This week, we continue travelling around Japan, discovering what special offers and activities are lined up for the Golden Week holidays. As you explore Tokyo Bay, go to Kanaya Port and head to a spa by the sea, Umibe no Yu. You can arrange for a pick-up bus to take you to this natural spa which is three minutes away from the port. You can see Tokyo Bay from the open-air bath here. This popular scenic spa will warm you up immediately. During Golden Week, the first 30 people who use the spa will receive kajime as a gift, while the first 50 couples to dine at the spa’s restaurant get free salad. Next, take a train to Yagiri. Hop onboard the Yagiri no watashi ferry, which has been plying since the Edo period, and take a ride across the Edo River to the opposite shore, Shibamata. Explore the streets and visit a shop which sells agar (gelidium jelly) from Chiba. The smooth and chewy agar is eaten with sour soy sauce and melts in your mouth.

Take a train to Asakusa and drop by an edomae-zushi shop called Shige-zushi. Do note that its sushi lunch set is only available on Saturdays and Sundays. This 50-year-old restaurant, which serves high-quality sushi, is run by a father and son team. Order its lunch set, which comes with two seasoning sauces - edomae nikiri soy sauce and irizake. Nikiri, which is soy sauce cooked with sake and mirin, is a traditional seasoning; while irizake is sake boiled with plum pickles. During Golden Week, a special set - comprising sea eel, octopus, spotted shad and other seafood caught in Tokyo Bay - is available. Next, cross the Aioi Bridge to Tsukishima, which is famous for monja. Take a “Monja” roofed boat, Senbamaru, along the Sumida River, and admire the beautiful night view of Tokyo. One of the attractions on the boat is a popular monjayaki shop, where the captain will personally serve you monja. If you book this boat trip around Tokyo Bay during Golden Week, you will receive a memorial keychain.

For our next trip, we will travel around Ibaraki by local lines. Start by taking the Joban Line Express from Ueno to Mito, Ibaraki. Several activities are planned for Golden Week. For example, you can visit different places and collect stamps from each site. Once you’ve collected two stamps, you will get a souvenir. Hop onboard a nostalgic bonnet bus for free and visit two tourist spots. However, do be prepared for a “shaky” ride on the bonnet bus, as it is quite old and jolts ever so often. Nevertheless, it is an experience not to be missed. After a 40-minute ride, you will reach Mito Forest Park. It spans 90,000 square metres with many natural spots. One of the popular spots is Fureai Farm and there is also a lovely café, where you can enjoy some tea and its wide range of homemade cheese. The most popular item is the cheese tart, which is aromatic and chewy. During Golden Week, a box of six cheese tarts is sold for 1,200 yen (S$18.65). Remember to get your first stamp after enjoying these delicacies. Resume your journey on the bonnet bus and go to Mito Botanical Park. There are 190,000 plants in the park, and even a greenhouse for beautiful tropical plants. You can view colourful flowers from all over the world, and even rare plants such as the Nepenthes pitcher plant. One of the events during Golden Week is the Botanical Park Festival. You can also visit a flower flea market. After collecting your second stamp here, you will get your souvenir - a bottle of Komon's brand water.

Head back to Mito Station, and travel on the Kashima Rinkai Railway, a local line spanning 56km. The first stopover during this train trip is a scenic port town, Oarai, which boasts many historical spots. But first, go by bus to Oarai Town Office and purchase a 500 yen (S$7.82) coin. With this coin, you can join the One Coin Tour, which has 17 shops for you to choose from. You can select five shops you would like to visit, and buy something special with 100 yen (S$1.56) in each shop. The locals will tell you that the One Coin Tour was started to attract tourists – most of whom would go to the sea and not the town – to visit the town’s nostalgic shops. One such shop is the Iiokaya Seafood Shop, a direct sales shop selling Oarai's seafood. Go to the One Coin Corner where you can buy items such as five pieces of dried horse mackerel or even dried young sardines for 100 yen (S$1.56). You can also drop by an old sweet shop, where you can watch a demonstration of how brittle is made using crystal sugar, brown sugar and baking soda. Next, visit a temple where you can worship Acala, make a donation of 100 yen (S$1.56), and make a wish. Yet another shop here manufactures mitsu dango, a traditional snack of Oarai. You may also wish to buy some delicious sushi from a sushi shop here. Furthermore, during Golden Week, the shop serves a limited 500 yen (S$7.82) lunch set, which includes pickled and boiled bonito donburi.

