Regarding the Dec. 23 Jiji article "Tourists flocking to Japan but few venture off the beaten track": I have escorted 10 tours to Japan from Australia over the last few years and we certainly have ventured off the beaten track, visiting such places as Cape Soya and Cape Nosappu in Hokkaido, Fukaura, Murodo, Nishikicho and Shiraishi in Honshu, Oboke and Nahari in Shikoku and Yoshimatsu and Saitozaki in Kyushu.
Towns our groups have stayed overnight at include Abashiri, Kushiro, Akita, Goshogawara, Matsushima, Namerikawa, Izumoshi, Kochi, Kagoshima and Saga. It is a great pity that more tourists do not get off the beaten track. Our groups have all said they most enjoyed the days we got away from the big cities to explore the "real" Japanese countryside.
The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.