Walking Tour of Japan

Matsushima Bay in Miyagi Prefecture is one of Japan's officially recognized Three Most Scenic Views - a bay scattered with over 260 pine-covered islands that has inspired poets, monks, and travelers for more than a thousand years. In this episode, we explore the bay on foot, beginning at the iconic Godaido Hall on its tiny islet, the oldest surviving example of Momoyama architecture in the Toh...

Every February, the city of Sapporo transforms into one of the world's most extraordinary winter spectacles. In this episode of Walking Tour of Japan, we explore the Sapporo Snow Festival - a celebration that began in 1950 when a group of high school students built six snow sculptures in a city park, drew fifty thousand visitors, and accidentally launched a tradition that now attracts more tha...

Step into the bustling lanes of Tokyo's Tsukiji Outer Market - one of the most vibrant and historic food destinations in all of Japan. In this episode of Walking Tour of Japan, we explore the storied streets of a place that has fed Tokyo for nearly a century, from its origins as reclaimed land in the Edo period to its rise as the world's most famous fish market, and its remarkable reinvent...

Step inside one of Japan's most iconic landmarks on this episode of Walking Tour of Japan. Osaka Castle has stood - and fallen, and risen again - at the heart of this great city for more than four centuries, and every stone in its massive walls carries a story. We begin at Otemon Gate and move through the park's vast grounds, tracing the layered defensive design built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the pe...

Step into the electric heart of Osaka on this immersive audio walking tour of Dotonbori -- the city's legendary canal-side entertainment district where neon never sleeps and the food is always extraordinary. In this episode, we trace the story of a neighborhood born from an ambitious 17th-century canal project and transformed over four centuries into Japan's most famous food street. Walk with us p...

Step inside Tokyo's oldest temple on this immersive audio walking tour of Senso-ji Temple in Asakusa. In this episode of Walking Tour of Japan, we guide you through the iconic Thunder Gate, down the centuries-old Nakamise shopping street, past the towering Hozomon gate, and into the sacred main hall where a hidden golden statue has been venerated for nearly 1,400 years. Along the way, you'll hear...

Step inside the lantern-lit streets of Kanazawa's Higashi Chaya District -- Japan's largest surviving geisha quarter -- where two-hundred-year-old wooden teahouses line stone-paved lanes and the arts of the geisha world still live and breathe today. In this episode of Walking Tour of Japan, we wander the atmospheric alleyways of the eastern chaya district, duck inside the crimson-lacquered interio...

Step inside one of Japan's most iconic landscapes -- the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove in Kyoto. In this episode of Walking Tour of Japan, we explore the towering Sagano bamboo forest, where ten thousand Moso stalks rise twenty-five meters overhead to form a breathtaking green corridor. We begin at the entrance near the ancient Nonomiya Shrine -- a sacred site connected to imperial princesses and the wo...

In this episode of Walking Tour of Japan, we explore one of the world's most powerful and moving landmarks — the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima. Standing on the banks of the Motoyasu River, this haunting UNESCO World Heritage Site is the only structure left near the hypocenter of the world's first atomic bombing on August 6, 1945. Once the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, its skelet...

Step inside one of Japan's most breathtaking UNESCO World Heritage Sites with this immersive audio walking tour of Kinkaku-ji — the legendary Golden Pavilion of Kyoto. In this episode of Walking Tour of Japan, we guide you step by step through the ancient grounds of this Zen Buddhist temple, tracing over 600 years of history from the grand ambitions of a shogun to a devastating act of arson and a...

Step into the electric heart of Tokyo with this immersive audio walking tour of Shibuya Crossing — the world's busiest pedestrian intersection. In this episode of Walking Tour of Japan, your guide leads you through the full Shibuya experience: from the legendary loyalty of Hachiko the dog and the dramatic 1973 debut of the scramble crossing, to the towering neon billboards, the hidden alley of Non...

In this episode of Walking Tour of Japan, we explore Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyoto - one of Japan's most iconic and deeply spiritual sites. Founded in 711 AD, this ancient shrine at the foot of Mount Inari is the head of more than thirty thousand Inari shrines across Japan and is dedicated to the god of rice, sake, foxes, and prosperity. We walk through the famous Senbon Torii - thousands of b...

Step inside one of Japan's three most celebrated gardens on this immersive audio walking tour of Kenroku-en in Kanazawa. In this episode of Walking Tour of Japan, we stroll through 25 acres of ponds, stone lanterns, ancient tea houses, and centuries of history — all brought to life as if you're walking the mossy paths yourself. Whether you're planning a trip to Kanazawa or dreaming of one, this ep...

Walking Tour of Japan is a podcast built to enhance how you experience one of the world's most captivating countries. By combining storytelling with location-based insights, we help you connect more deeply with the places you visit — before your trip, during it, or from the comfort of home. Our mission is to make exploration more meaningful, flexible, and accessible for everyone. To see our fu...