The next stopover along Kashima Rinkai Railway is Sweetbrier Park, which features beautiful sweetbrier flowers. There is also a lookout tower here, from where you can get a panoramic view of the sea and Kashimanada. Next, make your way to Kashima and visit the nostalgic and tasteful Kashima Shrine. With over 2,000 years of history, the god of martial arts is worshipped here. You can stay the night at a luxurious hotel located in Kamisu. Prices start from 16,000 yen (S$294.04) and you can stay in the huge Japanese-style room which comes with an attached private open-air bath. After a relaxing bath, enjoy a luxurious dinner comprising fresh local delicacies. Feast on dishes like Kashimanada flatfish sashimi, firefly squid and pickled melon. You will also be given tickets to a melon hunting tour, normal held until the middle of July. The next morning, ride on the Kashima Rinkai Railway and alight at Shinhokota Station in Hokota, which produces the highest number of melons in Japan. Staff from Melon no Mori can pick you up from the station if you wish. After melon hunting, you will be given half a melon to try, and another full one to take with you as a souvenir. Next, resume your train journey to the south of Ibaraki, Itako. One of the famous and scenic attractions here is a boat trip to visit 12 bridges. During Golden Week, you will be given a lunch box set with tea. End your trip of Ibaraki by going to Michi no Eki, Itako, where there are lots of cheap fresh vegetables. There are even special offers and bargains available here during Golden Week.

For our next trip, travel by Shinkansen from Tokyo to Nagano Station. The journey takes 1.5 hours. Do get the Shinshu Kitakairo Pass, which lets you take free rides for two days. It offers many discount coupons too. First, take a 10-minute bus ride to the famous Zenkoji Temple, located in Nagano. 2009 is the year of the Kaicho ceremony, which is held every seven years. The temple has been established for 1,400 years and during Kaicho, you can worship Maetachi Honzon, the substitute for Amitabha Tathagata. Explore the area and drop by a shop which serves delicious oyaki. Nagano's specialty, nozawana, is wrapped in dough and steamed. After this delicious treat, use the free pass and take a 50-minute ride on the JR Iiyama Line to Iiyama, said to be “the small Kyoto of snowy districts”. Iiyama is a castle town linked to the Uesugi Clan, and boasts 20 temples. One such temple is Chuonji, where you can see the Happo Nirami no Ryu, a work of art with 200 years of history. It features a picture of a dragon which meets your gaze, no matter which direction you view it from. If you’re hungry, go to Togari onsen for its famous homemade Shinshu soba. Soba is made by the host who has 20 years of experience. Order Iiyama’s traditional soba, tomikura soba, which is smooth and chewy. And if you order it during Golden Week, you can get tempura for free.

Next, visit the scenic Nanohana Park, where rape blossoms are in full bloom during the Golden Week. You can enjoy a natural view of Japan - mountain ranges and the magnificent Chikuma River – from here. During Golden Week, when the flowers are in bloom, there is a boat service and even a shuttle bus to take visitors to various tourist spots. You can stay the night at a hotel located in Takayama village. Located deep in the mountains, Yamada-kan was founded 200 years ago. The Japanese-style rooms are cosy and there is even a public bath. For dinner, tuck into a seasonal feast comprising 12 dishes. The hotel’s speciality is kotsu-zake of char, where grilled char is soaked in local sake. Other items include aromatic nanban-zuke, Shinshu beef shabu-shabu, and ponzu sauce made of apple. The next morning, take a refreshing open-air bath, before having the hotel’s popular hot miso soup for breakfast. You can get Shinshu miso for free during the Golden Week.

Take the free shuttle bus to a popular sightseeing spot, Obuse, the smallest town in Nagano. The flower town boasts a Floral Garden, and an Open Garden, which is run by the town’s citizens. Colourful flowers are in full bloom during the Golden Week. For lunch, try Obuse’s speciality, kuriokowa – a chestnut rice dish - at a restaurant. Plus, you can get a snack for free during the Golden Week. End your trip of Nagano by visiting the Obuse museum, Nakashima Chinami-kan. This museum exhibits the works of artist Nakajima Chinami, who was born in Obuse.