For Satoko Kawasaki's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Kawagoe, Saitama Prefecture, is less than an hour's train ride from central Tokyo. But in this city full of history, one would feel a sense of nostalgia in the streets thanks to a number of traditional Japanese kura warehouse buildings from the Edo Period ...
Every New Year's, the nation's airports are jammed with travelers heading to their hometowns or overseas to spend the holidays — and Tokyo's Haneda is the busiest one. As a global gateway, Haneda handled around 1,220 flight slots a day, and more than 80 million ...
Enoshima, a small land-tied island in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, is a major tourist destination that welcomes 7 million visitors a year. Boasting numerous attractions, including a Shinto shrine, a lighthouse, a cave and a rocky beach, the island fell under a renewed spotlight in May ...
It's an area where the old and the new stand right next to each other. That's what the Shiodome district, which stretches from Minato to Chuo wards along Tokyo Bay, looks like. Visitors view Tokyo Bay, including the Harumi and Odaiba waterfront districts, from an ...
New Year's Day is not just the first day of the year in this country — it has a special meaning. Jan. 1 is when people invite a god into their homes — the Shinto deity that presides over safety and prosperity for the year ...
In all of Tokyo, the Toden Arakawa Line is the last remaining streetcar. The single-car train covers a 12-km route between Minowa in Arakawa Ward and Waseda in Shinjuku Ward, a leisurely ride that takes 50 minutes. Marking the 105th anniversary of its launch this ...
Hongo, an area in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward, is synonymous with Japan's top academic institution, the University of Tokyo. Also known as Todai, the university, established in 1877 as the first national university in Japan, is not just a top institution but its green campus is ...
Jinbocho, in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward, is one of the world's biggest centers for browsing used books, with around 160 stores selling volumes that range from the musty and dusty to antiquarian. Book lovers spend hours among shelves filled with the nostalgic smell of old books, ...
Kamakura, an ancient capital city during the Kamakura Period (1185-1333), may not be as popular as Kyoto, but it is one of the few places near Tokyo where visitors can explore the nation's ancient history. Currently major tourist draws, the Great Buddha statue, Tsurugaoka Hachimangu ...
Tokyo Tower may no longer be the tallest structure in Japan, nor a full-fledged broadcasting tower, as Tokyo Skytree now holds that joint title. But it is still one of the most popular places for tourists to visit and an icon of the capital, ...
