Articles about destinations in the Chubu region
To be honest, I went to Matsumoto for the soba. Nagano Prefecture produces some of the best soba in Japan so that was my main motivation for visiting this city in the Northern Japan Alps. Of course, I had read about its castle, one of just twelve original castles left standing in Japan. But I … Read more
Don’t let Takayama’s size fool you. This mountain town in Gifu Prefecture may be small, but it’s one of the most captivating destinations you’ll visit in the Chubu region. The first time I went to Takayama, I used it as a base to visit Shirakawa-go, but it didn’t take me long to realize that Takayama … Read more
I was watching a candlemaker at work when my guide told me that I was standing in Japan’s oldest candle shop. The man quietly shaping a candle by hand was the 7th-generation owner of Mishima, a candle shop in Hida Furakawa that’s been in business for over 240 years. The set of candles I bought … Read more
I had just dropped off my bags at my hotel in downtown Kanazawa when I made a beeline for Nagamachi District. I had a fascination for swords and samurais as a kid so seeing an actual samurai district topped my to-do list in Kanazawa. It was grey and rainy that winter morning so my initial … Read more
I was on a press trip to the Chubu region a few years ago when one of our Japanese guides said “there’s nothing in Nagoya”. I understood what she meant, I had heard it before, though I didn’t agree with her. Before my first trip to Nagoya, I wasn’t overly enthusiastic about visiting this metropolis … Read more