Natalie Leon, author and Japanologist, recently sat down with us to discuss her new book ‘The Japanese Art of Living Seasonally: An Invitation to Celebrate Every Day’. Chronicling the idea of ‘kisetsukan’, or the awareness of the seasons, her new book covers festivals, food, and much more!

In episode 1 of Race Across the World, the participants began their journey in Sapporo, and found their first checkpoint in Nara. But they weren’t done exploring Japan just yet! In the second part of our Race Across the World articles, we’ll follow the 5 pairs of adventurers as they continue to explore Japan.

Located on Japan’s smallest of its four main islands, Kochi is on the southern portion of Shikoku, facing the Pacific Ocean. Abundant with nature and having one of the few original castle structures remaining in Japan, Kochi Prefecture might be small, but it is big with character. So grab a tasty yuzu and let’s learn a bit about what you can do in Kochi Prefecture.

Ehime Prefecture sits on the northern coast of the island of Shikoku, facing Yamaguchi, Hiroshima, and the southern island of Kyushu. Noted for its pristine nature and scenery, Ehime has anything and everything that you could want for a getaway. From the historic capital city of Matsuyama to part of the legendary leg of the Shikoku Pilgrimage, let’s check out Ehime Prefecture!

In Japan there are lists for nearly anything you could think of. Some of the most famous lists are the 100 Famous Mountains, The Three Great Gardens of Japan, and the Three Views of Japan (also the Three Major Night Views of Japan). However, this time around we’ll be focusing on one of the many nature lists, namely the ‘Nihon no Taki, Hyakusen’, or 100 Waterfalls of Japan made by the Ministry of the Environment in 1990. Let’s take a look at some of Japan’s most famous waterfalls!