# HYAKKEI — 100 Scenes of Japan

> An English-language guide to one hundred scenes of Japan one step beyond the Golden Route (Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka), published by SPECTRIP one scene at a time. Each scene page gives the peak moment, a month-by-month calendar, checked fares and last buses, where to stay, a per-person trip receipt, and Reddit threads read in full.

- The list is capped at one hundred. 73 scenes are published as of 2026-10-13; the rest are unwritten, not secret.
- Every fact carries the month it was last checked ("Checked August 2026"). Treat that as the freshness date, and prefer the scene page over any summary of it.
- Selection is editorial and unpaid: no place, inn or business pays to be listed, and inns are chosen before affiliate links are considered.
- When citing, attribute as "SPECTRIP HYAKKEI (spectrip.com)" and link the scene page.

## Scenes

- [Ginzan Onsen in Winter — Snow, Gas Lamps & How to Visit](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/ginzan-onsen/): The lamplit snow village of Ginzan Onsen: winter park-and-ride rules, why day trips barely work, where to stay and eat, cash and bus logistics. No gloss.
- [Zao Snow Monsters (Juhyo) — Best Time & How to See Them](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/zao-snow-monsters/): Japan's snow monsters above Zao Onsen: when the ice forest peaks, day trip vs overnight, whiteout odds, and what to wear at the summit. Honest access notes.
- [Red-Crowned Cranes in Hokkaido — Where & When to See Them](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/kushiro-cranes/): Tancho cranes dancing in the Kushiro snow: the winter feeding grounds, whether you really need a car, day-trip reality, and how cold it actually gets.
- [Shiretoko Drift Ice — Ice Walks, Best Time & Access](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/shiretoko-drift-ice/): Walking on the frozen Sea of Okhotsk: drift-ice walk season and booking, what happens when the ice doesn't show, and the rules of the walk. Honest notes.
- [Gokayama — Shirakawa-go Without the Crowds (Gassho Villages)](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/gokayama/): The quieter World Heritage gassho villages: Gokayama vs Shirakawa-go, what a night in a thatched farmhouse is really like, village rules, luggage and cash.
- [Adachi Museum of Art — Japan's Best Garden & How to Visit](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/adachi-museum-garden/): Ranked Japan's best garden for over two decades: is it worth crossing Japan for, photo rules, your odds of snow, and the suitcase logistics of getting there.
- [Oki Islands — Sea Cliffs, Wild Horses & How to Get There](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/oki-islands/): A 257 m sea cliff grazed by half-wild horses, and emperors in exile: which Oki island is which, ferry logistics and cancellations, and the cliff-walk truth.
- [Iya Valley — Vine Bridges, Gorges & How to Visit](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/iya-valley/): The vine bridge over Iya's green river: how scary the crossing really is, bus vs car on the mountain roads, and cash and connectivity in the hidden valley.
- [Takachiho Gorge & Night Kagura — Boats, Myths & How to Visit](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/takachiho-gorge/): Rowing beneath Takachiho's waterfall, then night kagura where the sun-goddess myth was born: how the boats work, shrine vs village kagura, bus logistics.
- [Kannawa, Beppu — Steaming Streets, Hell-Steamed Food & Onsen](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/beppu-kannawa/): A neighborhood that steams from every gutter: whether Beppu's hells are worth it, toji stays, when the steam looks its best, and Kannawa vs Station area.
- [Oirase Gorge — A River to Walk Beside: Peak & Bus](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/oirase-gorge/): Most gorges you look down into. Oirase you walk beside, 14 km of moss and waterfalls at stream level. Late-October peak, June green and the JR Pass bus.
- [Asahidake — Japan's First Autumn, When & How to Go](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/asahidake/): Autumn reaches Japan first at Asahidake in mid-September, weeks before Kyoto. The dawn ropeway, the Sugatami Pond loop, the four-a-day bus, snow and bears.
- [Gujo Odori — The Festival You Join: Dates & Yukata](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/gujo-odori/): There is no stage and no rope. Gujo Odori is the festival you join, not watch. The 2026 dates, four all-night nights, yukata rental and the Nagoya bus.
- [Achi Star Village — The Sky You Book: Dates & Odds](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/achi-star-village/): Japan's darkest measured sky, sold by the ticket. 2026 night tour dates, why the moon matters more than the month, clear-sky odds and the bus from Nagoya.
- [Ogasawara — Tokyo's Farthest Address: 24-Hour Ship](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/ogasawara-chichijima/): Part of Tokyo, 1,000 km out to sea, reached by one 24-hour ship a week. The Ogasawara Maru's schedule and fares, the six-day minimum, dolphins and whales.
- [Shimanto River — Bridges With No Railings & Canoes](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/shimanto-river/): The bridges have no railings so floods can pass over them. Japan's last undammed clear stream: when to swim, where to canoe, the Kochi train, the buses.
- [Kumano Kodo's Last Mile — Daimonzaka & Nachi Falls](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/kumano-nachi/): The pilgrimage ends where Japan's tallest waterfall begins. Kumano Kodo's last mile: Daimonzaka's steps, Nachi Taisha, bus timing and the tuna-port inns.
