allabout japan
allabout japan
AAJ Editorial Team

AAJ Editorial Team

We love Japan, and we hope we can help you find something you can love about it, too! We're always looking for something fun, weird, exciting or intriguing to highlight just how fascinating this place can be.

More by AAJ Editorial Team
PR
Tokyo
GO WILD TOKYO 6 / A Members-Only Cabin in Hinohara Village Where You Learn from Fire and Nature

GO WILD TOKYO 6 / A Members-Only Cabin in Hinohara Village Where You Learn from Fire and Nature

Hinohara Village lies at Tokyo’s western edge, with forests covering roughly 90 percent of its land. Despite being only about 90 minutes by car from central Tokyo, the area boasts an untouched natural environment ideal for trekking, river play, and fishing. It’s the only municipality in Tokyo (excluding the island areas) officially designated as a “village,” where traditional mountain hamlet scenery and culture still endure. Once sustained by forestry and mountain worship, the community today is welcoming new hubs—cafés, saunas, accommodations—and bringing in fresh sensibilities. It’s an area to watch for it blend of history and new ideas.

PR
Tokyo
GO WILD TOKYO 5 / A 1-Night, 2-Day Camp Where Art and Nature Meet

GO WILD TOKYO 5 / A 1-Night, 2-Day Camp Where Art and Nature Meet

Kodaira lies near the heart of Tokyo’s North Tama area, where the legacy of water and greenery still runs deep. At the center of this story is the Tamagawa Josui canal—an essential part of Kodaira’s landscape. Built in the Edo period, the canal provided a stable water supply that made possible the cultivation of new fields, the growth of settlements, and, ultimately, the emergence of Kodaira as a town. Even today, its history still lives on in the canal-side calm that defines the area.

PR
Tokyo
Uncharted Tokyo 3｜Hahajima’s Sustainable Farm: Where Tourism Meets Conservation

Uncharted Tokyo 3｜Hahajima’s Sustainable Farm: Where Tourism Meets Conservation

Taekoni Farm, the eco-tourism project I was visiting, is located on Hahajima (Mother Island), the second largest of the Ogasawara Islands, some 1,000 kilometers south of mainland Tokyo. Here, tour-guides-turned-farmers Taeko Morosawa and Toshinori Konishi teach visitors about sustainable farming and conservation through tours and hands-on experiences with local farmers such as Kazuo Orita, who had kindly offered me the mango.

PR
Tokyo
Uncharted Tokyo 2｜Satologue: Revitalizing the Ome Line and Okutama

Uncharted Tokyo 2｜Satologue: Revitalizing the Ome Line and Okutama

A Bucolic Retreat in Tokyo Lush, forested mountainsides, cool clean river valleys and farms are not what most people associate with the metropolis of Tokyo. But just under two hours by train from the busy streets and high-rises of Shinjuku is the Okutama area, where the lands around the local Ome train line are being revitalized, making use of vacant lots and buildings, while also rebuilding community, and passing on precious traditions.

PR
Tokyo
Uncharted Tokyo 1｜Hydrangea Mountain: From a Dream to a Sustainable Natural Wonder

Uncharted Tokyo 1｜Hydrangea Mountain: From a Dream to a Sustainable Natural Wonder

A Magical Forest on the Edge of Tokyo Just a 90-minute train ride from the towering skyscrapers of Shinjuku lies the Fukasawa area, nestled in a lush, peaceful forest on the slopes of the Okutama mountain range. One of metropolitan Tokyo’s westernmost areas, Fukasawa has embraced a variety of initiatives aimed at promoting sustainable tourism—welcoming growing number of visitors while preserving the fragile natural environment.

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