As Westerners, you might be familiar with this country for its capital city that has pretty wild and wacky nightlife and bizarre foods.

But it's a whole lot more than that.

There are thousands of mountains here waterfalls, stunning coastline, enchanting bamboo forests, and tree lined paths that lead to temples.

Welcome everyone to the wonderful country of Japan.

I'm Alice Ford and we are about to explore the more natural side of this country, walking to volcanoes, checking out hot springs and diving into some of the culture and some of that bizarre food too.

So let's not waste any time.

We've got a lot to see.

I'm Alice Ford and we're back in Northern Norway.

This is the Garden Island, Kauai, Hawaii.

As you guys can see, it is absolutely beautiful down here.

The views are just already stunning.

We are on our way to Antarctica.

So right now we're having a traditional tea here.

Wow.

Last night I flew into Tokyo and then headed farther south to where this adventure really begins.

Here on the island of Kyushu, we will get to know Japan's more natural side.

This is my first time ever visiting Japan.

And if you've been watching this channel for a long, you know I don't usually spend much time in the city.

My first four days in Japan would be all about nature and some of the lesser tourist regions of the country.

I chose Kyushu for its abundance of hiking trails, volcanoes, and hot springs.

Japan is full of volcanoes.

There are 200 in the country, 111 of those are active.

And right now I'm at a place called Kusasenri This is an observation area where you can see some of the volcanoes here, some of the mountain peaks, in and around Asa-Kujo National Park, which protects Mount Aso and some of the surrounding volcanoes here.

Mount Aso is actually the largest active volcano in Japan.

The caldera itself is 11 by 15 miles, so it is absolutely massive.

And while you can't get super close to the rim of the volcano, there are lots of hikes in this area that take you to see some of the other calderas, some of the other volcanic craters as well.

So that's what we're going to do.

The volcano that you see behind me, or that you'll see in a little bit, is called Nakadake Volcano.

It's one of the most active in this area, and I was hoping we could get a little closer to it today, which was the hike that I had planned.

But this whole area is under what's called a level two alert right now.

There are gases and smoke coming out of this volcano, which means you can't get within one kilometer of the crater.

And the hike that I was planning on doing today would have taken us into that zone.

So we're doing a different one that will take us just nearby there.

We should have some pretty epic views, though, of not only the greater Aso Volcano crater, but right inside that as well.

Now, this volcano actually last erupted in 2021, so it wasn't that long ago at all.

And a lot of the things that we're seeing, a lot of the damage is actually from that last eruption.

And things still haven't been rebuilt.

There used to also be a cable car that went up to the top of this volcano, which is in complete ruin.

Funnily enough, right as I pass that sign for volcanic gases, I also started smelling sulfur.

Now this volcano spews sulfur dioxide and in high enough concentrations it can be really bad for you.

So I've brought a couple of different buffs that I'll cover my face with if we start smelling them in high quantities, and hopefully we can make it up to the top without having to turn back.

We have one kilometer left, and, it's definitely going to be steep, so we better get a move on.

Mount Aso is also known as Aso Volcano.

Within it are five mountain peaks.

And today's hike has taken us to the summit of Mount Nakadake Its crater, which we can see right below us, is the most active crater here and almost constantly erupt smoke and gases.

It's been active for around 70 years.

The last eruption happened in 2021.

It is extremely windy up here, a little bit cold, but just absolutely fantastic.

What a view into this crater and all of that gas that you see coming out of that crater right there is what keeps that area down below closed very often.

But when it's calm and the winds are down and there's no gases coming out of that, you can actually get right to that area right there where you see kind of that empty parking lot.

After the hike, I stopped for some much needed ice cream and then headed to the Kurakowaonsen, an area of thermal rich waters where Japanese ends have been serving travelers for centuries.

Tonight I staying in a traditional Japanese in which are called Ryokans.

They say this is the oldest form of hotel dating back to the eighth century.

It was a place where samurai warriors and lords would stay.

This room is actually going to transform into a bedroom in a little bit, but I'm going to get cleaned up into something more traditional, and I'll see you guys in a bit.

Ryokan are kind of like a bed and breakfast, but also typically serves a multi-course traditional Japanese dinner and feature soaking tubs from the mineral rich volcanic waters.