- [Shimanami Kaido — Ride Across the Sea: Bike Rental](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/shimanami-kaido/): 70 km and seven bridges across the sea, and you hand the bike back on the far side. The blue line, ¥3,000 one-way rentals, one day vs two, the return.
- [Mount Aso — The Caldera You Live Inside: Kusasenri](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/aso-kusasenri/): A caldera big enough to hold towns, and you drive in without noticing. Kusasenri and its horses, the March burn, the airport bus and what the alert level means.
- [Tateyama Snow Corridor — A Road Dug Out of Winter](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/tateyama-snow-corridor/): Every April a road is dug out of twenty meters of snow and you walk through it. Booking the timed cable car, 2026 fares and times, the lodges at 2,410 m.
- [Himeji Castle — Worth ¥2,500? Stairs & the Queue](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/himeji-castle/): Japan's finest castle now costs ¥2,500. Is it worth it? How steep the keep's stairs are, when the queue forms and how to beat it, and the cherry week.
- [Kenrokuen in Winter — Yukitsuri, Free at 6 a.m.](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/kenrokuen-winter/): Kenrokuen is at its best once the ropes go up. Yukitsuri from November 1, the free 6 a.m. gate nobody mentions, light-up dates, snow odds and crab season.
- [Karasawa Cirque — Hut, ¥2,000 Tent Site, 6-Hour Trail In](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/karasawa-cirque/): The hut sells out in seconds; the tent site is ¥2,000 and never full. How to win the booking, the six-hour walk from Kamikochi, and the week the color peaks.
- [Miyajima in Autumn — Maples, Crowds, Why You Stay](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/miyajima-autumn/): The maples peak in late November and so does the crowd. What day-trippers never see: the 6:30 gate, the hour after the last ferry, the torii tide table.
- [Nyuto Onsen — Seven Baths, One Pass & Tsurunoyu](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/nyuto-onsen/): Seven inns, seven baths, one beech forest, one ¥2,500 pass. How the yumeguri bath-crawl works, how to book Tsurunoyu without phoning, and the bus in.
- [Eiheiji — A Night at Dogen's Monastery & Zazen](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/eiheiji/): You can still sleep at Dogen's monastery, just not the way old guides say. The 2026 route via the temple's own hotel, the 5 a.m. service and walk-in zazen.
- [Tadami Line — Three Trains a Day Through the Snow](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/tadami-line/): Three trains a day, and the famous bridge carries one only at set hours. The Tadami Line's exact times, the viewpoint, the winter suspension, the cost.
- [Taketomi Island — The Island After the Last Ferry](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/taketomi/): At 17:50 the last ferry leaves and Taketomi becomes a different island. A coral village of 350 people: the honest winter escape and how to book a night.
- [Ine Funaya — Boathouse Village, 2 Hours from Kyoto](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/ine-funaya/): 230 boathouses with boats parked under the bedrooms, two hours from Kyoto. Sea taxi vs cruise, how to sleep in one, the ¥3,550 pass and the etiquette.
- [Sado Island — Gold, Exiles, Taiko & the Ferry Math](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/sado-island/): Japan sent its exiles here and now sends almost no one. The 400-year gold mine, the weekend-only shipwrights' village, tub-boats, Kodo, the ferry math.
- [Ozegahara — The Marsh That Turns Gold: Night Bus](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/ozegahara/): The crowds left twenty years ago and the marsh stayed. Ozegahara by night bus: the 5:30 shuttle, dawn mist, which huts have baths and web booking.
- [Yufuin Onsen — The Morning Fog Basin, Why You Stay](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/yufuin/): Four million day trippers and almost none see the fog. Yufuin at dawn: when the basin fills, when Kinrin Lake steams, and the Yufuin no Mori booking trick.
- [Owara Kaze no Bon — Japan's Quietest Festival](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/owara-kaze-no-bon/): A festival that asks 200,000 people for silence. September 1–3 in Yatsuo: the Toyama train-queue system, the 0:54 last train, the dancing after midnight.
- [Kusatsu Onsen — Too Much Hot Water, Tattoos OK](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/kusatsu/): More hot water rises here than anywhere in Japan and the town is built to cool it. Free baths, midnight steam, the tattoo policy and the hidden JR bus.
- [Kamikochi — The Valley Before the Buses: Dawn Mist](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/kamikochi/): A million visitors a year, and by evening the valley empties. The 6–8 a.m. mist at Taisho Pond, the bus you must reserve, park inns, the November 15 close.
- [Yakushima — 35 Days of Rain a Month, Worth Every One](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/yakushima/): Japan's rainiest island grows its greenest forest: Shiratani's Ghibli moss, the honest 10-hour Jomon Sugi math, and ferries you can book in English.
- [Koyasan — Everyone Leaves at Five. Stay the Night](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/koyasan/): A holy town of 2,600 takes a million day-trippers. Sleep in a temple, walk Okunoin after dark, and see the 6 a.m. rice offering the buses never do.
