Hyogo

Hyogo is a prefecture that stretches clear across Honshu, from the Seto Inland Sea to the Sea of Japan, immediately west of Osaka. That reach packs remarkable variety inside one border: a cosmopolitan port capital and Japan's finest castle, with hot spring towns on both coasts.

Kobe pairs its harbor skyline with world-famous beef, and Himeji Castle, the White Heron, survives intact from the early 1600s. On the northern coast, Kinosaki Onsen sends guests strolling a willow-lined canal in yukata between seven public bathhouses, and Arima Onsen hides behind Mount Rokko near Kobe.

The mountaintop ruins of Takeda Castle float above morning fog in autumn, and winter brings Matsuba crab to the northern harbors. The shinkansen runs the southern corridor, so a castle stop and a beef dinner fit the same day, with canal-side baths a train ride north.