This remote island south of Kyushu is as wet and wild as it gets in Japan.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Yakushima is just 25km in diametre and covered in temperate ancient forest and towering waterfalls. Its beaches are nesting grounds for sea turtles, wild monkeys wander along the limited roads and outdoor onsen are nestled in rocks by the ocean.

At 2300 square kilometres, this is Japan's largest national park - a wilderness area packed to the majestic snow-capped mountain peaks with dense forest, meadows, gorges, lakes, volcanoes and onsen to escape the bone-chilling cold.

Daisetsuzan translates as 'great snowy mountains' and Hokkaido's highest peak (2290 metres) - Mount Asahi - is here. The area is a playground for hikers and skiers as well as the occasional brown bear.

Often referred to as the 'Tibet of Japan', this remote and misty valley is in the mountainous centre of the island of Shikoku.

Thatch-roofed cottages, Buddhist temples and outdoor hot springs dot steep mountainsides covered in green tea plantations. A raging river runs through deep gorges and beneath ancient, twisting vine bridges.