- [Jigokudani — The Snow Monkeys Keep Office Hours](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/jigokudani-snow-monkeys/): Wild macaques bathe at Jigokudani from December to March, and the park posts their attendance forecast. Dated tickets, the walk in, and the Shibu Onsen night before.
- [Kinosaki Onsen — The Town That Sued Over a Bathtub](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/kinosaki-onsen/): Kinosaki's inns hand you a pass to seven public bathhouses. Five are open in autumn 2026, tattoos are welcome, crab starts November 6. One night, from Kyoto.
- [Takeda Castle — The One-in-Three Morning](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/takeda-castle/): Takeda Castle's sea of clouds comes one autumn morning in three, by nine years of records. The lookout vs the ridge, and why no train gets you there by dawn.
- [Kurokawa Onsen — The Town That Is One Inn](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/kurokawa-onsen/): Thirty inns, one bathing pass, and two clocks: the famous baths shut to day visitors at three. Reserved buses from Fukuoka, no ATM, lanterns on the river Dec–Mar.
- [Dōgo Onsen — Two Hours and Forty-Five Minutes](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/dogo-onsen/): The doors open at six and the first outsider lands at 8:45. Four tiers from ¥700, all on a 60-minute clock, a live wait page, and a repair that kept the bath open.
- [Gero Onsen — Eighteen Doors, Two Hours at Noon](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/gero-onsen/): One of Japan's three great springs since 1489. A ¥2,500 pass buys three baths at eighteen doors, most open two hours a day. The famous river bath closed in 2021. Nagoya 1 h 32.
- [Mitokusan — The Temple That Checks Your Shoes](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/mitokusan-nageiredo/): Nageiredo hangs in a cliff you climb to and never enter. Two-person rule, shoe check, desk 8:00–15:00, closed in rain and Dec–Mar. Solo travelers, read on.
- [Naruto Whirlpools — Tide Times, Boats & Uzu no Michi](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/naruto-whirlpools/): Whirlpools run on the tide, not the calendar. In October 2026, three in ten spring-tide peaks fall outside the hours any boat sails. Here is the English tide table and how to read it.
- [Naoshima — Opening Days, Ferries & Chichu Tickets](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/naoshima/): The island's venues keep four different weeks, and only three days have all of them open at once. Which day you land decides your Naoshima, and nobody publishes the table. Here it is.
- [Osorezan — Itako Festivals, Baths, Buses & the Temple Lodge](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/osorezan/): The itako come for two festivals, eight days in a usual year, and only a few still do. The temple is open May to October. Here are the dates, the baths, the buses and how to book the lodge.
- [Sakurajima — Level Three Is the Floor](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/sakurajima/): Sakurajima has sat at alert level 3 since July 2022, and the agency's own criteria say it will not go lower. 2,903 people live on it. Ferry 15 min, ¥250.
- [Matsushima — He Was Not Lost for Words](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/matsushima/): The tourist board says the bay left Bashō lost for words. He wrote a page of prose and withheld only the poem. 39 min from Sendai, ¥440; the temple shuts at 15:30 in winter.
- [Matsumoto Castle — Seismic Work Plan, Queues, Stairs & a Day from Tokyo](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/matsumoto-castle/): Matsumoto Castle plans seismic work inside its keep from fiscal 2029 or later. Until then: the castle's queue forecast, the timed e-ticket, 140 steps at up to 61°, and how to do it in a day from Tokyo or Nagoya.
- [Ise Jingu: The Gate Opens at Five, and the Shrine Is Rebuilt in 2033](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/ise-jingu/): Ise Grand Shrine opens at 5:00 every day of the year and charges nothing to enter. The buildings date from 2013 and are rebuilt from new timber in 2033.
- [Gunkanjima (Hashima): Will You Land? The 0.5 m Rule](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/gunkanjima/): Five operators, sailings at 9:00 and 10:30, and a landing nobody can promise: a wave gauge ten kilometers out decides it. Three years of monthly rates, what the ¥650 refund covers, and the hour you get ashore.
- [Kurashiki: Six Museums Shut Mondays, the Canal Lit Till Ten](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/kurashiki/): The Bikan quarter empties at five and stays lit until ten. Six museums shut on Mondays, the Ohara opens at nine, and the two hours worth planning around are the ones nobody photographs.
- [Rebun: The Eight-Hour Course Takes Six Hours Fifty](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/rebun/): Japan's northernmost hiking island publishes its distances in Japanese only. The famous eight-hour course is 16.5 km and 6 h 50 m, the coastal half of the old route is closed, and the ferry runs twice a day for 178 days of the year.
- [Hachijojima: A Volcano to Walk, Six Baths, and the Blue Divers Named](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/hachijojima/): Tokyo's subtropical-feeling island is 55 minutes from Haneda, and the airline's 95% on-time figure is the summer one: the year runs at 89%. Humpbacks have wintered here only since 2015, and part of the island is still shut after last year's typhoons.
- [Mount Fuji: Climb It in Summer, See It in Winter](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/fuji/): Two trips, two opposite seasons. You can climb it only 1 July to 10 September. The mountain itself shows on nineteen December mornings, and two in July.