When I checked in here, I wasn't sure I was going to love it, but after transforming my room into the bedroom and just the attention to detail that the staff has here, I'm loving it.

I hope I have a wonderful night's sleep.

I'm definitely dressed and ready for bed, so I will see you all tomorrow.

Our next stop is here at the Takachiho Gorge.

This is in one of Japan's national parks, and it was actually formed by about four different volcanic eruptions of Mount Aso over thousands of years.

The gorge itself is up to 100m tall in some spots, and on good days, when the water level is low enough, you can actually rent a boat and go on a nice relaxing ride along this gorge.

I'm just going to be walking along it, but there are some beautiful stops along the way, like this waterfall behind me, which is actually one of Japan's top 100 most beautiful waterfalls.

I haven't been in Japan long, but one thing I have definitely noticed is how nice, how gentle, how quiet, and how polite the Japanese people are.

And a lot of that may be tied to their practice of Buddhism and the law and culture and belief in this practice.

There are certainly no shortage of temples.

Thousands of them are spread throughout the country of Japan.

So this morning, I am taking you on a short hike up to one of the beautiful ones in this region of Mount Aso.

It is said their shrines started offering ritual services as long ago as the 14th century.

It burned down during war in the 16th century and was rebuilt later in 1722.

As I walk along the tree lined stairs that line through this forest, I pass through the Tori gates, emblematic of Shinto shrines.

They serve as an entranceway for the gods, and are said to also be a place of purification.

And one thing I learned on my trip to Japan is that a shrine and a temple are actually quite different.

Shrines go back to the Shinto religion, which predates Buddhism by around 600 years.

Tied to nature, Shinto revolves around the belief of supernatural entities called Kami, which are believed to inhabit all creatures.

Shrines are anywhere and everywhere, and will usually represent one animal, god, or focus.

Now there are thousands of temples and shrines throughout this country, but only temples are tied to Buddhism.

These are usually a lot more grand in size and stature, and have a monk or a few living and protecting the temple.

Buddhism came to Japan around 600 A.D. from the Silk Road, spreading from India to China and Korea before reaching the Japanese shores.

Since Buddhism and Shinto both share beliefs in harmony and ethical precepts.

These temples and shrines are often worshiped side by side and respected by all here in Japan.

Welcome, everyone to Kyoto, Japan.

This is an ancient city, but also a truly metropolitan one.

It actually served as the Japanese capital for over a thousand years, and it holds some of the most historical and beautiful architecture in this country, with not one, but 17 Unesco World Heritage Sites.

And we are starting today in the Kyoto National Gardens, which is also home to the Imperial Palace.

This place is beautiful.

It has 50,000 trees, tons of beautiful flowers, ancient temples and shrines, and we've got a lot of exploring to do today.

Hence the shoes.

So I'm not going to waste any time.

Let's get going.

We are now inside the Imperial City.

This complex was built in 1794.

Over a thousand years ago.

It is absolutely beautiful.

I'm standing in front of one of just these massive gates adorned with gold.

It is so intricate and beautiful.

This entire complex is where the emperors lived for hundreds of years, as they ruled over the Japanese country.

This is a place that really makes you feel small.

I love all the clean lines and the colors that really blend more naturally into the surrounding environment.

And unlike a lot of castles and palaces around the world that just scream extravagance.

This place is more low key, but where you can see the extravagance is in the details.

When you look closely at the hinges and the door frames and the intricate carvings that pop out to the trained eye.

Not everything in this complex is super ancient.

This building behind me was actually built in 1915.

So after the Emperor stopped living here in Kyoto and moved to Tokyo, they still did use this property for the coronation of emperors.

And that's why this one was built to usher in the new Emperor of the Taisho.

This narrow alleyway is called a restaurant row.

And at night you might see geishas walking through here.

It's one of the most historical streets here in Kyoto.

And very cute.

One of the nicknames for Kyoto is the city of a 10,000 temples.

There are a lot of them.

And right now we're at one of the most famous Buddhist temples here in Kyoto, with expansive views over the city.

And if you think this building behind me is impressive, well, that's just the entry gate.

Wait till you see the real thing.

Snagging a photo on this iconic deck is no easy feat.

The best way to avoid the crowds is to come very early in the morning.

