Toyota City, is of course, best known for its eponymous automobile! In fact, the whole of Aichi Prefecture has been flourishing industrially for centuries, be it in cars, ceramics or textiles. Please don’t imagine though that the area is just a mass of smoking factories – Aichi is also full of national parks, castles, ancient shrines and Samurai history, as well as plenty of tech-related attractions (try the Nagoya City Science Museum and the Toyota Automobile Museum!). The prefecture is a fascinating mix of traditional and modern. Located at the centre of Honshu, and therefore the centre of Japan itself, Aichi has always been a pivotal spot between the east of the country and the west and it is also easy to reach from Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto.