Japan Travel Guide: Self-Guided City Walks

The best things to do in Japan include discovering ancient temples and historic cities, exploring mountain and coastal landscapes, and experiencing a culture where inherited traditions sit alongside modern technology and popular culture. Japan is an island country in the Pacific Ocean, with a long history shaped by its geography, its changing political systems and the people who have made these islands their home. Neywo offers free audio guides for 63 cities in Japan, covering 3,031 narrated places in total, with narration available in 11 languages.

Japan travel guide: what to see and do

Japan stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea in the south. Its archipelago includes Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu and Okinawa, as well as the Ryukyu Islands and many smaller islands. Around three quarters of the country is mountainous and forested, so population and farming have traditionally concentrated on the eastern coastal plains.

That geography creates a country of striking contrasts. Northern areas have colder climates and heavy snowfall, while the Ryukyu and Bonin Islands have subtropical forests. Terraced farming makes use of limited cultivable land, and seafood, rice and noodles remain traditional staples. Regional food reflects the ingredients and conditions of each part of the country.

Explore Japan’s long history

People have lived in the Japanese archipelago since the Japanese Paleolithic. The Jōmon culture developed pit dwellings, early agriculture and some of the oldest surviving pottery. Later, the Yayoi people introduced wet rice farming and new practices in pottery and metallurgy.

Centuries afterwards, emperors united kingdoms centred first on Nara and then on Heian-kyō. From the 12th century, political power shifted towards shōgun, daimyō and samurai. The Tokugawa shogunate eventually unified Japan and followed an isolationist foreign policy. That order ended when an American fleet forced the opening of trade with the West, beginning a period of rapid modernisation.

For a concentrated experience of Japan’s historic heritage, explore Kyoto, where Neywo covers 295 narrated places, including Ryōan-ji Temple, Kinkaku-ji Temple, Kiyomizu-dera Temple and Daigo-ji Temple. Nara has 73 narrated places, with Kasuga-taisha, Tōdai-ji Temple and the Nara National Museum among its highlights. Nearby Himeji combines cultural attractions such as Himeji City Museum of Art, Shosha Art and Craft Museum and Azuki Museum.

Discover castles, gardens and traditional towns

Japan’s historical character appears in cities and towns across the country. Kanazawa has 30 narrated places, including Kanazawa Castle, Kanazawa Shrine and the Kanazawa Phonograph Museum. In Matsumoto, the city museum, Former Kaichi School and Japan Ukiyo-e Museum offer different views of local history and art.

Kurashiki has 25 narrated places, including the Ohara Museum of Art, Ohashi House and Goryu-sonryu-in Temple. Takamatsu has 44, with Ritsurin Garden and Shikoku Mura Gallery among the places covered by the audio guide.

The country’s heritage also extends to religious sites and historic settlements. Hiraizumi includes Chūson-ji Temple, Kanjizaiō-in, the Hiraizumi Cultural Heritage Center and the Hiraizumi World Heritage Information Center. Koya focuses on Koyasan Reihōkan and Mount Kōya, while Ikaruga covers Hōryū-ji Temple, Hokki-ji Temple and Ikaruga Shrine.

Experience mountains, forests and islands

Mountains and forests cover much of Japan, creating opportunities to explore landscapes far from the major coastal plains. Fujikawaguchiko has six narrated places, including Aokigahara, the Kawaguchiko Museum of Art, the Yamanashi Prefectural Fujisan World Heritage Center and Kawaguchi-ko Music Forest.

In the north, Aomori has 17 narrated places, including Aomori Bay Bridge, the Mt. Hakkōda Snow March Memorial Museum, Jōmon Jiyūkan and Aomori City Forestry Museum. Hirosaki offers eight, with Hirosaki Castle, Tsugaru-han Neputa Village, Hirosaki City Museum and the Ōmori Katsuyama Site.

The relationship between land and water is especially visible in places such as Miyajima, where the guide covers Itsukushima, Daishō-in Temple, Miyajima Public Aquarium and the World’s Largest Rice Scoop. Nagasaki has 45 narrated places, including Hashima Island, Glover Garden and the Nagasaki Traditional Performing Arts Museum.

See Japan’s modern cities

Japan is also a major industrial and technological power, with globally important automotive, electronics and robotics industries. Tokyo is the capital and largest city, and the country’s high-speed Shinkansen connects major cities, known for its safety and punctuality.

For an urban introduction, Tokyo has 956 narrated places, the largest selection on Neywo in Japan. The city’s guide includes Hirakawa-tenmangu, Keio University, Saint Ignatius Church and カザルスホール. Osaka has 178 narrated places, including the Mint Museum, Osaka Castle Museum and Mengyo Kaikan. Kobe has 118, covering Kobe Port Tower, the Weathercock House, the Kobe Lamp Museum and the Disaster Reduction and Human Renovation Institution.

Japan’s modern identity is not separate from its past. Its writing combines kanji with two kana syllabaries, the Latin alphabet and Arabic numerals. Traditional instruments such as the koto and shamisen exist alongside animation, comics, fashion, film, music, television, theatre and video games. The result is a culture in which old forms and new expressions continue to coexist.

Understand Japan’s recent history

Japan’s transformation into a modern industrial nation followed a difficult period. The country suffered defeat in the Pacific War, including the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and then came under Allied occupation. Rapid economic growth followed in later decades, although the collapse of the asset price bubble in the early 1990s began a long period of stagnation known as the Lost Decades.

Modern Japan also faces population decline and a heavy dependence on imported energy. At the same time, it remains closely associated with invention, industry and the systems that keep an island country connected and moving. Its constitutional monarchy gives the emperor a ceremonial role, while executive power is exercised by the prime minister and Cabinet. Each prefecture has an elected governor and legislature.

Explore Japan with Neywo’s free audio guides

Download Neywo to explore Japan independently through 101 walking tours covering 3,031 narrated places in 63 cities. The country’s audio guides include cities such as Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Nara, Kanazawa and many others. Each story plays as you reach the place, at your own pace: no group and no schedule. Choose a destination, walk through its streets and let the app tell you the story of each place when you arrive.