KYOTO

Daimonji-Okuribi

It is a well-known summer event: five large bonfires are lit on the slopes of five mountains which surround Kyoto-city. It's believed that the spirits of ancestors come back to their homes during this period, named 'Obon'.

MIYAZU

Amanohashidate

A thin strip of land, 3.3 km long and covered with about 7000 pine trees connects two opposing sides of Miyazu Bay in northern Kyoto Prefecture. Its name means "bridge in the heaven".

OSAKA

The Castle

It was originally built in 1583 by the order of Hideyoshi Toyotomi on two raised platforms of landfill supported by sheer walls of cut rock, using a technique called Burdock piling, each overlooking a moat. It is one of Japan's most famous castles and played a major role in the unification of Japan during the sixteenth century.