Walking Tour of Japan

About Walking Tour of Japan

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.

Publisher

Walking Tour of Japan

Category

society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

23 Apr 2026

Latest episode

12 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

28 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   12 Oct 2026

   Nara Park and Its Sacred Bowing Deer — Nara, Japan

   Wander among nearly 1,700 free-roaming sacred deer in Nara Park, the historic heart of Japan's first permanent capital. This audio walking tour begins at the edge of downtown Nara and leads you through Kofukuji Temple and its five-story pagoda (now under a once-in-a-century restoration), past the Nara National Museum, and up to the Great South Gate of Todaiji, where two eight-meter wooden guardian kings carved in 1203 tower over dozing deer. From there, the walk heads east to the foot of Mount Wakakusa and across the quiet Tobihino meadow, then follows a moss-covered avenue of some 2,000 stone lanterns to Kasuga Taisha, the shrine whose legend of a god riding a white deer made Nara's deer sacred. Along the way you'll learn how to feed the deer with shika senbei crackers (and why they bow), visit the deer sanctuary that hosts the centuries-old October antler-cutting ceremony, and end with a quiet moment at Ukimido, the "floating" pavilion on Sagiike Pond. Hungry? We recommend Nakatanidou for high-speed-pounded mugwort mochi, Kamameshi Shizuka for iron-pot rice with a crispy crust, the thatched-roof teahouse Mizuya Chaya for udon and matcha in the woods, and Hiraso for Nara's signature persimmon-leaf kakinoha sushi. Nearby, don't miss Isuien Garden, the old merchant lanes of Naramachi and Gangoji Temple, Shin-Yakushiji Temple, the Kasugayama Primeval Forest trail, and Todaiji's Great Buddha Hall. Visit NorthStarTravelers.com (https://northstartravelers.com/) to explore our other podcast shows and browse gear recommendations for wherever your next journey takes you.

2. 

   5 Oct 2026

   Beppu Hells (Jigoku Meguri): Boiling Blue, Red, and Mud-Bubbling Springs — Beppu, Japan

   Step into one of Japan's strangest and most photogenic landscapes: the Beppu Hells, or Jigoku Meguri, a circuit of seven boiling hot springs so violent that locals once believed the land itself was cursed. In this episode of Walking Tour of Japan, we walk the full circuit across the Kannawa and Shibaseki districts of Beppu, Kyushu, starting at the cobalt-blue Umi Jigoku (Sea Hell), formed 1,200 years ago by an eruption of Mount Tsurumi, and moving through the bubbling gray mud of Oniishibozu Jigoku (Monk's Head Hell), the six-in-one Kamado Jigoku (Cooking Pot Hell), the crocodile-filled Oniyama Jigoku, and the milky-white garden pond of Shiraike Jigoku. We finish in Shibaseki with the blood-red Chinoike Jigoku, Japan's oldest documented hot spring, and the dramatic geyser of Tatsumaki Jigoku. Along the way, you'll learn how a 1910 entrepreneur turned a feared volcanic wasteland into one of Japan's top attractions, why locals steam rice, eggs, and puddings using nothing but hot spring vapor, and where to find the best jigoku mushi (hell-steamed) meals in town, including Jigoku Mushi Kobo Kannawa and the steam kitchen at Hyotan Onsen. We also point you toward nearby stops worth adding to your trip: the centuries-old Kannawa Mushi Yu steam bath, the pudding shop and mineral huts of Myoban Onsen, the historic sand baths of Takegawara Onsen, and the sweeping volcano views from the Beppu Ropeway. Whether you're planning a trip to Kyushu or just want to experience one of the most otherworldly corners of Japan from wherever you are, this episode brings the steam, color, and history of the Beppu Hells to life. Visit NorthStarTravelers.com (https://northstartravelers.com/) to explore our other podcast shows and browse gear recommendations for wherever your next journey takes you.

3. 

   28 Sept 2026

   A Shogun Made Divine, Nikko's Gilded Mountain Shrine — Nikko, Japan

   Step inside Nikko Toshogu, the dazzling mountain mausoleum built for Tokugawa Ieyasu, the shogun who ended a century of civil war and unified Japan, then was declared a guardian deity after his death. In this episode of Walking Tour of Japan, we walk the full grounds of this UNESCO World Heritage shrine: the towering stone torii and red five-story pagoda at the entrance, the Sacred Stable's famous Three Wise Monkeys carving, the ceiling of the "crying dragon" that rings like a bell when you clap beneath it, the gold-leafed Yomeimon Gate with its deliberately imperfect upside-down pillar, the tiny Sleeping Cat carving tucked above a side gate, and the quiet, cedar-shaded climb of 207 stone steps to Ieyasu's actual tomb at the Okusha inner shrine. Along the way we share tips on the best time of day to visit, the quiet detour most tour groups skip, and a few carvings hiding in plain sight. We also point you toward lunch: casual yakitori and gyoza at Hippari Dako, refined vegetarian yuba kaiseki at Gyoushintei, and old-fashioned Meiji-era Western dishes at Meiji no Yakata, all within easy walking distance of the shrine. And we look beyond Toshogu to the sights nearby worth adding to your trip: the legendary vermilion Shinkyo Bridge, the gilded Buddhas of Rinnoji Temple, the older and simpler Futarasan Shrine, the more understated Taiyuinbyo mausoleum, and the mountain scenery of Lake Chuzenji and Kegon Falls. Visit NorthStarTravelers.com (https://northstartravelers.com/) to explore our other podcast shows and browse gear recommendations for wherever your next journey takes you.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

3 ratings

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Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

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