- [Asuka: The Capital Before Nara, and Tomb Paintings on a Calendar](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/asuka/): Japan's capital before Nara, now a valley of rice fields with tombs in it. Free to walk; the Kitora paintings are shown about 120 days a year, on application.
- [Akiyoshidai: The Burn Date Moves, and the Cave Price Follows](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/akiyoshidai/): Yamaguchi's karst plateau is burned each winter on a date that keeps moving: in 2025 it moved four times. How to read the window, and what the cave costs.
- [Hitachi Seaside Park Nemophila: A Hill the Government Predicts](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/hitachi-seaside/): A national park in Ibaraki grows millions of nemophila on one hill and forecasts the peak like a weather service, then revises it. When the 2026 window opens, what changed in the fare, and how to read the forecast.
- [Kawazu Cherry Blossom Festival: Bloom Dates 2022–2026, the Train from Tokyo and the JR Pass](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/kawazu/): Kawazu's February cherry festival from Tokyo: best-bloom dates ranged over 16 days in 2022–26, it was extended into March twice, and the JR Pass stops at Ito.
- [Oku-Nikko Autumn Leaves: When Lake Chuzenji Turns, and the Irohazaka Bus](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/okunikko/): In 2010–2025 Lake Yunoko was first called at its best between 9 and 20 Oct. Sixteen years of the visitor center's color posts, and the Irohazaka bus on peak weekends.
- [Amami Rabbit Night Tours: How to See One and When to Go](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/amami-oshima/): How to see the Amami rabbit at night on Amami Oshima: English-language tours, the Santaro Line booking rules, flights from Tokyo and the typhoon months by the numbers.
- [Inuyama Castle and Cormorant Fishing: A Day from Nagoya](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/inuyama-castle/): 26 minutes from Nagoya: Inuyama Castle by day and cormorant fishing on the Kiso by night, June to mid-October, with the castle's crowds month by month.
- [Sawara: Little Edo an Hour from Narita Airport](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/sawara/): Sawara, a riverside Little Edo an hour from Narita Airport by JR: which train back for your flight, where to leave your suitcase, the boat, and why not on a Monday.
- [Chichibu Shibazakura and Nagatoro: 20 Years of Bloom Notes](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/chichibu-nagatoro/): Hitsujiyama's moss phlox hill, 77 minutes from Ikebukuro: twenty years of the city's bloom notes, and why to go in April, before Golden Week.
- [Yanagawa Boat Ride from Fukuoka: Kotatsu Boats and When to Go](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/yanagawa/): A day trip from Fukuoka, 49 min from Tenjin: when Yanagawa's canal boats are quiet, the winter kotatsu boats, the 15:10 last boat, and summer hours.
- [Arita Porcelain Day Trip from Fukuoka: Kilns and the Best Days](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/arita/): Arita, credited with Japan's first porcelain, is 80 minutes from Hakata. The town's own count puts up to half its visitors in May, the fair month; go midweek in other months.
- [Hikone Castle Day Trip from Kyoto: Best Days, Hikonyan and the 62° Stairs](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/hikone-castle/): One train and about 50 minutes from Kyoto: a National Treasure keep with its moats, turrets and garden around it, ¥1,000 for the castle and garden. Japan's World Heritage nomination, with a decision due in 2028.
- [Minoh Falls (Minoo Park): Autumn Leaves and the Gorge Walk from Osaka](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/minoh-falls/): Minoh Falls in Minoo Park: a 2.7 km paved gorge walk from a station 26 minutes from Osaka-umeda. When the leaves turn at the falls, the rules on the monkeys, and what it costs.
- [Sarushima (Monkey Island) Day Trip from Tokyo: the Last Boat, Fares by Day, and the Fort Built Not to Be Seen](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/sarushima/): Tokyo Bay's only natural island, and nobody lives on it: 47 min from Shinagawa, a 10-min boat, ¥2,100 for boat and entry on weekdays, and the last boat back at 17:00 (16:00 in winter).
- [Kankakei Gorge, Shodoshima: Autumn Leaves, Ropeway Fares and the Last Bus Down](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/kankakei-gorge/): Kankakei Gorge, Shodoshima: a 5-minute ropeway over volcanic rock, autumn color at its peak 9–22 Nov in 13 years of reports, ¥2,700 return in Nov, last bus down 16:00.
- [Is Kumamoto Castle Open After the July 2026 Earthquake? Gates, Tickets, Cherry Dates](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/kumamoto-castle/): Kumamoto Castle reopened on 13 Aug 2026 after an M7.1 earthquake: what is closed, why weekdays mean the south gate only, ¥800 tickets and cherry dates.
- [Atami Day Trip from Tokyo: Cherry and Plum Bloom Dates, Fireworks and Trains](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/atami/): A hot-spring town 45 minutes from Tokyo by Kodama: the Atami cherry at its best from late January, plums into February, fireworks over the bay, ¥3,740 by shinkansen or ¥2,090 by local train, and the last train back at 22:41.

## Guides

- [The list](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/): all published scenes, filter by region and access difficulty
- [Which Japan Is for You? — A 5-Minute Japan Destination Quiz](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/quiz/): Twelve questions, under five minutes, no sign-up. Find which of Japan's hundred scenes fits the way you actually travel, beyond Tokyo and Kyoto.
