The city of Beppu in western Japan is famed for its hot springs, with hotels and resorts competing to attract tourists to an area renowned for sights like the “Hells of Beppu,” a series of colored and super-hot natural pools. As the numbers of Japanese visiting the resorts plateaus, local and international hotel chains are expanding to target the boom …

Known for its rich culture, Japan is also popular for its amazing beaches. Japan is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean with dense cities, imperial palaces, mountainous national parks and thousands of shrines and temples. Here are four most underrated and must visit beaches in the country: Goshiki-hama Beach A famous spot for a sunset view Goshikihama is a …

  You may travel to Japan, but not get to meet a geisha. Like a rare wildlife sighting, real-life geishas can be elusive creatures to capture on camera. Graceful and discreet, the ladies are not known to stop and pose for a photo, but are more apt to scurry off to their appointment, head bowed. Women who do ham it up …

Tokyo’s taverns are tiny, sometimes raucous places for after-work drinking and great Japanese bar food Big in Japan … Tokyo is brimming with izakayas. Photograph: Alamy After a day of sightseeing and inevitable Lost In Translation moments, settling into an izakaya is the perfect respite for any traveller in Japan. Izakayas are cheerful pubs serving food and drinks – tiny, …

A powerful 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck southern Japan early on Saturday, killing at least 20 people, injuring more than 1,000 and trapping people in collapsed buildings, barely a day after a quake killed nine people in the same region. Rescuers dug through the rubble of collapsed buildings and mud and debris on Saturday to try and reach those trapped, but …