EVENT HAPPENING RIGHT NOW! Speeding Over to Ibaraki on the Tsukuba Express & Checking Out Makabe's Hinamatsuri Festival!

The JAPANKURU team loves a little off-the-beaten-path excursion, and when it's a day trip just outside Tokyo, that's even better! Which is why we hopped on a Tsukuba Express train in Akihabara this week to head over to the Makabe area of Sakuragawa City in Ibaraki, still composed mostly of old-fashioned buildings, all in the foothills of nearby Mt. Tsukuba. While the hundreds of historic buildings and dozens of national tangible cultural properties are beautiful year-round, Makabe turns from a sleepy village into a bustle of activity for Hinamatsuri Festival every year, so we went to check it out!

From Tokyo to Festival-Filled Ibaraki with Tsukuba Express

Nostalgic & Not Far from Tokyo, Find a Manga Museum, Factory Nightscapes, and Japanese Tradition in Kawasaki City's Tama Ward

Famous as a destination for fascinatingly beautiful nighttime views, Kawasaki City (川崎市) is half-an-hour or less from Tokyo. The city's Tama Ward is especially fun for a little retro-style travel, with a museum celebrating long-beloved manga Doraemon's creator, parks featuring traditional Japanese architecture, and plenty of spots to fill up a day... or three!

Enoshima Day Trip from Tokyo 🎫 Spend 1000 yen at Yokohama Shopping Mall JOINUS and Get a Free Kamakura Enoshima Day Pass

Shop at Yokohama JOINUS to get a 

Enoshima-Kamakura: ENODEN 1-DAY PASS TICKET

*::UNKNOWN PLEASURES::* Tokyo Day Trip ☆ Visit Giant Ofuna Kannon Statue while Touring Kamakura

Kamakura Travel 
VISIT
OFUNA KANNON