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TOKYO, HAKONE, KANAZAWA, TAKAYAMA, KYOTO, OSAKA
JAPAN’S
PERFECT BALANCE
PHOTOGRAPHY & STORY BY TOM GABLE
W e were overwhelmed when 5x denser than Chicago.
planning our first visit to
We narrowed our potential itinerary to
Japan in over 50 years.
concentrate on the main cities and attrac-
The country is some 1,800
miles long from north to south, stretching tions in the middle of the country, starting
in Tokyo. The basic planning considera-
from Cape Soya in Hokkaido and Sapporo tions begin with making a list of preferred
to Cape Sata in Kyushu. Considering a po- destinations, estimated time spent in each,
tential road trip, as we usually do in the and planning the route logically (e.g.,
Western United States, this is similar to Tokyo, Mt. Fuji, Kanazawa, Kyoto, Osaka)
driving from Seattle to San Diego (about to minimize backtracking.
1,900 miles) or from Denver to New York This could be the equivalent of flying
(about 1,800 miles). Rail travel, including into Rome and meandering through Si-
on the famous bullet trains, would be opti- enna, Cinque Terre, Florence, Lake Como,
mal, including escaping the crowded cities and Venice in Italy. In France, the route
to beautiful rural areas and mountain re- could be Paris, Reims, Normandy, Nantes,
treats. Bordeaux, and Lyon. On the West Coast of
Some 70% of the county is mountainous North America, picture arriving in Vancou-
and uninhabitable, hence the concentra- ver, B.C., Canada, and venturing south to
tion of population in dense urban areas. Seattle, Portland and the Willamette Val-
With a population of about 14 million, ley, San Francisco, the Monterey Peninsula,
Tokyo has a density of 57,600 people per Los Angeles, and San Diego.
square mile. Osaka, the second largest city For Japan, we wanted to have urban
at 30.9 million, has a density of 30,900. The and cultural experiences balanced with
top 4 cities (Tokyo, Osaka, Kawasaki, connecting with nature and the charm of
Yokohama) all exceed New York City's den- the rural countryside and mountain re-
sity of 27,000 people per square mile. San treats. We needed to factor in travel time
Francisco is 16,700, and Chicago is 11,500. between destinations and some half- and
Tokyo is 3x denser than San Francisco and full-day rests. Several friends who visited
132 WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE SUMMER 2025
