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Well, I guess my favourite place not in the guide books would be Ina, but I'm not sure that counts as a place to visit, rather a place to return home to. So, I guess the best place I've been to which IS in guide books but is a relatively little-visited place is Sado Island, about an hour and a half off the coast of Niigata in the Japan Sea.
I went there last summer for the Earth Celebration festival, and found the whole place to be thoroughly charming. I particularly liked the total lack of convenience stores and vending machines. You never realize how ubiquitous these things are until you can't just buy a bottle of green tea whenever you feel like it.
I was on holiday with a friend of mine. She arrived the night before I did and met some people from Nagoya who she proceeded to regale with stories about me, so much so that when I arrived the following lunch time I was met with the comment: "So, this is the bitch you were telling us about?". It turns out she was telling them about the time I capsized our kayak in Thailand and got everything, including the money, totally soaking wet. Still, doesn't quit warrant the name-calling, ne. Needless to say, since that holiday our friendship has cooled off a great deal. Anyway, with said people we hired a car for the day and got to drive about the island, which has some stunning coastline, tropical-coloured sea and even a fjord. On the other day we hired bicycles and cycled round the coast to a small bay where you could go sailing in a coracle. On all three evenings, we climbed to the top of a hill and watched amazing taiko drumming performances before heading back down to catch the last bus back over to the next bay where we were camped out next to the beach. On the last night I took the midnight ferry back to the mainland and caught the bus back to Tokyo, nibbling on onigiri I picked up at a brilliant vegan food stall on my way out of town.
Here are some more photos behind a cut so I don't take up more room:
( Pics )( Pic )
I went there last summer for the Earth Celebration festival, and found the whole place to be thoroughly charming. I particularly liked the total lack of convenience stores and vending machines. You never realize how ubiquitous these things are until you can't just buy a bottle of green tea whenever you feel like it. I was on holiday with a friend of mine. She arrived the night before I did and met some people from Nagoya who she proceeded to regale with stories about me, so much so that when I arrived the following lunch time I was met with the comment: "So, this is the bitch you were telling us about?". It turns out she was telling them about the time I capsized our kayak in Thailand and got everything, including the money, totally soaking wet. Still, doesn't quit warrant the name-calling, ne. Needless to say, since that holiday our friendship has cooled off a great deal. Anyway, with said people we hired a car for the day and got to drive about the island, which has some stunning coastline, tropical-coloured sea and even a fjord. On the other day we hired bicycles and cycled round the coast to a small bay where you could go sailing in a coracle. On all three evenings, we climbed to the top of a hill and watched amazing taiko drumming performances before heading back down to catch the last bus back over to the next bay where we were camped out next to the beach. On the last night I took the midnight ferry back to the mainland and caught the bus back to Tokyo, nibbling on onigiri I picked up at a brilliant vegan food stall on my way out of town.
Here are some more photos behind a cut so I don't take up more room:
( Pics )( Pic )
One of the performances down near the harbour.
Amazing coastline.