{"id":5014,"date":"2019-11-05T20:14:01","date_gmt":"2019-11-05T20:14:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/?p=5014"},"modified":"2019-11-05T20:16:19","modified_gmt":"2019-11-05T20:16:19","slug":"unexpected-ways-to-explore-japan-before-the-olympic-rush","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/unexpected-ways-to-explore-japan-before-the-olympic-rush\/","title":{"rendered":"Unexpected ways to explore Japan before the Olympic rush"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The 2020 Summer Olympics are taking place in Tokyo from July 24 to August 9, 2020, and\u00a0there’s\u00a0<\/strong>been much speculation<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0about how the athletes will fare in the 93\u00baF heat. Fortunately for travelers, Japan is an all-season\u00a0destination with plenty to explore outside the dog days of summer, and\u00a0<\/strong>Oku Japan<\/strong><\/a>, the leading Japanese cultural adventure operator, showcases the best of Japan every season.\u00a0\u200b<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year, gear up for #Tokyo2020 by doing Japan a little differently: in the winter, swap skiing for drift ice walking<\/a>; come spring, skip a cherry blossom Instagram walk for a pilgrimage hike to an iconic meditation ladder<\/a>; and in the summer, ditch the heat of Tokyo and Kyoto to hike the forested Kumano Kodo trail<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Discover a side of Japan you didn\u2019t even know existed with these small-group, seasonal adventures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Discover a side of Japan you didn\u2019t even know existed with these small-group, seasonal adventures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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JANUARY-MARCH<\/strong>
Soak up the winter season with snow monkeys & drift ice walking<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last time Japan hosted the Olympics in winter 1998, the world learned of the island nation\u2019s booming skiing and snowboard scene. This time around, peek beyond the slopes and discover hidden pockets of Japan that are straight out of a snowglobe. Sink into a thermal hot spring alongside Nagano’s famous “snow monkeys” on a self-guided tour of Nagano and Gifu<\/a>, or dive into drift ice walking on a self-guided adventure of <\/a>Hokkaido<\/a>. Snowshoe between traditional wooden villages including Magome and Tsumago against a backdrop of snowdrifts on a guided tour of the Winter Nakasendo Trail<\/a>, and sink into a natural thermal onsen bath every evening. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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APRIL-JUNE<\/strong>
Make your own Udon and sample some <\/strong>springtime sak\u00e9 <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While spring in Japan seems synonymous with cherry blossom season\u2013at least according to your Instagram feed\u2013there are other highlights to snap away from tourist hubs. Hike the historic Yamanobe no Michi trail on a self-guided pilgrimage through Nakasendo and the Kiso Valley<\/a>. Learn about yew-wood carvings, Shunkei lacquerware and traditional sak\u00e9 brewing on Oku Japan’s self-guided Japan Cultural Tour: Takayama to Kiso Valley<\/a>. And on a self-guided Shikoku 88 Pilgrimage<\/a>, experiment with Sanuki Udon noodle-making, take on a forest hike to Temple 58 Seny\u016b-ji and climb the ladder to the meditation spot used by Kobo Daishi, the founder of Shingon Buddhism, at Temple 45 Iwaya-ji.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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JULY-SEPTEMBER
Escape the urban heat by kayak  & bike<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Summer days in Japan may become blisteringly hot, but that\u2019s no excuse to take refuge in air-conditioned city hotels; instead, head north from Tokyo to explore the Oze Wetlands, Mount Gas-san and the Tono Valley on Oku Japan’s guided Mountain Spirits Tohoku<\/a> trip and discover the places that inspired poet Matsuo Basho\u2019s haiku poems. Disconnect on a self-guided walk of the Kumano Kodo Trail<\/a>, then relax after a day on the trails with a soak in outdoor hot springs. On Oku Japan’s self-guided Hiroshima, Shimanami Kaido & Shikoku<\/a> tour, cycle island-to-island along the Shimanami Kaido and kayak around Tomonoura Bay, or extend the trip<\/a> to explore small village settlements along the Shikoku 88 trail. 
 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To learn more about Oku Japan\u2019s year-round offerings of guided, self-guided and custom tours, visit\u00a0www.okujapan.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oku Japan is a Kyoto-based tour operator specializing in sustainable guided, self-guided and custom tours exploring remote regions of Japan. The very first travel brand to offer self-guided walking trips along Japan\u2019s ancient pilgrimage routes, Oku continues to honor its passion for Japanese culture by fostering meaningful community partnerships, encouraging cross-cultural connections among locals and travelers, and forging new adventures in Japan\u2019s still-undiscovered territories. For more information, visit\u00a0www.okujapan.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Japan is an all-season destination with plenty to explore outside the dog days of summer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5015,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,7],"tags":[1653,110,1077,1909,1564],"class_list":["post-5014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-destinations","category-travel","tag-japan","tag-travel-2","tag-travel-destination","tag-travel-time","tag-travel-tips"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5014","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5014"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5014\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5016,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5014\/revisions\/5016"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}