Kashima

Surrounded by water and situated between the Pacific Ocean and Lake Kitaura, Kashima is the ideal destination for martial arts aficionados. The spectacular Kashima Shrine is regarded as the birthplace of various schools that have influenced the art of Japanese swordsmanship, and which according to legend, was built around 660 BC.

You can visit the immense port of this football-loving city, home of the Kashima Antlers (fans pictured above), or stroll among the thousands of irises that grow on the banks of the canals that traverse the neighbouring city of Itako.