The Great Circle of Japan & Korea I

Few cities anywhere absorb this much contrast this comfortably, centuries-old shrines sit blocks from neon-lit crossings, and a Michelin-starred meal is as easy to find as a standing-room ramen counter. Meiji Shrine's forested grounds, planted from donated trees a century ago, shelter a genuine variety of birdlife within sight of Shibuya's skyscrapers, while Tsukiji Outer Market still trades on the same seafood obsession that built the city's reputation. A round of golf at a classic Kanto course and an evening in Ginza or Shinjuku round out a capital that never quite runs out of new things to show you.

The night view from Mount Hakodate is regularly ranked among the three best in the world, the city's hourglass-shaped peninsula lit up between two bays in a way no photograph quite captures. The morning market sells uni and crab straight off the boat before dawn, while the star-shaped Goryokaku fortress recalls the last stand of Japan's old shogunate forces in 1869. A Trappist convent on the outskirts has made wine and dairy here since the 19th century, and a round of golf in the cool northern air rounds out one of Hokkaido's most rewarding cities.

The Nebuta Matsuri's illuminated paper floats, vast warrior figures lit from within, are the highlight of one of Japan's most spectacular summer festivals, and a dedicated museum keeps the tradition alive year-round for visitors who miss the August dates. Aomori grows more apples than anywhere else in Japan, and a cidery tasting is close to compulsory. Hot spring onsen culture runs deep across the surrounding Tohoku countryside, and clean, quiet beaches line the bay just beyond the city. A proper taste of rural, traditional Japan.

Rice paddies and sake breweries define this quiet northern prefecture, its Namahage folklore, fearsome straw-clad demons who visit homes each New Year's Eve to scold lazy children, is unique to the Oga Peninsula and unlike anything else in Japan. Kakunodate's samurai district, lined with black-walled residences and weeping cherry trees, is one of Tohoku's best-preserved historic quarters. A properly restorative onsen soak after a day exploring rounds out a genuinely traditional corner of rural Japan.

Kenrokuen, one of Japan's three great gardens, was designed over two centuries to look perfect in every season, and largely still does. The Higashi Chaya geisha district's lattice-fronted teahouses remain in genuine use, not merely preserved for tourists, while the city's gold-leaf craft, producing nearly all of Japan's supply, turns up on everything from ice cream to sake cups. Omicho Market's seafood stalls, fed by the Sea of Japan, are among the best in the country. Edo-era Japan, remarkably intact.

This small fishing port turned its most famous native son into a genuine tourist industry, a mile-long shopping street lined with more than a hundred bronze statues of yokai spirits from manga artist Shigeru Mizuki's work, best known abroad as GeGeGe no Kitaro. The port itself lands some of the best crab and seafood on the Sea of Japan coast, sold fresh at the harbor market each morning. A quirky, characterful stop unlike anywhere else in Japan.

South Korea's second city wraps around Haeundae Beach's high-rise skyline on one side and the pastel, cliffside houses of Gamcheon Culture Village on the other, a former slum reinvented as an open-air art installation. Jagalchi Fish Market, the country's largest, sells the day's catch straight off the boats each morning, while a serious spa and jjimjilbang bathhouse culture offers a properly restorative afternoon between meals. A round of golf and some of Korea's best beaches round out a genuinely dynamic port city.

South Korea's second city wraps around Haeundae Beach's high-rise skyline on one side and the pastel, cliffside houses of Gamcheon Culture Village on the other, a former slum reinvented as an open-air art installation. Jagalchi Fish Market, the country's largest, sells the day's catch straight off the boats each morning, while a serious spa and jjimjilbang bathhouse culture offers a properly restorative afternoon between meals. A round of golf and some of Korea's best beaches round out a genuinely dynamic port city.

Fukuoka's old merchant quarter still runs on the yatai food stalls that line its rivers each evening, plastic-sheet tents serving the tonkotsu pork-bone ramen this city is credited with inventing. Canal City's shopping and entertainment complex shows the region's more modern face, while Dazaifu's shrine and gardens, a short train ride out, offer a quieter, more contemplative counterpoint. A strong onsen and wellness culture in the surrounding hills, and clean beaches along Hakata Bay, round out one of Kyushu's most food-obsessed cities.

The Peace Memorial Park and its skeletal Atomic Bomb Dome confront the city's 1945 history directly and without flinching, one of the most moving sites in Japan and a genuine pilgrimage regardless of nationality. A short ferry ride away, Miyajima's floating torii gate at Itsukushima Shrine appears to hover on the tide, one of Japan's most photographed views, while the city's own okonomiyaki, layered rather than mixed, has passionate defenders against Osaka's version. A dining scene, a wellness culture and a genuinely uplifting sense of renewal round out a city defined by resilience.

Japan's most celebrated beef takes its name from this handsome port city, and a proper teppanyaki dinner here remains one of the country's great culinary rites of passage. Arima Onsen, one of Japan's oldest hot spring resorts, lies a short cable-car ride up Mount Rokko, while a small but historic winery tradition, among Japan's earliest, still operates in the surrounding hills. A round of golf, a walk through the Nunobiki herb gardens, and beaches along the bay round out one of Japan's most cosmopolitan port cities.

Kokichi Mikimoto perfected the cultured pearl on the small island in this bay that now bears his name, and Mikimoto Pearl Island still stages daily demonstrations by the ama, traditional female free-divers who have harvested these waters for centuries. Ise Grand Shrine, the most sacred site in Shinto and rebuilt in an identical form every twenty years for over a millennium, lies a short drive away. A properly restorative onsen soak and fresh Ise-ebi lobster round out one of Japan's most historically resonant coastal regions.

The view of Mount Fuji from this small port made Hokusai's woodblock prints famous well beyond Japan, and it remains one of the classic vantage points on the mountain today, framed by the same pine-lined shore. Tagonoura shirasu, tiny whitebait landed fresh each morning, is the local delicacy worth seeking out. A round of golf, an onsen soak and Fuji looming over every one of them round out a small port built entirely around one extraordinary view.

Few cities anywhere absorb this much contrast this comfortably, centuries-old shrines sit blocks from neon-lit crossings, and a Michelin-starred meal is as easy to find as a standing-room ramen counter. Meiji Shrine's forested grounds, planted from donated trees a century ago, shelter a genuine variety of birdlife within sight of Shibuya's skyscrapers, while Tsukiji Outer Market still trades on the same seafood obsession that built the city's reputation. A round of golf at a classic Kanto course and an evening in Ginza or Shinjuku round out a capital that never quite runs out of new things to show you.