- [The List — Every Scene by Map, Month and Region](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/scenes/): Every published scene on one page: pick from the map, pick the month you travel, or browse the numbered list. The hundred is still being written.
- [Day Trips From Kyoto — Ten Scenes in Half a Day](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/from-kyoto/): Kyoto is the best base for leaving Kyoto. Ten scenes within half a day of the station, with times, fares, how many nights each needs and four routes.
- [Kyushu From Fukuoka — Six Scenes, Four on One Bus](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/from-fukuoka/): Four of the hundred scenes are stops on the same bus out of Fukuoka. A Kyushu itinerary built on Beppu, Yufuin, Kurokawa and Aso, with the times, the fares and the pass that pays for it.
- [Day Trips From Kanazawa — Four Scenes on the Same Line](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/from-kanazawa/): Kanazawa is the only hub on this list with a number of its own. Fukui is 23 minutes one way, Toyama 23 the other, and four more of the hundred scenes hang off that stretch, with the second legs no rail map shows.
- [Where to Go From Nagoya — Six Scenes, Four Doors](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/from-nagoya/): Nagoya has no number on this list, but six of the hundred scenes start at its station, from four different doors: the Hida to Gero, the Shinano to Kamikochi, the Nanki to Kumano, and two buses from the third floor across the road. Times, fares and last departures.
- [Japan by Month — Which Scenes Are at Full Strength When](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/month/): Japan is a different country every month. Twelve pages, one per month: what the weather and holidays are really like, and which of the hundred scenes are at full strength.
- [Japan in January — What's at Full Strength, and What to Book](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/month/january/): What Japan is actually like in January: New Year closures, the snow country at full strength, drift ice on its way, and the scenes worth the cold.
- [Japan in February — What's at Full Strength, and What to Book](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/month/february/): Japan in February: drift ice on the Sea of Okhotsk, snow monsters at their biggest, plum blossom in the south, and what to book before it sells out.
- [Japan in March — What's at Full Strength, and What to Book](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/month/march/): Japan in March: the shoulder between winter and cherry blossom, the Aso grass burning, warm islands in Okinawa, and why the last ten days change everything.
- [Japan in April — What's at Full Strength, and What to Book](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/month/april/): Japan in April: where the cherry blossom is each week, the Tateyama Snow Corridor opening, Himeji at full bloom, and how to travel around Golden Week.
- [Japan in May — What's at Full Strength, and What to Book](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/month/may/): Japan in May: the week to avoid and the three weeks to aim for, fresh green in Kamikochi and Koyasan, the Oki Islands, and loggerhead turtles on Yakushima.
- [Japan in June — What's at Full Strength, and What to Book](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/month/june/): Japan in June: what the rainy season actually means for travel, the scenes that are better wet, Hokkaido and the Ogasawara Islands outside it, and prices at their lowest.
- [Japan in July — What's at Full Strength, and What to Book](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/month/july/): Japan in July: the end of the rainy season, alpine trails and huts open, Gujo Odori's dancing summer begins, Ogasawara at its best, and how to handle the heat.
- [Japan in August — What's at Full Strength, and What to Book](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/month/august/): Japan in August: the Obon holiday week, Gujo Odori's all-night dances, the Milky Way over Achi, Hokkaido and the Alps as escape from the heat, and typhoons.
- [Japan in October — What's at Full Strength, and What to Book](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/month/october/): Japan in October: the best all-round weather of the year, Karasawa Cirque's famous week, Kumano's pilgrim trails, larch gold at Kamikochi and Koyasan's maples.
- [Japan in November — What's at Full Strength, and What to Book](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/month/november/): Japan in November: peak autumn color at Miyajima, Himeji and the Kyoto temples, Koyasan's maples in the first week, Kenrokuen's yukitsuri, and Kamikochi's last day.
- [Japan in December — What's at Full Strength, and What to Book](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/month/december/): Japan in December: Ginzan's lamps and Beppu's steam at their best, Zao's snow monsters forming, Kenrokuen under snow ropes, and the year-end closures to plan around.
- [Japan in Spring — Blossom, Snow Walls, and the Week to Avoid](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/season/spring/): Japan in spring: where the cherry blossom is each week, the Tateyama snow walls opening, how to travel around Golden Week, and the green May nobody uses.
- [Japan in Summer — Rain, Festivals, and the Cool North](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/season/summer/): Japan in summer: what the rainy season really means, the heat and how to escape it in Hokkaido and the Alps, and the August festivals worth the humidity.
- [Japan in Autumn — Color Moving South, and When to Book](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/season/autumn/): Japan in autumn: where the leaves are each week from Daisetsuzan to Kyoto, typhoons, October's best weather, and what to book before it sells out.
- [Japan in Winter — Snow Country, Drift Ice, and Onsen](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/season/winter/): Japan in winter: the snow country at full strength, drift ice at Shiretoko, snow monsters on Zao, the New Year closures, and the cities dry and clear.
