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Towns and neighbourhoods in Japan

144 towns and neighbourhoods

Snow dusts the stone walls and rope-braced pines below the keep of Tsuruga Castle in February.
The red-tiled keep of Tsuruga Castle rises above pines and autumn maples in Aizu-Wakamatsu.

Aizu-Wakamatsu

Fukushima

CityPop. 117,924Tohoku

A skier walks a lane cut through head-high snowbanks between inns at Akakura Onsen
A pastel lodge sits half buried in deep snow under laden trees at Akakura Onsen

Akakura Onsen

Niigata

Onsen townNiigata

Hondo's rooftops and harbour spread along the shore below Jumanyama with the sea and distant peaks beyond.
The stone piers of Gion Bridge carry its flat deck across the Machiyamaguchi River in Hondo.

Amakusa (Hondo)

Kumamoto

CityPop. 74,861Kyushu

A wooden Boramachi Yagura fishing lookout stands in the calm blue water of Anamizu Bay in May
A Noto Don rice bowl in Anamizu comes piled high with seafood from the local bay

Anamizu

Ishikawa

TownPop. 6,486Hokuriku and Noto

Aomori Bay Bridge arcs over a small city beach with snowy mountains across the bay in March.
Gulls float in the harbour below Aomori Bay Bridge beside the red ribbed walls of Nebuta Museum Wa Rasse.

Aomori

Aomori

CityTohoku

A snowcat parks beside the snowed-in base lodges at APPI with the hotel tower behind.
Skiers and snowboarders spread across the APPI base slopes as snow blows in under Mount Maemori.

APPI

Iwate

Ski villageTohoku

Riders bootpack up the wind-sculpted snow ridge of Mount Ohkenashi above Arai in January
Yellow hotel wings with grey mansard roofs frame the courtyard at Arai Mountain Resort

Arai

Niigata

TownNiigata

Steam rises from the Nakadake crater above green slopes and a winding mountain road on Mount Aso.
Grass-covered folds of the Aso outer rim roll away under a pale sky near the Milk Road.

Aso

Kumamoto

TownPop. 24,820Kyushu

Atami's hotels climb the hills above the harbour and Sagami Bay on a clear winter day.
Walkers cross the sand of Atami Sun Beach below the palm-lined promenade and hotel towers.

Atami

Shizuoka

CityPop. 35,276Izu and Fuji

Tilled fields spread across the Azumino plain under the green foothills of the Northern Alps in May.
The Jikka Segi irrigation channel runs straight across Azumino toward the snow-capped Northern Alps.

Azumino

Nagano

CityPop. 93,927Nagano

Ski trails stripe the slopes of Mount Nekoma, seen from the Mount Bandai trail in early May.
Skiers and riders gather by a lift at the south base of NEKOMA Mountain, then called Alts Bandai.

Bandai

Fukushima

TownPop. 3,350Tohoku

Steam pours off the cobalt-blue pool of Umi Jigoku in Beppu's Kannawa district.
A curved karahafu gable crowns the wooden entrance of Takegawara Onsen in Beppu on a winter day.

Beppu

Oita

Onsen townPop. 115,992Kyushu

All 144 towns and neighbourhoods from A to Z