3 Japan Small Towns for When the Big Cities Feel Like Too Much

Japan small towns are where I go to breathe again when Tokyo starts to feel like one long queue. I love the big cities (the konbini onigiri alone keep me coming back), but my favourite Japan memories rarely happen in them.

They happen in places where restaurants close early, trains run slow, and the lady at the visitor centre hands you a pilgrimage stamp book like it is the most normal thing in the world. So here are three Japan small towns I keep thinking about, from the southern tip of Honshu to the lavender fields of Hokkaido.

1. Kii Tanabe, Wakayama

Kii Tanabe is the small town where my Kumano Kodo pilgrimage began, and the place I wanted to run back to after two hours on the trail. Most people treat it as a pit stop before the Nakahechi route. I treat it as the place where my nerves peaked.

The night before the hike, Fafa and I slept in a “queen-sized” bed that was really a large single. He was asleep in minutes. I lay awake flipping through the Nokyocho, the Kumano Kodo stamp book the lady at the Kii Tanabe Visitor Centre had given me that afternoon, as if the empty pages would fill themselves.

The next morning, a bus took us from town to the big wooden Kumano Kodo sign. Two hours and one empty water bottle later, I was daydreaming about the town we had just left and its $1 cans of umeshu. (I kept walking. Mostly because of Fafa.)

Why go: It is the quiet gateway to a UNESCO World Heritage pilgrimage, and it is the gentlest introduction to Japan small towns before the mountains take over.

KK tip: Pick up the Kumano Kodo stamp booklet at the Kii Tanabe Visitor Centre before you start. More on that in my stamp book post.

2. Kamakura, Kanagawa

Kamakura is the one Japan small town I avoided for years because I thought it was just the Great Buddha. I was wrong, and Amma proved it.

We did it as a day trip from Tokyo with Amma and Perima on a 35°C day. I liked it before we even left the station, because the souvenir shop sold potato cakes (a Kamakura specialty) and cuter trinkets than I could justify. Then we hopped on the Enoden, the little local train.

My plan was loose. See the Buddha, maybe lunch. Instead we found a vast, peaceful shrine with sweeping views over town, a humble tempura place that earned a lukewarm “okay” from my very picky Amma (a win), and the Daibutsu itself, where she took a thousand photos and bought Appa a nail clipper with the Buddha on it. Don’t ask.

The rest of the day was an ice cream hunt. Amma rejected the shop Obama once ate at, so we settled on a sundae made with farm fresh milk. Creamy, pricey, worth it. I also wrote my one wish, JOY, on an oyster-shaped ema at the tiny Kakigara Inari Shrine, and collected eki stamps while Amma asked if they came with a supermarket voucher.

Why go: It is about an hour from Tokyo and the perfect mini escape when the city gets too loud.

KK tip: In summer, go early and carry water. Save room for chewy mochi on the shopping street on your way back to the station.

3. Furano, Hokkaido

Furano is the Japan small town I crowned my favourite part of a 2015 Hokkaido trip before the trip was even halfway done. It was our second stop after Otaru, and I was travelling with Vi, Charles and Yin.

We arrived almost at dark, famished, and learned the small town lesson I keep forgetting. Restaurants close early. We walked down the hill to a tourist restaurant, where my whole salmon and rice set was far better than it had any right to be. Then a supermarket run for next day’s onigiri breakfast and snacks (squid ink cheese included).

The next morning was Farm Tomita. Yes, it is full of tourists. Yes, the lavender fields justify it. I took thousands of photos, made Yin take another thousand of me, ate lavender ice cream and bought lavender oil and hand cream for Amma (which greedy future me will most likely claim). Later we sat over coffee at Ningle Terrace, a cafe that feels tucked inside a forest.

But my favourite Furano memory happened inside our wooden Airbnb. Drinks, snacks, Instax photos and a lot of talking, then postcards and journaling before bed.

Why go: Summer lavender, cosy forest cafes and the kind of nights you remember a decade later.

KK tip: The lavender peaks around July. Buy dinner supplies before dark, because small town kitchens close early.

So, which Japan small town?

Pick Kii Tanabe if you want a pilgrimage. Pick Kamakura if you only have a day. Pick Furano if you want lavender and a slow night in. Or do all three, and let the big cities be the pit stops for once.

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