Akihabara (秋葉原) is an area north-east of central Tokyo that is most famous for its electronics stores. Recently, major redevelopment and the emergence of stores catering to otaku has altered the ambiance of Akihabara. The area's name is sometimes shortened to "Akiba".

The Amami Islands (奄美群島) are a group of tropical islands in Kagoshima Prefecture about 300 km north of Okinawa and about 380 km south of Kyushu. Amami-Oshima (奄美大島) is the third largest (715 sq. km) of all offshore islands in Japan and is the most populous of the 8 inhabited islands in the group.

Ameyoko (アメ横) is a busy bazaar-style market with hundreds of stalls that runs about 400 meters besides and under the elevated track from JR Okachimachi Station to JR Ueno Station. It is famous for its jam packed stores, bargain prices and a dingy, no-frills shopping experience.

Asakusa is 10 minutes east of Ueno on the subway and beside the Sumida River (隅田川). Since the Edo period, the river banks in Asakusa have been a famous place to view cherry blossoms in the spring.

Beppu City (別府市) is the second largest city in Oita Prefecture. This tourism driven city is on the east coast of Kyushu and looks out from the centre of a wide bay onto the Seto Inland Sea. Oita City, Beppu's much larger and more serious companion, is on the south side of the same bay. The volcanic mountains behind the city to the west are the source of heat for the area's prodigious number of hot springs.

Ebisu is one of the smallest districts that is worth a mention in Tokyo. Like many places in Tokyo, its distinct ecosystem of shops and cliental is centered around a major train junction. Historically, it was a working class factory district with one of earliest large scale beer factories in Japan.

Today, all the factories have moved to cheaper locations and Yebisu Garden Place, an upper class shopping mall, stands where the beer factory once stood. The character and urban flavor of smaller eateries has given way to higher class restaurants in many parts of Ebisu.

Edogawa City (江戸川区) is the eastern most of the 23 special wards that make up Tokyo. This coastal area of Tokyo gets its name form the Edogawa River that defines its border and that of Tokyo with Chiba Prefecture. Edogawa City was formed out of the merger of seven towns and villages in 1937. The initially proposed name, Matsue, was soundly rejected by several of the areas.

Fukuoaka City (福岡市), located on the northern end of Kyushu, is the capital of Fukuoka Prefecture. It is the centre of the largest metropolitan area to the west of the Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe trio. 2.5 million people (2005 census) live in the greater area.

The areas that merged to form the initial city agreed to call it Hakata City until a group of samurai burst into the meeting. At sword point, they told them they weren't accepting the name of a lower class merchant quarter and that they had better name it after the samurai quarter.

Fukuyama City (福山市), the rose city, is the second largest city in Hiroshima Prefecture. It is located at the eastern edge of the prefecture's coastline on the Ashida river delta.

Ginza is one prestigious place name in Tokyo that needs very little introduction to anyone with a desire to be seen spending in Tokyo. Top fashion and cosmetic boutiques are now clustered in many places in Tokyo, but the history and cultural momentum of Ginza makes shopping here especially alluring.

Harajuku (原宿) has been regarded for many years as the place where many of Japan's nascent youth trends will emerge. It is located in Shibuya Ward in south west central Tokyo.

Hiroshima, the city of water and peace, is a modern and culture-rich city. Over 1.1 million people live in the city.

The city is built on the Ota River delta in one of the most sheltered harbors on the Seto Inland Sea. The city enjoys the mild climate provided by its position in the Seto Inland Climate Zone. It is sheltered by the Chugoku Mountains in the north and the Shikoku Mountains in the west from the worst of late summer and winter storms. The average temperature for January is 5.9C and August is 28.1C.