Home to as many as 300 research institutes and companies that together engage 22,000 researchers, Tsukuba Science City is one of the world's top academic scientific research cities. The "science tour" that makes a round of visits to some of the institutes enjoys high popularity. Visitors to the Tsukuba EXPO Center will find amusement in the planetarium (one of the world's largest) or the full-scale model of a rocket. Getting there: around the Tsukuba Central Bus Terminal

Sailboats on Lake Kasumigaura have become a feature of summer and increasingly popular. From summer to fall, you can tour Lake Kasumigaura - Japan's second- largest lake - on a sailboat that was once used to catch pond smelt. You can take a cruise of Lake Kasumigaura by tour boat from the port of Tsuchiura all year round. Traffic: about 13 minutes' walk from Tsuchiura Station on the JR Joban Line

This mountain is also known as the "Purple Peak of Kanto" because of its color change from dawn to dusk. You can climb the peak easily by ropeway or cable car. On sunny days, Mount Fuji and the full magnificent panorama of the Kanto Plain can be seen from the peak. If you're taking a walk, why not enjoy the natural scenery of strange rocks unique to Mt. Tsukuba, along with flowers and birds, while you climb the mountain at your leisure? Traffic: about 70 minutes from Tsuchiura Station on the JR Joban Line by bus