Hidden Japan Gems

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Hidden Japan Gems Tired of Japan’s main tourist spots? https://hiddenjapan-gems.com/

22/09/2026

The Minoo Falls trail, half an hour north of Umeda, is fully open again.

The landslide-repair section reopened on 17 July and the stretch cut off by last November's shop fire reopened at 14:00 on 7 August 2026 - eight and a half months after it closed. We've updated our guide accordingly.

One thing to know first: on Sunday 27 September the park is effectively shut while an unexploded bomb is defused nearby. Access towards the falls is restricted from 07:00, the station-side entrance closes at 09:00, the Hankyu Minoo Line is suspended and Minoo Station is closed.

Also updated: the autumn driveway restrictions (2026 not yet announced, 2025 pattern for reference), why driving to the upper car park rarely works, and Ryuanji's autumn special viewing on 20-23 and 27-29 November.
https://hiddenjapan-gems.com/minoo-falls-osaka-walking-guide-2026/

22/09/2026

Nabegataki Falls in Oguni, Kumamoto, is one of the few waterfalls in Japan where you can stand behind the curtain and look out through it.

We've rebuilt our guide from the town's own 2026 documents, and the headline is a correction: the official English page says advance reservation is required, but Oguni's FY2026 calendar makes it compulsory on only 19 dates - Golden Week, Obon and Silver Week - with reservation-priority walk-up entry the rest of the time.

Also in there: the earthquake closure behind the falls and its 28 August reopening, the roughly 120 steps down, the satnav tip the town itself gives, and why large coaches can't reach the site.
https://hiddenjapan-gems.com/a-guide-to-visiting-nabegataki-falls-the-waterfall-you-can-walk-behind/

21/09/2026

Thirty minutes north of Demachiyanagi, a forest trail links Kurama-dera with Kifune Shrine - about 80 minutes on foot by the temple's own timings.

We read the temple's, shrine's and railway's Japanese pages: the cable car had a fault suspension notice still posted on 21 September, the last bus out of Kibune village leaves at 17:35 on weekdays while the shrine stays open until 20:00, and the vermilion lantern staircase is lit every night from sunset - you don't need a special illumination event for that photograph.

Also: the 2026 maple-tunnel dates weren't announced yet, and the tunnel can only be seen from inside the train.
https://hiddenjapan-gems.com/kifune-kurama-guide/

21/09/2026

If you're planning Kyoto for November 2026, the dates are the easy part.

We went through the temples' and the city's own Japanese pages: three sites now require advance booking (Rurikoin, Enkoji and Murin-an - Enkoji's reservations open on 20 October), Tofuku-ji's Hojo garden rises to 600 yen on 1 November with no combined ticket during the autumn window, and Eikan-do's autumn daytime admission is 1,500 yen rather than the 1,000 that circulates widely. The city bus one-day pass, still recommended everywhere, was withdrawn in 2024.

Plus the 2026 night-viewing windows, the hotel occupancy figures, and the city's own crowd-forecast map.
https://hiddenjapan-gems.com/kyoto-in-november/

20/09/2026

November 2026 in Japan, planned from primary sources.

The first foliage forecasts are out and lean late: Kyoto's famous temples around 24-26 November, Kawaguchiko around the 17th, Tokyo's ginkgo into December. We verified every November festival date on official pages, listed the winter illuminations already confirmed for 2026, added JMA weather for seven cities - and flagged the 21-23 November three-day weekend, which lands right before Kyoto's forecast peak.
https://hiddenjapan-gems.com/japan-in-november-2026/

20/09/2026

The Kawagoe Festival returns on 17-18 October 2026 - 26 towering dashi floats in the old merchant streets of Little Edo, half an hour from Ikebukuro.

We verified everything against the official Japanese sources: the full 2026 float lineup (and the 3 floats sitting this year out), the day-by-day schedule, the 10:00-22:00 traffic ban, bus diversions, temporary parking, and the last trains back to Tokyo. Plus the honest answer about hikkawase times: there aren't any - and the official float-tracking app is how you win anyway.
https://hiddenjapan-gems.com/kawagoe-festival/

Kiyomizu-dera Temple in autumn: A sight you should see at least once in your lifetime.
19/09/2026

Kiyomizu-dera Temple in autumn: A sight you should see at least once in your lifetime.

19/09/2026

Today, I watched an 800-year-old tradition in Fujiyoshida. 🐎🗻

The Yabusame Festival was held today at Omuro Sengen Shrine.

Horses raced through the shrine grounds while riders performed a tradition that has been passed down here for centuries.

But what happens afterward might be even more interesting.

The hoofprints left by the horses are examined as part of an ancient divination ritual to predict the fortunes of the local community.

And apparently, the results will later be shared with nearby residents through the local neighborhood circular notice. 📜

800 years of tradition — still part of everyday life in Fujiyoshida.

Read more about the festival here:
https://hiddenjapan-gems.com/fujiyoshida-yabusame-festival/

18/09/2026

pov: you explored hiroshima by streetcar
pov：路面電車で広島を巡る。

18/09/2026

tokyo sunset vibes
東京の夕焼けバイブス。

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