Fukuoka / Hakata

About 100 street stalls along the Naka River in Hakata's night scene. Eating ramen, oden, and yakitori at yatai symbolizes Japan's nighttime food culture where locals and tourists sit side by side.

Japan's southernmost prefecture, with a distinct culture rooted in the history of the Ryukyu Kingdom. With its emerald seas, the World Heritage Shuri Castle ruins, unique cuisine and music, Okinawa draws visitors from home and abroad as a resort island offering charms different from mainland Japan.

Japan's northernmost island, celebrated for its vast natural landscapes and rich food culture. From the lavender fields of Furano to the UNESCO World Natural Heritage site of Shiretoko and world-class powder snow ski resorts, Hokkaido offers year-round tourism appeal complemented by acclaimed seafood and local cuisine.

A contemporary art mecca in the Seto Inland Sea. Centered on the Benesse Art Site, works by Yayoi Kusama and museums designed by Tadao Ando are scattered across the island. As a core venue of the Setouchi Triennale, Naoshima has become a global model for art tourism.

A castle town in Gifu Prefecture known as 'Little Kyoto of Hida.' Edo-period streetscapes, the ornate festival floats of the Takayama Festival, and Hida beef cuisine make it enormously popular with international tourists. It earned three stars in the Michelin Green Guide.

A UNESCO World Natural Heritage island home to ancient Yakusugi cedars thousands of years old. The Jomon Cedar trek and Shiratani Unsuikyo Ravine are known as inspirations for the forests in Miyazaki's 'Princess Mononoke.' Its vertical vegetation zones from subtropical to subarctic earn it the nickname 'Alps of the Ocean.'