myoko Station is about a 15-minute (free) shuttle to the Lotto Arai Resort which averages a massive 15m of snow each season and offers a variety of terrain over a 951m vertical descent full of Japan’s famous untracked powder. –IT Resort details: http://www.skijapan.com/resorts/arai/

Osaka: and a Cherry Blossom on Top When the arrival of spring melts the last snows of winter, it’s the time of year eagerly awaited by the Japanese. The much-loved

24 | Islandliving pacific

‘sakura’ (cherry blossoms) are in full bloom from the Ryukyu (Nansei) Islands in the far south in February, erupting north across the country to distant Hokkaido by May. Only a stone’s throw from Osaka where some 4000 cherry trees are planted on the grounds of the famous castle, you’ll find the town of Yoshino, at the foothills of the Kii Mountains. Enveloped by more than 30,000 cherry trees, Yoshino has enjoyed fame as Japan’s best sakura viewing spot for hundreds of years. – KM Travel guide www.japan.travel > Sakura Trail

Kumano: In High Spirits High in the Kii Mountains of Hongucho, the pristine Kumano River twists and turns past little villages, under bridges and past bands of enthusiastic fishermen up to their waists in the chilly water. This holy river forms part of the Kumano Kodo, or network of ancient pilgrimage routes, that tie together a web of lesser shrines of the Kumano deity as well as the ‘big three’ of Kumano Hongu Taisha, Kumano Nachi Taisha and Kumano Hayatama Taisha, known collectively as the Kumano Sanzan. In 2004, the whole region was inscribed into the UNESCO World Heritage register as site 1142: Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range. –RE UNESCO site: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1142/ •

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Above: Women wearing Tsubo-shozoku, a style of Kimono for noblewomen. Above: Spa-ing snow monkeys. Below: Spectacular cherry blossoms frame Mount Fuji.

Opposite page: Kokonoe ‘Yume’ Grand Suspension Bridge, the world’s longest pedestrian suspension bridge (390m).

islandliving | 25 pacific