17. Karuizawa: A Fleeting Summer

Karuizawa, which sits at an altitude of 1,000 meters, was developed as a summer resort after a foreign missionary built his summer cottage there more than a century ago. Other missionaries and moneyed Japanese soon followed, turning Karuizawa into the place to be in summer. Karuizawa continues to enjoy its status is one of the world's leading summer resorts and a destination of choice for millions of Japanese travelers.