In the sumo town of Ryougoku, even the bridge railings are filled with sumo themes.

The Ōoka River flows through Isezakicho in Yokohama. While Yokohama boasts many famous tourist spots like Chinatown and Minatomirai, the cherry blossoms here are equally breathtaking. With a moderate foot traffic and food stalls lined up, the view from this spot is a spring delight I look forward to every year.

Tokachi Jibo Kannon. This hidden gem features a protective deity and a large Jibo Kannon statue, along with beautiful scenery.

This is a Sasa-yuri blooming in the park at Shijuuhatta Falls, located in Takayama City, Gifu Prefecture. It is a place where Sasa-yuri and hydrangeas are maintained by human hands. There is a donation of 300 yen, but it was the best spot for taking photos.

This photo captures the peaceful beauty of Japan’s hidden gem — where the gentle breeze moves across the clear blue water, green forests surround the lake, and snow-capped mountains rise quietly in the background. A perfect moment where early summer and winter meet in harmony.

Katahara Onsen Ajisai-no-Sato I visited it the year before last, and it’s a scenic spot where you can enjoy hydrangeas, the sea, and hot springs. The area is quite spacious, and the wall of hydrangeas by the pond was particularly impressive. At night, it is illuminated, and it seems that fireflies also fly nearby.

This is the row of houses in Utsunoya, located in Shizuoka Prefecture. The houses are made of wooden planks and feature distinctive signs. It is a very tranquil place that evokes a sense of nostalgia. Be sure to stop by when you visit Shizuoka Prefecture.

Along the banks of the Saho River in Nara, there is a cherry blossom avenue that stretches for 5 kilometers with over 1,000 cherry trees. This avenue not only represents Nara Prefecture but is also one of the most iconic cherry blossom spots in the Kansai region. Despite its scale, it seems that there are still relatively few tourists. Every year, I enjoy a 10-kilometer round trip walk while capturing the beauty of the cherry blossoms.

[June 22 📍Shimoda Park] We have updated the hydrangea blooming status 💠✨ The hydrangeas at Shimoda Park have reached their peak season✨! Hydrangeas are blooming everywhere you look 👀 The hydrangea festival is ongoing until June 30th 💠 Please enjoy this breathtaking view while you can 😌 https://www.shimoda-city.info/post/20260622...

The view from Kanmuriyama Summit in Akiyoshidai is breathtaking. It takes about 30 minutes from the parking lot, and the sunrise trekking allows you to enjoy the vast world all to yourself.

Built in 1910, Kourakukan is a theater located in Kosakamachi, Akita Prefecture. While there are several theaters that remain as Important Cultural Properties, Kourakukan is one of the few that still hosts regular performances and is actively used today. "A building truly comes alive when it's in use." Although I can't include photos from the performances due to copyright restrictions, it's heartwarming to know that even grandparents have their favorite performers! This facility is a source of enjoyment for the townspeople—"that's why we can preserve it." Overall, it was a place that left a positive impression.

Akita dogs are really cute. These little ones also greeted us cutely lined up at the 'Roadside Station Kazuno Antler's showcase.' When you come to Akita, you can find such small moments of warmth everywhere.

”穴場”と言われれば、埼玉県比企郡吉見町にある『百穴（ひゃくあな）』。古墳時代のお墓です。戦時中に掘られた地下工場跡も見ることができます。すきな人は、たまらないんだろうなぁ と、思います。

The morning mist lingers over "Aragijima". I was able to see the fantastical "Aragijima" illuminated by the morning sun. Aridagawacho, Wakayama Prefecture 2026/6

Sajima. I learned about it from someone who has lived in Yokosuka for a long time and decided to visit. What awaited me was a magnificent yet somewhat rustic view. I could see Mount Fuji in the distance, and the sea was beautiful. It’s a lovely place with few people, like a hidden gem. I charged my energy from nature!

A small path where I used to play with my friends when I was little. As this season arrives, I find myself nostalgically drawn back here. The cherry blossoms have always been here. That's how I feel.

"We are all connected!" The wrapped train of the Akita Nairiku Line seems to echo Shinnosuke's voice. Father's hometown, Akita; mother's Kumamoto; and now living in Saitama— the lands of our family are depicted on a single train car. "The tracks and the bonds are connected straight, aren't they?" After a long time, my heart warmed with nostalgia, and I pointed my camera. Why not come visit "Akita" on the Akita Nairiku Line?

