Chiba Prefecture

Glide along old canals in a hand-poled boat

In some old towns, a boatman called a sendo pushes a small wooden boat along the canals with a long pole or a single oar, telling stories about the town as you go. You sit low on the water, passing white-walled storehouses and willows, and bend down as the boat slips under low bridges. Most rides take 20 minutes to an hour; the stories are in Japanese, but the scenery is enough on its own.

Grab hot noodles from a retro vending machine

In a few corners of Japan, vending machines built around the 1970s still cook hot noodles: drop in coins, wait a little, and a steaming bowl of udon (thick wheat noodles) or soba (buckwheat noodles) comes out with a clunk. Most stand beside country roads or shops with big parking lots, so they make an easy stop on a drive, and you eat in your car or at a counter by the machines. Bring plenty of coins, since nobody is there to make change.

Look up at temple halls clinging to cliffs

In a few places in Japan, small Buddhist halls stand on wooden stilts against sheer rock walls, in the hollows of a cliff or on top of a boulder. You look up from below, or climb a steep path or stairs to get close, and wonder how anyone carried the timber up there. The easiest to reach is in Chiba, a day trip from Tokyo; the other two are in Tottori, far to the west.

A temple town frozen in 1960s Japan

The temple approach in Shibamata still looks as it did in Otoko wa Tsurai yo, a film series shot here from 1969 that holds a Guinness record as the longest-running with a single star. Old shops along it sell kusa dango, sweet rice dumplings made with mugwort, and beyond the temple you can cross the Edo River on a hand-rowed ferry. It is about 25 minutes from Ueno by train.

Eat a retro school lunch in a former school

In Japan, children eat the same lunch together in their classroom, and many adults remember those school lunches fondly. At a former elementary school turned into a roadside rest stop, you can eat a meal in that old style, then walk the hallways and classrooms that still look as they did when children studied there.

A temple street that smells of grilled eel

Narita, about 10 minutes by train from Narita Airport, grew up around Naritasan Shinshoji, a temple founded in 940. The street up to the temple is lined with restaurants that slice and grill unagi, freshwater eel glazed with sweet soy sauce, at the shop front. It fits easily into the hours before a flight home or right after you land.

Get up early for an old morning market

An asaichi, a morning market, is a street of stalls where local farmers and fishers sell vegetables, seafood, pickles and crafts, usually only until around noon. Wajima, Katsuura and Takayama are known as Japan's three great morning markets, each with a long history, and chatting with the sellers is part of the fun. Wajima's market has moved to a new site since the 2024 Noto earthquake, so check where it is held before you go.

Climb spiral stairs to the top of a lighthouse

Sixteen of Japan's lighthouses, many built in the late 1800s to guide ships, are open for visitors to walk inside and climb. Wind up the narrow spiral staircase and step out onto the balcony at the top for a view of the horizon and passing ships. Entry is a small donation paid on the spot, and no booking is needed.

Drink fresh beer next to the tanks it came from

All over Japan, small craft breweries pour their beer in taprooms set right beside the brewing tanks, so what you drink was made a few steps away. Order a few small glasses to compare styles, often with food made to go with them. The places in and around Tokyo make an easy evening out, while those farther away fit into a longer trip through the region.

Step inside a giant Buddha

Many of Japan's giant Buddhas and statues of Kannon, the Buddhist goddess of mercy, are hollow, and at these you can walk inside. Enter through a door in the back or at the feet, then climb past Buddhist images and exhibits; in the tallest ones, windows near the top look out over the landscape. All of them are day trips from Tokyo.

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