But we didn't quite have that luxury today because we had a lot of other stops to check out on our one day here in Kyoto.

And I also think that the Emperor maybe got duped, because this property with the views out over the entire city is just absolutely gorgeous, with the surrounding forest and gardens here.

I don't know, they might want to switch.

My next stop is for a stroll, but in my case right now, some rest at a beautiful park.

It's called Maruyama and this is a really popular spot when the cherry blossoms are in full bloom.

There are tons of cherry trees around here that just droop beautifully into the ponds and walking paths around.

It looks like they all bloomed maybe last week, but.

But despite there not being flowers, there is just beautiful greenery everywhere.

And I've already walked about seven miles today so my feet are quite tired.

But this is not the end of exploring.

We've got a lot more to see here in Kyoto.

Across town is another beautiful representation of not only Japanese history but architecture.

The Golden Pavilion, which sits just behind me.

It's been here for hundreds of years in some shape or form.

It's been rebuilt twice because of fires, but the top two floors are covered completely in beautiful gold leaf.

My next stop on this solo journey through Japan is the Prefecture of Shizuka, located on Japan's Pacific coast and home to one of Japan's largest lakes, and Mount Fuji, the tallest volcano in Japan.

This is some of the coolest architecture I have seen in Japan for a lot of visitors coming to this area.

This isn't exactly where you'll start the Mount Fuji World Heritage Center, but there are certainly lots of other reasons to go beyond this.

When you come to this region, from community based tourism to eco tours, and that's exactly what we're going to see while we're here.

The center is full of interactive exhibits where you can experience Mount Fuji while walking around its interior, cylindrical pathway.

So even if you aren't going to be walking on or near Mount Fuji, you can still experience what it would be like if you got to.

And from its observation deck at the top you can on clear days have a wonderful view of Mount Fuji itself, but this is definitely a great place to start on your trip here to Shinzouka.

The cultivation of green tea here in Japan goes back more than a thousand years.

It was brought here by Buddhist monks from China, and ever since has been made into a form of tradition.

Here with green tea ceremonies and many different varieties are grown all over the country.

Here in this region, there is a special kind of green tea, one that's expensive and drunk at ceremonies and given as gifts.

And there used to be over 100 farmers in this area that grew it.

Now there's just seven.

It could be a dying tradition here, and I'm here to visit one of the farmers and get a little bit of a tour of his tea farm and try some for ourselves.

The tea is called Gyukuro.

It's one of the highest class of Japanese teas, shade grown and hand-picked.

It has a long tradition as being something shared at special occasions.

I met with Noboro-san, an award winning farmer who has been growing this tea and others for most of his life.

Just like his father before him, most teas are now picked by machines.

These cut off the top one third of the plant's sticks and all, but this tea is carefully picked by hand, cutting only the leaves.

The brewing of tea should be done carefully.

Something time is forgotten in the Western world.

I first tried a variety of sencha green tea, which is a more common and regularly drunk tea, and then I got to try the Gyukuro.

Noboro-san carefully added a measured pour of warm water to our cups, making sure it was the perfect temperature of 170 degrees.

Adding one part of leaves and 1.2 parts water just enough to cover the leaves themselves.

This can be repeated five times the same leaves, and unlike American Starbucks Ventis.

This tea is in small cups.

It's sipped and enjoyed while conversing about life and enjoying each other's company.

The tea leaves can also be eaten by adding a little soy sauce and some bonito flakes for taste.

These are full of antioxidants and vitamins, too.

The Gyukuro is harvested just once per year, and as of my visit, this farmer's son didn't want to carry on this tradition.

Choosing to go to the big city instead.

But he hopes that his grandchild will, because as of the filming of this video, he is the youngest farmer in the region at around 60 years old, and he could also be the last.

I'm staying in a guest house tonight with a pretty epic view that's Mount Fuji behind me.

It's quite possibly the most famous natural landmark in all of Japan and its importance not only culturally, but naturally.

It goes back millennia.

And it's not just a mountain, it's a volcano, the tallest one in the country.

People flock here in the summer months to climb up to its peak, and for centuries it has been revered as not only an important thing to bring life to the surrounding countryside.

Here, with the snowmelt that the water and water that it provides to local rivers and streams.

But it's in its spiritual importance as well.

