Japan travel
Practical guides on speaking, grammar, pronunciation, listening, and study planning, written for learners who want to use Japanese in real life.
Japan travel · Page 5
Izu Peninsula Guide: Coasts, Hot Springs and Japanese to Use
The Izu Peninsula, south-west of Tokyo, packs volcanic coastlines, hot spring towns, beaches and early cherry blossom into a region you can reach in two hours by train. It is also one of the best places in Japan to practise onsen Japanese, from asking for a day bath at a ryokan to reading the signs at a riverside foot bath.
13 min readAtami Guide: Onsen Town, Fireworks, Kinomiya Shrine and Japanese to Use
Atami is a seaside hot spring town at the northern gate of the Izu Peninsula, under an hour from Tokyo by Shinkansen. It has a free foot bath at the station, a beach, a shrine with a camphor tree said to be over two thousand years old and fireworks over the bay more than ten times a year, and plenty of easy chances to speak Japanese.
12 min readFushimi Inari Taisha Guide: Torii Trail, Foxes and Japanese to Use
Fushimi Inari Taisha is the head shrine of Inari, famous for thousands of vermilion torii climbing Mount Inari. It is free, open around the clock, and a perfect place to read your first shrine signs and use a few polite questions in Japanese.
13 min readKinkaku-ji Guide: Golden Pavilion, Garden Route and Japanese to Use
Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Pavilion, is a Zen temple whose top two floors are covered in gold leaf and mirrored in a still pond. The visit is short and follows one path, which makes it an easy place to read your first temple signs and ask a few polite questions in Japanese.
12 min readKiyomizu-dera Guide: Wooden Stage, Otowa Waterfall and Japanese to Use
Kiyomizu-dera is the hillside temple whose great wooden stage hangs over a valley of maples, with all of Kyoto spread out beyond it. It is an easy half-day on foot and full of small rituals, from the three streams of Otowa waterfall to a walk through total darkness, each with a line of Japanese to go with it.
12 min readArashiyama Bamboo Grove Guide: Sagano Path, Bikes and Japanese to Use
The Arashiyama Bamboo Grove is a narrow path through towering stalks of bamboo on the western edge of Kyoto. It is free and always open, and the district around it is ideal for getting about by bicycle or rickshaw, which means plenty of chances to use real Japanese.
12 min readGion Guide: Hanamikōji, Yasaka Jinja, Manners and Japanese to Use
Gion is Kyoto's most famous geiko district, a few blocks of wooden teahouses, lantern-lit lanes and the vermilion gate of Yasaka Jinja. It is also where visitors most need to read the signs, because some lanes are private and photography rules are strict.
12 min readGinkaku-ji and the Philosopher's Path Guide: Walk and Japanese to Use
Ginkaku-ji, the Silver Pavilion, is a quiet Zen temple of sand and moss at the foot of Kyoto's eastern hills. From its gate the Philosopher's Path follows a canal south for about two kilometres, which makes this the best half-day walk in Kyoto for asking the way and chatting along the route.
12 min readNishiki Market Guide: Kyoto's Kitchen, What to Eat and Japanese to Use
Nishiki Market is a narrow, covered street of food shops in the centre of Kyoto, known as Kyoto's Kitchen. It is the best place in the city to taste pickles, tofu skin and grilled snacks, and every purchase is a small conversation in Japanese.
11 min readNijō Castle Guide: Nightingale Floors, Palaces and Japanese to Use
Nijō Castle was the Kyoto base of the Tokugawa shoguns, and its Ninomaru Palace is one of the finest surviving palace buildings in Japan, with painted rooms and floors that chirp as you walk. It is right next to a subway station and perfect for practising ticket-window and shoe-locker Japanese.
12 min readRyōan-ji Guide: The Rock Garden, the Tsukubai and Japanese to Use
Ryōan-ji is the Zen temple of the famous rock garden: fifteen stones on raked white gravel, framed by an old clay wall. It is a place for sitting still, and its signs and single stone basin hold some of the most quoted Japanese words in Kyoto.
11 min readSanjūsangen-dō Guide: 1,001 Kannon Statues and Japanese to Use
Sanjūsangen-dō is a single wooden hall about 120 metres long that holds 1,001 gilded statues of Kannon, rank upon rank in the half-light. It is near Kyoto Station, open every day, and full of short signs and questions that make good Japanese practice.
11 min readPractical guides
Turn Japanese knowledge into speaking confidence
Practice with Unihongo's AI Sensei in an immersive 3D classroom, with roleplay missions, pronunciation coaching, useful feedback, and learning games that build your vocabulary while you play.