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    • Spring
      • video

        Finding the Flow from Kansai to Kochi

        Shikoku’s many mountains, valleys and proximity to the ocean has made it a hidden gem for rafting, kayaking and canyoning enthusiasts willing to take a step or two further from the Golden Route of Kyoto and Osaka.

        Solace and Giant Salamanders in Akiota

        Just beyond Hiroshima City is a tranquil outdoor destination home to some of Japan's last remaining oosanshouo, the elusive giant salamander.
        Kyoto Oni Trail Outdoor Japanvideo

        The Oni Trail: Hiking Coastal Kyoto

        The mystical oni is prevalent in Japanese children’s stories, usually as a way to scare kids straight. Adventure Travel Kyoto is shedding a new light on this folklore and developing a new hiking route in the countryside of Kyoto.
    • Summer
      • the nomad pasche family

        The World is Our Playground

        The Pasche family has been cycling and living out of a tent in remote corners of the planet for the past 13 years on four continents spanning 50 countries.
        adventure travel world summit in hokkaido

        Adventure Travel World Summit in Hokkaido

        The ATTA will host their first Adventure Travel World Summit in Asia in Hokkaido, Japan. We caught up with ATTA Director Shannon Stowell to find out more about the adventure travel industry and how it continues to grow and evolve.
        mead brewing in japan

        The Sweet Secrets of Brewing Mead

        Wander into the world of mead brewing and find yourself immersed in a fascinating journey spanning centuries and continents.
        the knights in white lycra

        The Knights in White Lycra

        Each year a group of cyclists head to the deep north towards Tohoku’s vast rice fields and coastal trails to help transform the lives of neglected children.
        sea to table yamagata

        Sea to Table in Yamagata

        An unforgettable way to intimately explore the Shonai Region in Yamagata is a culinary experience bringing bounty of the sea straight to your table.
    • Autumn
    • Winter
    • Near Tokyo
      • getting dirty in japan

        Getting Dirty in Japan

        “Getting Dirty in Japan” is about getting out of your comfort zone and into some exciting outdoor adventures and destinations in Japan.
    • Near Kyoto
    • All Regions
    • Article Map
    • Ocean and Beach
      • getting dirty in japan

        Getting Dirty in Japan

        “Getting Dirty in Japan” is about getting out of your comfort zone and into some exciting outdoor adventures and destinations in Japan.
    • River and Lake
      • getting dirty in japan

        Getting Dirty in Japan

        “Getting Dirty in Japan” is about getting out of your comfort zone and into some exciting outdoor adventures and destinations in Japan.
    • Mountain and Land
    • Sky
      • getting dirty in japan

        Getting Dirty in Japan

        “Getting Dirty in Japan” is about getting out of your comfort zone and into some exciting outdoor adventures and destinations in Japan.
    • Snow and Ice
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        Mt. Fuji: The Path Less Traveled

        Fuji-san is the most climbed mountain in the world. If you are in good shape, there is a way to avoid the traffic for a more peaceful Mt. Fuji experience during the off-season.
    • Travel
      • the nomad pasche family

        The World is Our Playground

        The Pasche family has been cycling and living out of a tent in remote corners of the planet for the past 13 years on four continents spanning 50 countries.
    • Food and Drinks
      • the nomad pasche family

        The World is Our Playground

        The Pasche family has been cycling and living out of a tent in remote corners of the planet for the past 13 years on four continents spanning 50 countries.
    • Races and Events
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        2023 Summer Music Festivals

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        Summer Events Fireworks Festivals in Japan

        2023 Fireworks Festivals in Japan

        Enjoy these fireworks festivals held throughout Japan this summer and autumn.

Random Tips & Tidbits From Asia

Want to know some cool facts about the hottest up-and-coming Asian destinations? Lonely Planet reveals all in the Lonely Planet Bluelist: The Best in Travel 2008.

NORTHWEST VIETNAM

MOST BIZARRE SIGHT
The mad Sunday morning market in Bac Ha is the place to get your water buffaloes, pigs, horses and dogs, or bottles of the local firewater. Groups of Flower H’mong throng here early, decked out in hippy-trippy rainbow-braided velvet.

PENINSULAR MALAYSIA

RANDOM FACTS

Malaysia is the first country in the world to have introduced passports embedded with microchips and biometric data.

More than 60 percent of all software used by Malaysian businesses are thought to be illegal copies.

Operating on a rotational cycle, each of Malaysia’s nine sultans takes a turn as the country’s head of state, serving as king for a five-year term (the current one is Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin of the northeastern state of Terengganu).

Literally put on a pedestal by its builders so that its background is only sky. the Taj Mahal is a ‘Teardrop on the face of eternity’ according to Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore.

MOST BIZARRE SIGHT

During the Thaipusam festivals held in Johor Bahru, Ipoh, Penang and Kuala Lumpur, you can see religious devotees pierce their skin with pikes and hooks, from which they hang milk pots, feather decorations and pictures of deities.

A sight common in Northwest Vietnam, this Dzao woman’s headgear, called a hong, comprises at least seven layers of cotton scarves.

CHENGDU, CHINA

RANDOM FACT
According to the principals of traditional Chinese medicine, Chengdu’s trademark spicy foods combat people’s “internal dampness,” which is believed to cause illness and be brought on by the city’s humid and rainy weather.

A sight common in Northwest Vietnam, this Dzao woman’s headgear, called a hong, comprises at least seven layers of cotton scarves.

WHAT’S HOT

The nightlife. From freakily mammoth discos through to cool little clubs, Chengdu boasts the biggest and best selection in all of southwest China.

WHAT’S NOT

Getting a taxi. On weekends it can take up to an hour to flag one down. Locals gripe that the city has cut the number of cabs on the road despite the economic boom and the influx of people.

RECENT FAD

Setting up your business here after getting fed up with high prices in Beijing and Shanghai.

BHUTAN

RANDOM FACTS

Not only the act of smoking but also the sale of tobacco is illegal in Bhutan (as are plastic bags and MTV).
 Television arrived in Bhutan in 1999.
 In 2002 Microsoft developed a special Dzongkha font for Windows.
 Bhutan has one set of traffic lights.

MOST BIZARRE SIGHT

Exterior house walls and entryways decorated with giant painted penises that are symbols of the drunken, promiscuous 15th-century lama Drukpa Kunley.
Otherworldly monks dressed in maroon robes transcribing ancient Buddhist texts into computers, or Bhutanese noblemen dressed in traditional Tibetan-style tunics and argyle socks sending text messages on their ultramodern mobile phones.

MUMBAI, INDIA

RANDOM FACTS

  Number of Bollywood movies made since 1931: 67,000.
  Percentage of people living in slums: 55 percent.
  Population density: 29,000 people per square kilometer.
  Proportion of Mumbai built on reclaimed land: 60 percent.

MOST BIZARRE SIGHT

Dhaba-wallahs (lunchbox couriers) weaving through the chaos to deliver about 200,000 meals a day from homes to hungry office workers, using a sophisticated system of numbers and colors to distinguish the tiffin boxes.

This is an edited extract from Lonely Planet Bluelist: The Best in Travel 2008 © Lonely Planet Publications, 2007.

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