This summer, head to the not-too-hot Minami-Izu! 🌊☀️ Minami-Izu Town is currently observing "zero days of extreme heat"! For more details, click here → https://x.gd/6kMLK... ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🏖️ Yumigahama Beach ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ A stunning beach with white sands and green pines, selected as one of Japan's Top 100 Beaches and Top 100 Swimming Areas! This year, Yumigahama Splash Water Park is back! 🛟 Enjoy water activities and swimming together. 📅 From Saturday, July 18 to Sunday, August 23 *Yumigahama Splash Water Park will be open until August 23. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🤿 Hirizo Beach (Nakagi) ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ A hidden beach accessible only by boat! 🚤 Thanks to the Kuroshio Current, it boasts exceptional clarity, making it a snorkeling paradise with abundant fish! 🐠 📅 From Saturday, July 1 to Wednesday, September 30 🚢【Avoid Crowds】 Hirizo Beach Swimming Tour is now accepting applications! Departure dates: July 18, 19, August 8-16, September 19-22 Adults: 6,500 yen / Children: 5,500 yen Apply for the tour here: https://x.gd/ZH3a4... ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🎆 49th Yumigahama Fireworks Festival ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ The fireworks viewed from the sandy beach are breathtaking! ✨ 📅 August 8 (Saturday) from 8 PM ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🏝️ List of Summer Swimming Spots ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 1️⃣ Yumigahama Beach: July 18 - August 30 2️⃣ Koura Beach: July 27 - August 16 3️⃣ Tawara-hama Watashi & Mera: July 11 - August 31 Activities such as snorkeling, SUP, diving, and sea kayaking are also available! 🏄 Summer posters are also on sale! B1 (Iro Shrine) 500 yen, B2 (Hammerhead Shark, two types of fireflies from Ihama) 300 yen *Free distribution for Minami-Izu residents 📷 A photo contest is also underway! Winners will receive luxurious prizes. Apply here: https://x.gd/LRM7Q... For more information on tourism in Minami-Izu, visit → https://www.minami-izu.jp//

Ana Kobo, Toki City, Gifu Prefecture Hydrangeas were blooming to the right of the shrine! On the YouTube channel "sabasushi youtube," we post everyday videos about the growth of cherry tomatoes, zucchinis, and more.

From the summit of Mount Wagakuni, a breathtaking morning scene unfolds over Ibaraki. A sea of clouds completely blankets the towns below, creating a dreamlike landscape where the mountains appear to float above the sky. But if you look closely at the far right of the frame, you might notice a giant figure standing quietly above the clouds — and if I’m not mistaken, that silhouette is the famous Ushiku Daibutsu, watching over the horizon from afar. This is a hidden gem. Very few people know about this place. After I saw it I was astonished. Highly recommended hidden gem.

The hidden gem I want to introduce is the Uda City Matsuyama Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings, located along the Ise Honkaidō in Uda City, Nara Prefecture. The "Daiganji" temple here was founded during the Suiko period and is said to have been established at the command of Prince Shotoku to Soga no Umako. The area known as "Akino" in ancient times is now part of the Daida Uda district. According to the Nihon Shoki, a medicinal herb gathering (kusurigari) took place here on May 5, 611, during the 19th year of Emperor Suiko's reign. Medicinal herb gathering was a court event where materials with medicinal properties, such as deer antlers and medicinal herbs, were collected, indicating Uda's long-standing connection with medicine. In the Edo period, in 1729, the Morino family opened a medicinal herb garden, which is now preserved as the "Morino Medicinal Herb Garden." With this background, Daida Uda developed as a "Medicine Town" lined with pharmacies, and it is said that at its peak, there were over 50 pharmacies operating. The "Yakushi-no-Yakata" is a facility that utilizes the former residence of the Hosokawa family, who operated a pharmacy since 1806. The Hosokawa family boasted great prosperity, selling stomach medicines like "Tenjumaru" by 1836. Today, a beautifully crafted copper plate roof with a decorative signboard still hangs at the front of the building, conveying the grandeur of its past. Additionally, Tomokichi Fujisawa, the eldest son of Mitsu, the second daughter of the second generation of the Hosokawa family, became an adopted son of the Fujisawa family in 1882 and later founded Fuji Pharma Co., Ltd. (now Astellas Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.). Inside the facility, you can see displays of the development of Fujisawa Pharmaceuticals, the achievements of past presidents, and representative medicine packaging, allowing visitors to learn about Japan's modern pharmaceutical history. Please visit Uda City in Nara Prefecture, where you can touch upon the history of Japanese medicine (herbs) that existed 1,400 years ago.

