Celebrate 60 years of the bullet train, follow in the footsteps of pilgrims, and enter an immersive world of digital art when visiting Southeast Asia's trendiest nation in 2024...
Everyone wants to visit Japan. Last year, the Southeast Asian country welcomed 25 million international travellers, with a record-breaking 2.7 million arriving December. Chances are, you’re one of those people who want to hop on the trend and explore this nation rich with cultural curiosities, thronging metropolitans and breathtaking topography. We say, make sure you have plenty of reasons to visit rather than just following the crowd – but luckily, there’s lots of reasons to choose from.
Here’s why Japan should be on your travel agenda for 2024...
Sapporo in winter (Shutterstock)
Sapporo maybe best known for its annual snow festival, but that's not all this city in the northern island of Hokkaido has to offer. The Sapporo International Art Festival takes place just once every three years in the creative hub. It was last scheduled to take place in 2020, however this had to be cancelled due to the pandemic. This means the month-long festival is anticipated to return bigger and better than ever before, and for the first time is being held during winter (20 January – 25 February 2024). Expect art expressed through exhibitions, installations and performances across the city’s museums, theatres and outdoor spaces, with this year’s theme quite suitably being ‘Last Snow’ – focusing on cold climates, snow and culture in northern regions. If you're not sold already, Sapporo was the first city in Asia to be named a UNESCO Creative City of Media Art.
teamLab Borderless will return in February 2024 (Alamy)
For an alternative, more permanent art experience, teamLab's Borderless is finally set to reopen on 9 February 2024 in Tokyo. It came as a shock when the world's first digital art museum was forced to close in 2022. However, it now returns more dazzling than ever in new home at Azabudai Hills, launching with two never-seen-before exhibitions. Borderless is a truly immersive, unique experience as you wander at your leisure through a gallery of lights and projections that are constantly moving around you.
The Tohoku region is known for its castles (Alamy)
This year marks 60 years since the launch of the Shinkansen, Japan’s first bullet train, between Tokyo and Osaka. It was launched in time for the Olympics in 1964, and it remains one of the best ways to travel between the two cities. Adding to the reasons to ride the rails in 2024 is a new extension on the bullet railway line between Tokyo and the region of Hokuriku. Expected to open in March 2024, the extra 125km of track will take passengers all the way to the picturesque port city of Tsuruga in just over three hours. Another service anticipated to launch in spring is JR East’s sightseeing service around the cherry-blossom and castle-rich landscapes of the Tohoku region, mainly operating in Miyagi, Fukushima and Yamagata.
Onetto Lake in Akan Mashu Natonal Park during the summer (Alamy)
Soon, keen ramblers will be able to uncover more of Hokkaido’s spectacular landscapes on foot with the arrival of a long-distance hiking trail. The northernmost prefecture expects to launch the 370km Hokkaido East Trail in 2024, with the path traversing through national parks including Akan Mashu, Kushiro Shitsugen, and Shiretoko. Marshlands, volcanoes, lakes and primeval forests are some of the incredible natural views that can be appreciated en route. Spring, summer and early autumn walking is recommended to avoid the onslaught of snow the winter inevitably brings to Hokkaido.
A trolley car passes over Kurobe Valley (Alamy)
Gorge views that once could only be seen by experienced hikers, climbers and powerplant workers will become accessible to travellers this year. The new multi-transport Kurobe-Unazuki Canyon Route will allow passengers to admire the exceptional scenery high up in Kurobe Valley in the heart of the Toyama Prefecture in Honshu. The sightseeing line, using a mixture of trains, funiculars and elevators will follow a former construction route from Kurobe City to Kurobe Dam, Japan’s tallest dam at 1,470m above sea level. The route is expected to kick into operation in June 2024. One thing’s for sure – you’ll need a head for heights.
Pilgrims walking the stone path of the Kumano Kodo (Shutterstock)
A 1,000-year-old pilgrimage network will be celebrating its 20th anniversary as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2024, making it the ideal time to trek some of its sections. It is one of only two trails to have received this recognition – along with Spain’s famous Camino de Santiago. Located on the Kii Peninsula on Japan’s main island of Honshu, the multi-trail route is used to connect pilgrims to some of Japan’s most sacred sites in Kii’s mountains. This includes the sought-after Kumano Nachi Taisha: the dazzling red Shinto shrine backed by the 133m-high Nachi-no-Otaki waterfall is arguably one of the most picturesque places to visit in Japan.
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