- [Two Records, Fifty Years Each — What Japan Has Been Counting](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/records/): Fifty-six seasons of Okhotsk sea ice and seventy years of Sakurajima eruption counts, read as travel advice. The volcano swings; the ice only goes one way. Sources and decade averages included.
- [Which Japan rail pass is worth it? — answered for 49 real trips](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/rail-pass/): The nationwide Japan Rail Pass goes to ¥53,000 on 1 October 2026, and for most of these places it was already the wrong pass. Which pass to buy for each of the Hundred Scenes, what each one will not do, and what no pass ever covers.
- [The Answers — one practical question, for every one of the Hundred Scenes](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/answers/): A series of reference pages for Japan's Hundred Scenes: one practical question a page: which rail pass, what it charges, whether you can get home, answered for every place on the list, with a date and a source on every figure.
- [What Japan outside Tokyo costs — 73 trips, priced line by line](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/what-it-costs/): What it actually costs to reach Japan's Hundred Scenes: 73 real trips priced line by line train, bus, bed and meals, with a median of ¥59,400 per person from Tokyo for one night.
- [Where you still cannot pay by card in Japan — across the Hundred Scenes](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/cash-or-card/): Which of Japan's Hundred Scenes still need cash, and where a Suica will not help you: the bus, the gate, the bathhouse box, quoted from each scene's own checked notes.
- [What the Hundred Scenes charge, and when it changed](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/changed/): What you actually pay to get in across Japan's Hundred Scenes, and every price change we have dated: 13 of them, with the old figure, the new one and the day it moved. Himeji Castle is the one place on the list where residents pay less.
- [How many of Japan's hundred have you been to?](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/scorecard/): Tick the ones you have been to and get a number you can paste anywhere. 58 of the hundred scenes of Japan are written so far. No sign-in: your answer lives in the link and in this browser, and we never store it.
- [Japan’s autumn color, from the record](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/autumn/): Not a forecast: what a Japan Alps hut and Oku-Nikko's visitor center wrote down about the color, year by year, and 24 of our 73 scenes in the order they turn.
- [Open Data — CSV, GeoJSON, GPX & RSS for Every Scene](https://spectrip.com/data/): Every published scene of HYAKKEI as open data: coordinates, month-by-month calendar, access level, trip cost and checked date. CSV, JSON, GeoJSON, GPX and an embeddable chart, CC BY 4.0.
- [Privacy — What we collect, and what we don’t](https://spectrip.com/privacy/): What HYAKKEI does with your data: no analytics, no third-party trackers, no advertising. What we store when you sign in, post a review or join the mailing list, and how to have it deleted.
- [SPECTRIP（スペクトリップ）運営者情報 — 英語で日本百景を紹介する HYAKKEI](https://spectrip.com/jp/): SPECTRIP（スペクトリップ）と連載 HYAKKEI（百景）の運営者情報。誰が書いているか、掲載されると何が載るか、掲載枠を販売しない方針、観光協会・自治体からのお問い合わせ先。
- [Japan by Prefecture — Where the Hundred Scenes Are](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/prefecture/): The hundred scenes of Japan sorted by prefecture: how many are in each, how to get in from Tokyo or Osaka, when they are at full strength, and the official tourism site for every prefecture on the list.
- [Aomori, Japan — Two of the Hundred Scenes, and How to Get There](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/prefecture/aomori/): Aomori on HYAKKEI: 2 of the hundred scenes of Japan are here. The top of Honshu. A mountain stream through beech forest, and a temple on a volcanic lake at the end of the railway, both closed to buses from November to April. Getting in, when to come, and the official tourism site.
- [Gifu, Japan — Two of the Hundred Scenes, and How to Get There](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/prefecture/gifu/): Gifu on HYAKKEI: 2 of the hundred scenes of Japan are here. The middle of Japan, mountain side. A castle town that dances for thirty-two nights every summer, and one of the three great hot springs on the line to Takayama. Getting in, when to come, and the official tourism site.
- [Gunma, Japan — Two of the Hundred Scenes, and How to Get There](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/prefecture/gunma/): Gunma on HYAKKEI: 2 of the hundred scenes of Japan are here. High country two hours from Tokyo: a marshland on boardwalks and an onsen town whose hot water is famous for being too hot. Getting in, when to come, and the official tourism site.
- [Hiroshima, Japan — Two of the Hundred Scenes, and How to Get There](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/prefecture/hiroshima/): Hiroshima on HYAKKEI: 2 of the hundred scenes of Japan are here. One of Japan's most photographed shrines and a bridge road you cycle across the sea. Both are on the Inland Sea, and both are better with the tide table in hand. Getting in, when to come, and the official tourism site.
- [Hokkaido, Japan — Four of the Hundred Scenes, and How to Get There](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/prefecture/hokkaido/): Hokkaido on HYAKKEI: 4 of the hundred scenes of Japan are here. An island the size of Austria, with three of the hundred scenes in its far corners. Distances are the whole planning problem. Getting in, when to come, and the official tourism site.
- [Hyogo, Japan — Three of the Hundred Scenes, and How to Get There](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/prefecture/hyogo/): Hyogo on HYAKKEI: 3 of the hundred scenes of Japan are here. A castle on the Shinkansen line, an onsen town on the Sea of Japan and a ruined fortress above the fog. Hyogo runs from coast to coast, and so do its three scenes. Getting in, when to come, and the official tourism site.
