Ekō-ji (惠光寺) means something like Temple of the Gentle Light. The name hints at the light coming from Amida-butsu, the Buddha of boundless light.

The temple grounds are pretty new, built in 1993. Along with the temple, there’s also a little garden and a wooden house on the complex. What makes the temple so unique? It’s located in the city of デュッセルドルフ (Düsseldorf) and is the only temple complex in Germany built in the Japanese style. In Europe, the Ekō-ji is also the only temple of the Jōdo-Shinshū, one of the biggest Japanese schools of Buddhism.

Actually, the visit felt a bit surreal to us, kind of like we’d just taken the tram over to Japan. The only thing we missed was the smell of old wood and incense sticks, and maybe a drinks machine.

Visiting the garden is free. Otherwise, the Ekō-House regularly offers guided tours, events, tea ceremonies and courses. The best way to get to the temple is by tram (to Heerdter Sandberg) or bus (to Niederkasseler Kirchweg).

Hida no Sato, which means Hida Village in English, is an open-air museum in Takayama, a city in the Japanese Alps.

The houses in the village date back to the Edo period (1603 to 1868). But the setup is totally artificial. The museum was founded back in 1971, and they moved houses from all over the Hida region to get them here.

Some of the buildings come from the town of Shirakawa-go, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site thanks to its gassho-zukuri style houses. This building style stands out for its steep thatched roofs that can handle massive amounts of snow in the winter – which happens quite a bit in this part of Japan.

Other buildings were brought to the museum from areas with milder weather. This spelled disaster for the Taguchi house in 1981 when a roof beam snapped under the weight of the snow during a heavy winter storm.

On the museum grounds, you can freely explore the houses and look over the shoulders of traditional craftsmen showing off their skills here and there. Plus, they light the fireplaces in the houses in the morning. So you can really smell your little trip back in time too.

The museum is open every day from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm. You can get there from Takayama station on the Sarubobo bus or by walking for about 25 minutes. Entry costs 700¥. They’ve got English signs up. Make sure you only go into the houses in your socks.

If you still have some time to kill after your visit, you absolutely have to pop over to the old town of Takayama and try the delicious Hida beef while you’re there.

Beppu is one of Japan’s most famous onsen towns. Nowhere else has such abundant hot springs. The whole town is hissing and bubbling. You can chill out in hot baths, cook your grub in the hot steam, or kill some time checking out the different hells. They show off steaming, boiling, and bubbling ponds in loads of different colours, sizes, and temperatures (up to 98°C).

The most famous ones are the seven hells of Beppu:

• Oniishibōzu Jigoku: In this hell, grey mud puddles bubble up, meant to look like shaved monks’ heads, giving it the name “Oniishi Shaved Head Hell”.
• Umi Jigoku: The “Sea Hell” is the nicest of the seven. Across a massive area, there’s a big pond with lotus flowers, a small mega-steamy pond, and a slightly hidden orange one. You can grab some souvenirs in the building.
• Kamado Jigoku: The “Cooking Pot Hell” is where the action is at. Entertainers keep the crowd amused with little shows, though only in Japanese.
• Oniyama Jigoku: The water temp in this “Ogre Mountain Hell” is spot on for breeding crocodiles. You can snap pics of them in their cages from a safe distance.
• Shiraike Jigoku: The “White Pond Hell” features steaming, milky-cloudy water and a little aquarium too.
• Chinoike Jigoku: The blood-red pond gave this hell its name. It’s tucked into a hillside and makes a wicked photo spot.
• Tatsumaki Jigoku: The main draw of the “Waterspout Hell” is a geyser that goes off about every 30-40 mins. It’s totally worth asking when the next eruption is first, and maybe killing time next door at the Chinoike Jigoku while you wait.

You shell out 400¥ to get into each of the seven hells. Or you can just grab a combo ticket for 2000¥ at the first hell you hit up. The association for these seven hells has a brochure with more info. There are even more hells in Beppu, like the Yama Jigoku, but they aren’t part of the association and charge separate entry fees.

The easiest way to get to the hells is taking a bus from Beppu Station to the Kannawa Bus Terminal stop. If you fancy a bit of a walk (like we did), you can combine the visit with an 8-kilometre hike. The starting point is Beppudaigaku Station, which you can reach from Beppu on the JR Nippo Line. The trail ends at Kamegawa Station, where you can catch the same line back to the main station.

The last two hells are a bit out of the way. You can get there on foot with a chill walk through a slightly rural spot on the edge of town, or just grab a bus (to the Chinoike Jigoku Mae stop) or a taxi. We didn’t think they were as exciting as the other hells, though. If you’re pushed for time, you can probably skip the detour.

Uchiko is a tiny town on the main island of Shikoku, about a 25-minute ride on the Uwakai Express from the prefectural capital Matsuyama. It’s home to the Uchiko-za, a historic theatre building.

The theatre was built back in 1916 as a two-storey wooden building in a traditional Japanese style. In 1985, it reopened after a major refurb. Nowadays, it occasionally puts on evening Kabuki and Bunraku theatre shows for a bit of fun.

But popping by during the day is totally worth it too, as the theatre opens its doors for a peek behind the scenes. You can roam freely around the building, grab a spot on one of the wooden seats, step up onto the stage or even try on costumes. Down in the basement, you can see how the historic revolving stage and the stage lift are operated.

The theatre is just a 5-minute walk from Uchiko station. The entrance is tucked away down a little side street. Entry is 400¥. With a 900¥ combo ticket, you can also check out the local history museum and the Kamihaga residence. Don’t forget a good pair of socks, ‘cause you have to take your shoes off before you go in! 😉

You usually ignore them and walk all over them: manhole covers. While they seem to look the same everywhere over here, they differ massively from each other in Japan. Practically every city shows off its special features or sights as a beautifully decorated cover, some even in bright colours.

The designs are popular photo souvenirs and collector’s items for tourists and locals alike. It’s hardly surprising that a Manhole Cover Festival recently took place in Tōkyō.

Here’s our ongoing collection of covers that we’ve photographed.