From dusk until dawn: beyond Tokyo

Go beyond Tokyo to discover uncrowded Japan...

2021-03-01 -

At just under 2,500 sq km, Kanagawa may be the fifth smallest of Japan’s 47 prefectures but it packs a punch. In Kanagawa’s port city of Yokohama, you will find a bustling waterfront, green spaces and a lively Chinatown. In the countryside, there are ryokans (traditional inns), hot-spring baths, and iconic views of Mount Fuji in the Hakone area. Meanwhile in Ōyama, you can go hiking or stay at a shukubo (pilgrim’s lodge) at the foot of a mountain. Little wonder, then that not only is Kanagawa Japan’s most populous city after Tokyo, but it is also rated the most desirable place to live in the whole of Japan.

All over Kanagawa you can indulge in Japan’s food culture, whether that’s sampling fresh seafood on the Miura Peninsula, Japanese haute cuisine at a ryokan or even creating your own instant ramen in Yokohama. Kanagawa is a microcosm of the whole country,offering everything that makes Japan such a special place to visit. Even better, it delivers it right on Tokyo’s doorstep...

Where is Kanagawa?

Located on the Kanto Plain on the eastern side of Japan’s main island, Kanagawa is neighboured to the north by Tokyo, to the west by the foothills of Mount Fuji in Shizuoka and Yamanashi prefectures, and to the south and east by Sagami Bay and Tokyo Bay.

Best for nature

Despite being home to some nine million people, Kanagawa feels far closer to nature than its heavily urban neighbour, Tokyo. Simply jogging along the Tama River in the morning is a fine way to soak up Kanagawa’s nature. There are calming pockets of greenery all over Kanagawa and the 175,000 sq m Sankeien Garden is just one example of this.

Once the residence of a wealthy silk merchant, Sankeien Garden is home to a collection of historic buildings set in a traditional garden that’s dotted with bridges, bamboo groves, streams, small waterfalls, and ponds – design elements that create a succession of mini landscapes. There’s even a 15th-century three-tiered pagoda overlooking the garden, something that

was moved here from Kyoto in the early 1900s. And like all great Japanese green spaces, Sankeien Garden repaints itself with the seasons, most notably turning pink with cherry blossoms in late March and early April, and becoming ablaze with orange-hued autumnal foliage in November.

Going a little further afield from Yokohama, south to the Miura Peninsula, take a day trip to Jogashima Park to see the coastal side of Kanagawa. Set on an island in the bay, the park’s rugged shores are a habitat for protected cormorants, as well as being a popular spot to clamber over rocks and explore tide pools, or to just have a picnic. The sunset here from the Umanose cave mouth – named because the rock formation resembles a horse’s back – is well-worth extending your day for.

Leaving that behind, there are plenty of other places to explore along Miura’s coastline, including the beaches around Hayama and Zushi, and quiet fishing harbours like Sajima and Nagai. But visitors who look to Hakone on the western side of Sagami Bay, will find a complete change of scenery.

Thanks to a mixture of ryokan, hot-spring bathing and up-close views of Mount Fuji, Hakone is one of the most popular retreats in Japan for both locals and visitors alike.

Best done as an overnight trip, the highlights include taking a sedate switchback railway into the mountains. You’ll feel the volcanic power of Owakudani and get to gaze upon Lake Ashi, which offers up the perfect postcard view of Mount Fuji. The whitecapped peak is set behind the forest-rimmed lake, which is accented by the floating red torii gateway of the Hakone-jinja shrine.

Best for culture

By Japanese standards, the city of Yokohama is a youngster, having been little more than a fishing village when Japan came out of several centuries of (almost) isolation near the end of the Edo era (1603-1868). As Japan welcomed in the rest of the world, Yokohama blossomed into a major port, and its international roots still define much of the city. There’s a vibrant Chinatown and a foreigner’s cemetery, as well as the occasional European style building remaining from Yokohama’s early development. The waterfront is best viewed at night when the glittering high-rises and giant Ferris wheel of the Minato Mirai cast beautiful, rainbowcoloured reflections into the bay below. Don’t miss the historic Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse here that has been converted into shopping malls and event spaces.

Located between Tokyo and Yokohama, Kawasaki offers a glimpse at a different side to Japan that you wouldn’t see on the classic tourist trail – mostly because of its industrial reputation – but it still hides traditional sites. The Keihin Fushimi Inari Shrine is an especially photogenic spot, mimicking Kyoto’s famed Fushimi Inari (albeit on a far smaller scale) with red torii gates and more than 100 statues of foxes – messengers of the gods. Kawasaki’s 800-year-old Daishi Temple is a great place to visit first thing in the morning where you can catch an early show of the daily Gomakitou (rite of burning), spectacular ceremonies where priests burn blocks of wood on large platforms while chanting sutra to ward off evil.

Like Kawasaki, Mount Ōyama remains off the beaten path. Located in the Tanzawaōyama Quasi-national Park, the 1,252m Mt. Ōyama is popular for hiking, but it is also a mountain that has been worshipped by people since ancient times, and many visitors come to see Ōyama-dera Temple (over 1,200 years old) and Ōyama-afuri Shrine, which is said to have first been built over 2,000 years ago. Both can be reached via cable car. Don’t miss the Koma Sando Path leading to the cable car station to find many stores selling various handicrafts such as traditional sweets, home-made tofu dishes and Ōyama koma (spinning tops).

At the foot of Mt. Ōyama, there are many traditional inns called shukubo, which are different from ordinary inns. These shukubo used to provide accommodation for pilgrims who came to visit Ōyama every year, but now they are open to the public. At the shukubo, you can eat Japanese cuisine made with Ōyama’s famous tofu, and at some of the shukubo, you can even experience authentic Japanese culture such as purification, sutra and copying.

Best for food

Food is one of the highlights of any trip to Japan, and it likely won’t surprise anyone who has tried traditional Japanese cuisine –