Kanto: The Heartbeat of Modern Japan

Kanto is Japan’s most populous and economically dominant region, built around the sprawling Tokyo metropolitan area but stretching across seven prefectures of coastline, mountains, and hot spring towns. Beyond Tokyo’s neon core, Kanto holds enormous variety: Kamakura’s beachside temples, Nikko’s ornate shrines and mountain scenery, Hakone’s onsen resorts with Mount Fuji views, and Yokohama’s international port city just south of the capital. It’s the most infrastructure-dense region in the country, with train lines radiating out from Tokyo making nearly every corner of Kanto a feasible day trip. For most international visitors, Kanto is the entry point to Japan — and one that rewards looking past the capital itself.