Off The Beaten Path in Japan

In between the six sporting events I attended during our three weeks in Japan, we did a bit of sightseeing. These days, Japan is overwhelmed by tourists, attracted by the cheap yen. Sadly, many of these visitors know little about Japanese culture and are more concerned about their Instagram feed, and it makes the more popular tourist sites a living hell, especially if you have any experience with Japan. The traditional tourist itinerary is to follow the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto and Osaka with trips to Hiroshima and Fukuoka if time permits, but there are quieter places to visit along the way, where you won't have to deal with as many clueless foreigners. Here are three that we explored:

Takamatsu/Shodoshima

All three of us had a Japan Rail Pass (Japanese citizens are eligible once they have left Japan for 10 years) and so we used Okayama as a base and made day trips from there. The first stop was Takamatsu, about an hour away on the Rapid Marine Liner, which is free if you have the rail pass. Takamatsu is a port city on Shikoku and you have to eat Sanuki Udon when you are there.

There are several ferries from Takamatsu and two of them serve Shodoshima, which means Island of Small Beans, though it is more commonly known as the first place in Japan to successfully grow olives. The faster ferry is 1,400 yen and takes 30 minutes; while the slower ferry is much larger and costs just 700 yen for the hour ride. We chose the slower version and upon arriving at Tonosho Port (where we saw the factory for the sesame oil we use), my wife phoned a few rental car companies and was able to get a car immediately.

The rental agency is Shodoshimaminato and they don't even have an office, just a parking lot. A four-hour rental with insurance and gas included is 6,600 yen ($42) and you can do longer rentals as well, up to 12 hours. You probably need a bit of Japanese and certainly an international driver's license, but without a car, you will be stuck using the island's extremely infrequent buses.

We started off at a 150-year-old soy sauce factory known as Yama-Roku. You have to navigate some very narrow streets to get to the parking lot but you will be rewarded with a unique tour of the factory, which is mostly composed of wood and smells like soy sauce has been made there for 150 years. It's an intense aroma to be sure.

There's also a small teahouse offering rice cakes and desserts that is worth your time. 

After that, we headed to Morikuni Sake Brewery, the only such place on the island. Again, narrow streets along the way to the parking lot, and once out front, you might think it is closed as there is no activity whatsoever.

But open the door and you will find a great selection of sake, in both small and large bottles, along with friendly staff to assist you.

There is also a small restaurant with quite a good selection of fare, including sake-flavoured ice cream for the kids. I wasn't driving, so I was able to enjoy a glass of some very fine sake, and we bought a bottle to go.

On our way back to Tonosho, we stopped at Olive Beach, which allows you to dip your feet into the Seto Naikai (Seto Inland Sea). This is perhaps Japan's most picturesque area and Shodoshima is a great way to see part of it.

From Shodoshima, you can take the ferry back to Takamatsu and return on the Marine Liner to Okayama (the better option if you have the JR Pass), or take a different ferry to Shin-Okayama port and then a bus to Okayama station.

Onomichi

The Kodama Shinkansen is the one that stops at every station. Most riders are racing between the metropolitan areas, so they take the faster Hikari or Nozomi trains, but the Kodama offers you a chance to see some towns that are mostly devoid of the tourist hordes. One of these is Onomichi, just three stops away from Okayama. The Shinkansen stop is Shin-Onomichi (most of the Shinkansen stations were built specifically for the train's debut in 1964 and hence used the prefix Shin, meaning New) and from there, you take a short bus ride downtown.

The highlight here is a temple called Senkoji, which is atop a mountain that you can access via a ropeway (500 yen one way, 700 yen round trip).

Atop the hill is a viewing platform where you can look over the port and across to Mukaishima (below). As usual, it was ridiculously hot on this day, but there is a small cafe offering mikan (mandarin) soft ice cream, which is as good as it sounds.

The temple grounds are large and take some time to see everything. You have to walk down Bungaku no Komichi (Path of Literature) which has several stones honouring Japanese authors. You can continue down to the bottom along the path, or return to the top and take the ropeway back down.

Onomichi is also famous for ramen, so you have to find a place close by to enjoy a bowl. After that, take the bus back to Shin-Onomichi Station (below) to continue your journey.

Kurashiki

Just 15 minutes away from Okayama is Kurashiki, a town famous for its Bikan historical area, which contains dozens of 17th-century wooden warehouses, painted white with traditional black tiles. There are no electric poles so that it resembles how the town looked nearly 200 years ago. 

Most of the buildings have been turned into stores and you can spend an afternoon shopping for pretty much anything; there's even a denim street for jeans enthusiasts. It is quite touristy, but more for Japanese than foreigners. On your way to the historic area is a long arcade (outdoor covered shopping streets) with more stores and restaurants. 

We stopped in at Kakureya (above), one of the few drinking establishments open at 11:30. As usual, great food including a spectacular homemade mango kaki-gori (shaved ice) that had my daughter grinning from ear to ear.

Of course, we did visit the more popular destinations too, but I've covered them in past posts so will leave you with this shot from atop Kyoto Station, which likely adorns thousands of Instagram feeds daily.

Notes

The Japan Rail Pass now costs 50,000 yen for one week, 80,000 yen for two weeks, and 100,000 yen for three weeks. It doesn't matter how much that is in US Dollars, what matters is if you can save at least that much. A one-way ticket from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka is 14,400 yen, and then from Shin-Osaka to Hakata is 15,280. So a round-trip would be 59,360 yen. If that's all you are planning, then a one-week pass is worth it. Make sure not to activate your pass until the day you take your first Shinkansen ride.

After returning, I calculated how much we saved. For my two-week pass, the cost would have been 105,000 yen so a decent savings of 25,000; for my wife and her one-week pass, the cost would have been 62,000 yen, so a 12,000 yen savings (and my daughter half that). I would suggest planning your trip in advance before buying the pass to ensure that you are getting your money's worth. A good app to use to determine the cost of each segment is Japan Transit Planner, which has an option for the JR Pass so the Nozomi and Mizuho trains are excluded.

Best,

Sean