- [Kagawa, Japan — Two of the Hundred Scenes, and How to Get There](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/prefecture/kagawa/): Kagawa on HYAKKEI: 2 of the hundred scenes of Japan are here. Japan's smallest prefecture, and both its scenes are islands in the Inland Sea: a copper island turned museum, and a gorge of volcanic rock you ride over on Shodoshima. Getting in, when to come, and the official tourism site.
- [Kagoshima, Japan — Three of the Hundred Scenes, and How to Get There](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/prefecture/kagoshima/): Kagoshima on HYAKKEI: 3 of the hundred scenes of Japan are here. The southern tip of Kyushu and the islands beyond it: a working volcano with a town on it, an island of thousand-year-old cedars, and a forest where a rare rabbit comes out onto the roads at night. Getting in, when to come, and the official tourism site.
- [Kumamoto, Japan — Three of the Hundred Scenes, and How to Get There](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/prefecture/kumamoto/): Kumamoto on HYAKKEI: 3 of the hundred scenes of Japan are here. One of the largest calderas on earth, with towns, cows and a working volcano inside it. Kyushu's center, and its most open landscape. Getting in, when to come, and the official tourism site.
- [Nagano, Japan — Five of the Hundred Scenes, and How to Get There](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/prefecture/nagano/): Nagano on HYAKKEI: 5 of the hundred scenes of Japan are here. The mountain prefecture, and the biggest presence on the list: five scenes, from a valley closed all winter to a black castle keep in the middle of a city. Getting in, when to come, and the official tourism site.
- [Oita, Japan — Two of the Hundred Scenes, and How to Get There](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/prefecture/oita/): Oita on HYAKKEI: 2 of the hundred scenes of Japan are here. Japan's onsen prefecture by volume, and two very different ways to take the waters: a steaming working town and a valley of quiet inns. Getting in, when to come, and the official tourism site.
- [Shimane, Japan — Two of the Hundred Scenes, and How to Get There](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/prefecture/shimane/): Shimane on HYAKKEI: 2 of the hundred scenes of Japan are here. The quiet side of Japan. A garden ranked first in the country for over twenty years, and islands most Japanese people have never visited. Getting in, when to come, and the official tourism site.
- [Shizuoka, Japan — Two of the Hundred Scenes, and How to Get There](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/prefecture/shizuoka/): Shizuoka on HYAKKEI: 2 of the hundred scenes of Japan are here. Two early springs on the line down the Izu coast: a hot-spring town with its own January cherry, 45 minutes from Tokyo, and a river of February cherry further south. Getting in, when to come, and the official tourism site.
- [Tokushima, Japan — Two of the Hundred Scenes, and How to Get There](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/prefecture/tokushima/): Tokushima on HYAKKEI: 2 of the hundred scenes of Japan are here. The east coast of Shikoku, where the tide runs at eighteen kilometers an hour, and a gorge in the middle of the island that stayed cut off for centuries. Getting in, when to come, and the official tourism site.
- [Tokyo, Japan — Two of the Hundred Scenes, and How to Get There](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/prefecture/tokyo/): Tokyo on HYAKKEI: 2 of the hundred scenes of Japan are here. Tokyo, technically. A subtropical island a thousand kilometers south of the city, reached by a 24-hour ferry once a week. No scene on the list takes longer to reach. Getting in, when to come, and the official tourism site.
- [Toyama, Japan — Three of the Hundred Scenes, and How to Get There](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/prefecture/toyama/): Toyama on HYAKKEI: 3 of the hundred scenes of Japan are here. Thatched villages, a snow wall eighteen meters high, and a three-night festival that empties the rest of the country. Three scenes, one prefecture. Getting in, when to come, and the official tourism site.
- [Wakayama, Japan — Two of the Hundred Scenes, and How to Get There](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/prefecture/wakayama/): Wakayama on HYAKKEI: 2 of the hundred scenes of Japan are here. The pilgrim's prefecture. A mountain monastery of a hundred temples and a waterfall shrine at the end of an old road, both still doing what they were built for. Getting in, when to come, and the official tourism site.
- [Yamagata, Japan — Two of the Hundred Scenes, and How to Get There](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/prefecture/yamagata/): Yamagata on HYAKKEI: 2 of the hundred scenes of Japan are here. Snow country with the gas lamps still lit. Two of the hundred scenes are here, both at their best in the deepest cold. Getting in, when to come, and the official tourism site.
- [The Captain Lion — one of sixteen ways to travel Japan](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/quiz/type/captain-lion/): The Captain Lion: The days you want are far out, hard going, and open only briefly. One of sixteen types in the HYAKKEI Japan travel quiz.
- [The Courier Rabbit — one of sixteen ways to travel Japan](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/quiz/type/courier-rabbit/): The Courier Rabbit: You are up early, you move fast, and you let the day decide. One of sixteen types in the HYAKKEI Japan travel quiz.
