For years, the Indian traveler’s trip to Japan followed a predictable “Golden Route” — a high-speed itinerary of Tokyo’s neon lights, Kyoto’s historic shrines and Osaka’s street food. But 2025 is when the travel trend has taken a massive turn. With simpler visa processing facilities alongside the need for deeper cultural immersion, Indian travellers are travelling offbeat to discover what they would call “Real Japan.”
Whether it’s the snowy peaks of Hokkaido or the mystical forests of Kagoshima, here are five quirky corners that are now emerging as rivals to the usual suspects for those in search of peace and quiet versus other tourists.
Kanazawa: The “Little Kyoto” of the West
If Kyoto can sometimes feel like a crowded museum, Kanazawa is a more intimate look at Japan’s feudal past. In Ishikawa Prefecture, this city was untouched by WWII bombings, allowing a visit to authentic samurai and geisha quarters.
Indian visitors are also flocking to Kanazawa for its Kenroku-en Garden which is often referred to as one of the three most beautiful gardens in the country. The city is also a mecca for gold leaf crafts, where it can even be found on your ice cream — golden-leaf-wrapped cones are apparently “Instagrammer favourites.”
Ito: Hot Springs and Cold Beer in the Japanese Alps
In the heart of the Japanese Alps, Takayama is a town seemingly suspended in time from the Edo period. Its charmingly preserved “Sanmachi Suji” district is a maze of curving lanes filled with traditional wooden houses, sake breweries and craft stores.
For Indian food enthusiasts, the big lure is Hida Beef—a competitor to more well-known Kobe beef—but you can find this in tiny and accessible izakayas. The town makes a perfect base for day trips to Shirakawa-go, the UNESCO World Heritage village that is known for its “Gassho-zukuri,” or farmhouse with thatched roof, homes that resemble hands folded in prayer.
Yakushima: The Original Forest of Princess Mononoke
For nature lovers and hikers, the island of Yakushima in Kagoshima is a magical revelation. The ancient cedar forest on this subtropical island is reportedly more than 7,000 years old.
The carpet of moss and spooky mist has even inspired the legendary Studio Ghibli film Princess Mononoke. Indian tourists in search of “forest bathing” (Shinrin-yoku)—a nature therapy trail that’s now popular for its air-rich environment which makes the city dwellers feel out of breath—turn to Yakushima, known for its peaceful waterfalls and mighty Jomon Sugi trees, as a natural spiritual retreat.
Otaru: The Fairytale Port Town of Hokkaido
All the headlines might be about Sapporo and its Beer Museum, but a few miles away, this port town has everyone’s heart for that step-back-in-time charm. With its Victorian-style gas lamps and a central canal flanked by old stone warehouses, Otaru looks like something out of European fairytale that’s been plunked down in Japan.
The Otaru Music Box Museum and the town’s renowned glass-blowing workshops are especially popular among Indian families. In winter, the ”Otaru Snow Light Path” turns the canal into a glowing, romantic wonderland that is much less crowded than the larger Sapporo Snow Festival.
Uji: The Holy Grail for Matcha Fans
An overlooked gem near Kyoto that’s just a train ride away, Uji is the birthplace of Japanese green tea. For an Indian traveler conscious of health, Uji provides a close experience of farm-to-cup.
Ancient tea ceremonies take place at the Byodo-in Temple, featured on the back of the 10-yen coin (or you can wander among Wazuka’s rolling tea plantations). The town’s streets are a sensory delight, with the scent of roasting green tea leaves drifting on the air—an ideal antidote to the frenetic bustle of nearby Osaka.
Penultimate: The New Frontier of Indian Travel
Change in Indian Traveller’s Persona, from Japan to its offbeat locations Indi(h)oping for Tokyo Documenting the Indian traveler trend to explore different parts of a destination is a new sociological phase that we sinking in, as travelers. It’s not simply a matter of ticking boxes at marquee sites; it’s about pursuit of authenticity, stillness and a deeper connection with a culture that can seem alien and yet familiar.
Considering that the Japanese yen is currently at an all-time high for Indian rupee and e-visas have been simplified, there has never been a better time to explore rural Japan. As direct flights from Delhi, Tokyo, Mumbai and Bengaluru continue to add lift capacity there each year, the islands — these hidden gems that range from the mossy forests of Yakushima to the samurai streets of Kanazawa—are increasingly the new “dream destinations” for a generation of travelers who prioritize mind over body.
Getting off the Shinkansen a few stops short of where they otherwise might, Indian tourists are finding that Japan’s magic isn’t in the height of its skyscrapers but in the silence and sense of something truly ancient: giant groves of cedar stretching to meet the sky; to a cupful from which their hosts pour them tea at a table on tatami mattresses with a bonfire outside. If the “Golden Route” is the introduction, these are the chapters you’ll remember forever.
I am a versatile content writer from the MP region, covering politics, business, crime, current affairs, entertainment, video games, and sports with clear insights, engaging analysis, and timely, reader-focused updates.
