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Asakusa Nakamise Shopping Street (Main Approach to Asakusa Temple)

Located on the approach to Asakusa Temple, this shopping street consists of food and souvenir shops lining the approximately 250m stone-paved path from Asakusa Temple's main gate, the Kaminarimon Gate, to the "Treasure House Gate". Known as "Nakamise", about 90 stores are built across the approach, bustling daily with visitors to Asakusa Temple and tourists from both Japan and abroad.

• Asakusa, Tokyo Skytree
• Shopping Streets

If you're visiting Nakamise Street, I recommend the kibidango shop right on the left as you enter. The small dango are delicious, and the chilled matcha is just slightly sweet—so good! There's also a shop selling 'age-manju' (fried buns) along the way. There are a few of these shops on Nakamise, but the freshly fried, chewy manju are fantastic. The photo shows a unique plum-flavored age-manju, but they also have sesame and matcha flavors. Both the look and the taste are fun, so I definitely recommend trying them.

Sensoji Temple

This iconic destination in Asakusa sees as many as 30 million visitors each year. It stands as a well-loved mainstay in Tokyo, all while hosting a number of annual traditions like the first temple visit at New Years, Setsubun and more across the year.

• Asakusa, Tokyo Skytree
• Shrines & Temples

Walked from Kaminarimon through Nakamise Street to visit Sensoji Temple! Even on weekdays, it's crowded during the day, but at night, the atmosphere totally changes and feels magical. Apparently, the chance of getting a 'bad luck' fortune here is higher than at other shrines—about 30%—because they follow the traditional ratio from the Heian period. I've drawn both bad and great fortunes here myself. Definitely try drawing a fortune, and if you get a bad one, tie it to the stick!

Yakushima

Located about 60km south-southwest of Cape Sata in Kagoshima Prefecture, Yakushima was registered as a World Natural Heritage site in 1993. The island, with a circumference of 132km and an area of 505 square kilometers, is full of mountains over 1,000m high, including the highest peak in Kyushu, Miyanoura-dake, which is 1,936m high. 90% of the island is covered with forests, earning it the nickname "Alps on the Sea".

• Kagoshima
• Famous Places

I hiked through the mystical forests of Yakushima, which inspired Princess Mononoke, all the way to Taikoiwa Rock. Sudden, heavy rain showers happen pretty often, so a raincoat is a must. Thanks to all the rain, the forest feels super alive and the air is incredibly fresh and full of negative ions. Walking through the deep woods feels like entering another world—there are giant fallen trees, flowing rivers, and it almost feels like fairies could appear at any moment. The view from Taikoiwa Rock at the end is absolutely stunning. Definitely a place you should visit.