24 SPROUT JUNE 2014 AROUND THE WORLD | TRAVEL Art Direction KAORI PRICE Words KAORI PRICE Illustration KAORI PRICE Photography from various online locations Hokkaido Tohoku Kanto Chubu Chugoku Kinki Shikoku Kyushu Hokkaido Aomori Iwate Akita Miyagi Fukushima Yamagata Niigata Ibaragi Chiba Saitama Kanagawa Yamanashi Shizuoka Aichi Mie Shiga Nara Wakayama Ehime Kagawa Kochi Tokushima Hyogo Okayama Hiroshima Shimane Yamaguchi Fukuoka Saga Nagasaki Kagoshima Miyazaki Kumamoto Oita Osaka Tokyo Tochigi Toyama Ishikawa Nagano Gifu Fukui Kyoto Tottori Gunma S HINKANSEN TRAVEL IN JAPAN SHINKANSEN, Japan’s high-speed railway system known as the bullet train, may be the best way to travel around Japan. It is punctual to the minute, clean and safe as it is perfectly controlled and maintained by each regional JR company. You can always reliably travel from Tokyo to Osaka in as fast as in 2.5 hours, and you don’t have to arrive early at the station. Over 90 Shinkansen stations cover Japan from North to South, connecting Hokkaido and Kagoshima. When you go to Japan, do travel to each region and enjoy the life, customs, food and culture that developed distinctively unique to the area. W E N S Shinkansen Line and Stations Pottery and Porcelain Town Special Regional Cuisine Historic Seasonal Festival The Most Beautiful Village BIEI; SHIBETSU; TRURUI; AKAIGAWA; KYOGOKU; KUROMATSUNAI, Hokkaido KOSAKA, Aomori HIGASHINARUSE, Akita OKURA; IIDE, Yamagata IITATE; MISHIMA; KITASHIROBARA, Fukushima NAKAGAWA, Tochigi SHOWA; NAKANOJO, Gunma OGAWA; TAKAYAMA; OSHIKA, Nagano DOSHI, Yamanashi HAYAKAWA; MATSUZAKI; NAGISO, Shizuoka NAKAGAWA; IKEDA; UMASE, Gifu HIGASHISHIRAKAWA; WAZUKA, Kyoto INE, Hyogo SONI; YOSHINO; TOTSUKAWA, Nara KAMI, Tottori SHINJO, Okayama AMA, Shimane KAMIJIMA, Ehime KAMIKATSU, Tokushima UMAJI; MOTOYAMA, Kochi TOHO; HOSHINOMURA, Fukuoka TSUKAHARA, Oita OJIKA, Nagasaki MINAMIOGUNI; TAKAMORI; KUMA, Kumamoto AYA; TAKAHARU, Miyazaki The Most Beautiful Villages YUKIMATSURI, Hokkaido NEBUTA, Aomori NAMAHAGE, Akita CHAGUCHAGU UMAKO, Iwate HANAKASA, Yamagata TANAB ATA, Miyagi CHIBUYA, Saitama SETSUBUNKAI, Chiba KANDA MATSURI, Tokyo ABARE, Ishikawa KENKA MATSURI, Hyogo EBISU KAIMON, Hyogo HADAKA MATSURI, Okayama HAGIYAKI, Yamaguchi YOSAKOI, Kochi AWA ODORI, Tokushima GION MATSURI, Fukuoka KUNCHI, Nagasaki ARITAYAKI, Saga Seasonal Festivals AIZUHONGOUYAKI, Fukushima MASUKOYAKI, Tochigi KASAMAYAKI, Ibaragi MINOUYAKI, Gifu SETOYAKI, Aichi TOKONAMEYAKI, Aichi KUTANIYAKI, Ishikawa ECHIZENYAKI, Fukui IGAYAKI, Mie SIGARAKIYAKI, Shiga KIYOMIZUYAKI, Kyoto TANBATACHIKUIYAKI, Hyogo BIZENYAKI, Okayama HAGIYAKI, Yamaguchi TOBEYAKI, Ehime KARATSUYAKI, Saga IMARIYAKI, Saga ARITAYAKI, Saga Pottery/Porcelain Towns ISHIKARINABE, Hokkaido KIRITANPO, Akita HARAKOMESHI, Miyagi JIBUNI, Ishikawa OYAKI, Nagano HITSUMABUSHI, Aichi TEKONEZUSHI, Mie FUNAZUSHI, Shiga MEHARIZUSHI, Wakayama KANIJIRU, Tottori FUKURYORI, Yamaguchi TAIMESHI, Ehime SAWACHIRYORI, Kochi BASASHI, Kumamoto HIYAJIRU, Miyazaki TSUKEAGE, Kagoshima Regional Cuisines