This place is called Satoyama, which basically translates into harmony community, meaning the harmony that the mountain has with the community.

So it's a really cool name, and I love that all of the Japanese words kind of have these deeper meanings behind them, which ties perfectly into Buddhism.

We just threw some sweet potatoes and other vegetables on this fire, and my host has another barbecue going on and another section of the yard here that we're about to join in.

If you want to see Mount Fuji when you come here to Japan, there are a lot of other ways to experience it other than climbing it.

The climbing season is actually quite short, only from about the beginning of July to beginning of September.

Another place that you can come is the shoreline, of Lake Tanuki-ko.

They built a huge platform here for photographers and people to come and just experience the reflection of Mount Fuji on the lake.

And it is absolutely beautiful.

We were up at around 4:30 in the morning to come to this viewing platform where a few times a year there's a phenomenon called Diamond Fuji.

It was a little bit too overcast this morning for us to see it this morning, but it was beautiful nonetheless.

While we were here, it gave me a chance to sit down with the owner of Satoyama Masanori Shintani, who is also at the forefront of helping develop more sustainable and community based tourism here in Japan.

I know you've done a lot of projects in other places around the world.

What made you want to come back here to Japan and bring your knowledge into the local community here?

Since I love Mount Fuji, I decided to go to university in a Shizouka University, it's the closest university national university in Japan to Mount Fuji.

Okay.

Japan is one of the best country in the world to learn about conservation through the culture.

Mount Fuji become a world heritage because it's because of the intrinsic value of the Mount Fuji.

Not about just the natural part of.

Well, Mount Fuji, it's more like the culture part.

That's why I really like the idea.

It's more like the Aminis and the Shintoism.

Yeah, it's really connecting to our culture.

Yeah.

That is the intangible value that we want to share to the people in the world.

The idea of eco tourism should be coordinated and managed by locals so that this kind of eco tourism worker working together can do something to protect and sustain.

Yeah.

A little bit more.

We have a lot of international tourists.

It's not like most kind of tourists.

We only does it, we only do that, private tours and private glamping.

Private guest house.

Yeah.

We went, you know, the tourists to have a better experience, learning from, locals and discuss more deeply.

Yeah.

And share in the culture that helps both sides be happy.

Absolutely.

Masanori became my guide the rest of the day and took me to some of his favorite places and community based tourism projects, stopping first at Shiraito Falls which is part of the Unesco World Heritage Site of Mount Fuji and one of Japan's most beautiful waterfalls.

Fed by volcanic spring water that resemble hanging threads of silk as they cascade off the rocks and into the river below.

Hokusai was one of the most famous artists ever to come out of Japan, and one of the famous pieces of work he did were the 36 different views of Mount Fuji.

And right now we're walking on a path that's been kind of dubbed the Hokusai Nature Path, an area that people believe he walked exploring the many different views of Mount Fuji.

And this path is absolutely beautiful.

Goes to different temples on this beautiful tree lined path with cypress and cedar on both sides and temples along the way.

Places like this are the destinations I thrive for.

When I come to a new country or a new destination.

The places that are beyond the travel guides and not in your normal travel videos either.

The real local places that only a local guide can take you.

This pathway has been here for somewhere over 800 years and the temples along it as well.

And it is so idyllic almost.

Picture perfect for the trees through here.

Quiet.

You can just hear the birds and the beautiful nature here.

And if you're staying at Satoyama either at the guest lodge or in the glamping huts, this is an experience that you can do during the day.

And then it is followed by a local lunch in the village, maybe a tour of the Sake factory and some of Sake, tasting and getting to experience and really have conversations with some of the local people here, which is what travel is all about.

My last stop on this short stay in Shizuoka was to a local restaurant and shop owned by a young woman who grows organic rice at the Fujisan Shiraito farm.

Her restaurant focuses on rice balls and after a great breakfast here, she showed me her fields where she was just starting the seasons rice.

Now she uses traditional techniques and farms organically without fertilizer, and is hoping to inspire more young people to return to rural Japan and continue cultivating the land and working with nature, instead of leaving to go to the big city.

I have learned so much on this visit to Japan.

Tokyo might be the city of industry, but here in rural areas, people are still fighting to keep a slower and more technology free way of life.

And I think there are so many lessons in this that we can take to heart in our own lives too.