One reason I’m a fan of Twitter, Facebook and Google Plus is, it’s easy to talk with customers and exchange ideas. One Twitter user is coming to Japan soon and asked if I could recommend places “off the beaten path” he might visit. There are plenty of wonderful things to see in Japan, from the Ghibli Museum to the most loyal dog in the world and the Great Buddha of Kamakura, but if you want to get more esoteric there are many options. These days anime series are usually based in real locations, and you can “make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land” (seichi junrei, in Japanese fanspeak) and visit the location of your favorite series, if you like. Northern Japan is usually the “dark continent” to foreigners since it’s in the other direction from the more familiar Kyoto, and sightseeing highlights include the bright floats of the Nebuta Festival in Aomori or the unearthly beauty of the Osore-zan volcano, whose name translates as “Mt. Fear.” At the other end of Japan you might visit Tottori Prefecture, famous as Japan’s only desert (well, “sand dune” officially), or check out the former home of Lafcadio Hearn, the Father of Japan Bloggers. Other random suggestions: visit the Yokohama Ramen Museum, which recreates a 1950s neighborhood with various shops so you can experience noodles the way they did in the postwar period, or go to Yasukuni Shrine and have some Navy Curry, an exact replica of the curry eaten by Japanese sailors during WWII. Remember, of course that the number of foreign visitors to Japan has dropped off terribly in the aftermath of the March 11 earthquake and tsunamis last year. If it’s at all possible for you to consider a trip here, Japan could really use the tourist dollars!
The Yokohama Ramen Museum takes you back in time.