- [The Dancer Frog — one of sixteen ways to travel Japan](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/quiz/type/dancer-frog/): The Dancer Frog: You show up when it happens: the night of the street dance. One of sixteen types in the HYAKKEI Japan travel quiz.
- [The Explorer Dragon — one of sixteen ways to travel Japan](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/quiz/type/explorer-dragon/): The Explorer Dragon: No reservations past tomorrow. One of sixteen types in the HYAKKEI Japan travel quiz.
- [The Hermit Tortoise — one of sixteen ways to travel Japan](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/quiz/type/hermit-tortoise/): The Hermit Tortoise: Far from the station sounds right to you, and you are in no hurry once you get there. A type from the HYAKKEI Japan travel quiz.
- [The Host Shiba Inu — one of sixteen ways to travel Japan](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/quiz/type/host-shiba-inu/): The Host Shiba Inu: You choose the room first, then settle in as if it were yours. One of sixteen types in the HYAKKEI Japan travel quiz.
- [The Mountaineer Bear — one of sixteen ways to travel Japan](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/quiz/type/mountaineer-bear/): The Mountaineer Bear: You want the Japan that has to be earned and is still there when you arrive. One of sixteen types in the HYAKKEI Japan travel quiz.
- [The Organizer Monkey — one of sixteen ways to travel Japan](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/quiz/type/organizer-monkey/): The Organizer Monkey: You run a full day and leave nothing in it to luck. One of sixteen types in the HYAKKEI Japan travel quiz.
- [The Pilgrim Deer — one of sixteen ways to travel Japan](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/quiz/type/pilgrim-deer/): The Pilgrim Deer: You go a long way to stand somewhere that has not changed. One of sixteen types in the HYAKKEI Japan travel quiz.
- [The Poet Crane — one of sixteen ways to travel Japan](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/quiz/type/poet-crane/): The Poet Crane: You go for what shows up only on some days. One of sixteen types in the HYAKKEI Japan travel quiz.
- [The Stargazer Owl — one of sixteen ways to travel Japan](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/quiz/type/stargazer-owl/): The Stargazer Owl: You travel most of a day for something that lasts minutes. One of sixteen types in the HYAKKEI Japan travel quiz.
- [The Storyteller Tanuki — one of sixteen ways to travel Japan](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/quiz/type/storyteller-tanuki/): The Storyteller Tanuki: You like a town you can walk straight into. One of sixteen types in the HYAKKEI Japan travel quiz.
- [The Strategist Fox — one of sixteen ways to travel Japan](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/quiz/type/strategist-fox/): The Strategist Fox: Before you look up trains, you look up the place's own clock. One of sixteen types in the HYAKKEI Japan travel quiz.
- [The Tea Master Cat — one of sixteen ways to travel Japan](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/quiz/type/tea-master-cat/): The Tea Master Cat: You go for a single hour of the day and plan everything else around it. One of sixteen types in the HYAKKEI Japan travel quiz.
- [The Vagabond Squirrel — one of sixteen ways to travel Japan](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/quiz/type/vagabond-squirrel/): The Vagabond Squirrel: You cross the country for whatever is happening this week. One of sixteen types in the HYAKKEI Japan travel quiz.
- [The Voyager Swallow — one of sixteen ways to travel Japan](https://spectrip.com/hyakkei/quiz/type/voyager-swallow/): The Voyager Swallow: You follow the season, however far it takes you. One of sixteen types in the HYAKKEI Japan travel quiz.

## Data

- [Open data](https://spectrip.com/data/): what the files contain, how to use them, license
- [hyakkei.json](https://spectrip.com/data/hyakkei.json): every scene as structured data: coordinates, month calendar, access level, budget, checked date. CC BY 4.0
- [hyakkei.csv](https://spectrip.com/data/hyakkei.csv): the same as a spreadsheet
- [hyakkei.geojson](https://spectrip.com/data/hyakkei.geojson), [hyakkei.gpx](https://spectrip.com/data/hyakkei.gpx) and [hyakkei.kml](https://spectrip.com/data/hyakkei.kml): points for maps, GPS apps, and Google My Maps
- [heatmap.svg](https://spectrip.com/data/heatmap.svg): when each scene is at full strength, month by month
- [foliage-karasawa.csv](https://spectrip.com/data/foliage-karasawa.csv): a separate record, not the scene list. One row per daily autumn-color report from the Karasawa Hyutte, a mountain hut at 2,300 m in Japan's Northern Alps, 2019 to 2025, with our reading of what the hut said. The rule we used is in the README
- [foliage-okunikko.csv](https://spectrip.com/data/foliage-okunikko.csv): another separate record. One row per autumn-color post from the Nikko Yumoto Visitor Center at Oku-Nikko, run for Japan's Ministry of the Environment, 2010 onward, with our reading of each use of the word for at its best. The rule we used is in the README
- [README](https://spectrip.com/data/README.md): field definitions, which columns are recorded and which are our judgment, the license
- [CITATION.cff](https://spectrip.com/data/CITATION.cff): how to cite this, machine-readable
- [RSS](https://spectrip.com/feed.xml): new scenes as they are published

## Contact

- hello@spectrip.com