Breathless from the climb, Miyama Kirishima adorns the early summer landscape of the Mt. Kuju Range. It feels so good! Location: Hoshiozaki, Kusu District, Oita Prefecture

Lake Biwa, the largest lake in Japan, is actually surrounded by many small lakes that resemble satellites, and Pinghu is one of them. However, only fishermen are aware of its existence, so in spring, you can leisurely enjoy cherry blossom viewing while taking in the sight of the giant cherry trees that encircle the lake, all while being gently blown by the lake breeze.

In Koka City, Shiga Prefecture, there is a beautiful area where 600 cherry blossom trees line both banks of a clear stream. It's a tranquil spot, perfect for leisurely cherry blossom viewing, and the view from the center of the pedestrian bridge is fantastic.

The filming location is "Takatori Castle" in Kamikoshima, Takatoricho, Takaichi District, Nara Prefecture. "Takatori Castle" is associated with Toyotomi Hidenaga, one of the Toyotomi brothers, and is counted among Japan's three great mountain castles, making it quite a hidden gem. What I want to introduce here is the "Kunimi Yagura Ruins" of Takatori Castle. The Kunimi Yagura offers a panoramic view of the "Asuka-Fujiwara Capital Area," which is set to become a World Heritage site. This photo captures "Mt. Unebiyama (where the Mausoleum of Emperor Jinmu is located)," "Fujiwara-kyo ruins," "Asukamura," and "Mt. Nijo (a symbol of the ancient capital Nara for the people of Nara)." Under good conditions, you can also see "Mount Hiei in Kyoto" and "Mount Rokko in Kobe." The view, especially during the time from sunset to twilight, is magnificent. Have you noticed it? In the distance to the right of Mt. Nijo, the skyline of Osaka's high-rise buildings is visible. One of those buildings is "Abeno Harukas." Getting to the "Takatori Castle Ruins" involves a mountain trail hike. Please check the information and prepare suitable clothing and gear for a short mountain climb to enjoy your visit. Additionally, Takatori Castle has no lighting facilities, and at night it becomes pitch dark, which can be dangerous. It's necessary to have lighting equipment like headlamps. Last year, the Takatori New Tourism Association held a night walk tour. Please consider participating in such events.

In the sweltering heat of the rainy season, I was drawn down into the valley by the sound of the clear stream and a cool breeze. Upon reaching the valley floor, I found myself in another world! Before me lay a fantastical landscape! At the information center at the valley entrance, I was informed that "Due to fallen trees and safety concerns, access to the upstream area leading to the Chockstone is currently prohibited." It was a bit disappointing, but there's always next time!! Location: Oita Prefecture, Yufu City

Iwayado Park In summer, it is cool like a summer resort, and in autumn, the foliage is beautiful.

At this time, the cherry blossoms were about 80% in bloom, but the morning sunlight was perfect. If the timing is right, the rays of light here are outstanding. Be cautious of deer at night.

Nestled along the rugged coastline of Otaru, Hokkaido, stands the remarkable Sea Lion Rock, a lesser-known gem that remains largely undiscovered by international visitors. In winter, the surrounding waters become a gathering place for hundreds of Steller sea lions, creating a spectacular wildlife scene against the dramatic backdrop of the Sea of Japan. As the seasons change, summer brings flocks of black-tailed gulls that fill the skies and cliffs with life. Rising behind this iconic rock formation is the striking red-and-white Shukutsu Observatory, visible prominently above the coastline and extending toward the vast Sea of Japan. Together, the observatory, the wildlife, and the rugged seascape create a breathtaking panorama that captures the essence of northern Japan's natural beauty. While Otaru is often celebrated for its canals and historic streets, this hidden coastal viewpoint offers a different perspective—one where nature, history, and scenery converge.