VerifiedOnsen温泉
Yunohira Onsen
Gifu, Shirotori · 湯の平温泉
秘境Hidden spots · across Japan
The places thatnever makethe guidebooks.
A hand-picked guide to the Japan that guidebooks skip: mountain onsen, eight-seat bars, workshops still run by one family, shrines with no queue. Every place is chosen by us.
Verified means we've been there and know it's great.
Scouted is somewhere we've researched and want to visit and share.
Coming soon
Coming soonApp coming soon · Shirotori, around our lodge, stays free
“Check out our Shirotori list for free in the meantime.” - Liam
秘密
- 県 Prefectures covered
- 2
- 選 Every place chosen
- By hand
- 広 Sponsored listings
- 0
- 圏 Maps travel with you
- Offline
and increasing by the day
名所What's inside
Millions pass by. A handful stop here.
No aggregated ratings, no sponsored placements, no restaurant that paid to be first. Every place is there because we chose it, not because someone paid for it.
Verified
VerifiedRestaurant食
Badu
Kyoto, Sakyo
VerifiedShrine神社
Miwa Shrine
Gifu, Shirotori · 三輪神社
VerifiedCoffee喫茶
Mo-an
Kyoto, Yoshida-yama · 茂庵
VerifiedCraft工芸
Glass Roots
Gifu, Shirotori · グラスルーツ
VerifiedBar酒場
L'Escamoteur
Kyoto · レスカモトゥール
続
And the collection keeps growing.
Sorted by prefecture and by what you said you'd travel for. Know somewhere that belongs in here? We'd genuinely like to hear it.
選定How places get in
We'd rather tell you what we don't know yet.
Most travel guides present every recommendation with the same confidence. We don't.
Every place is clearly labelled so you know whether we've visited it ourselves or whether it's still on our own list to explore.
済
Verified
We've been there. We'd happily send a friend.
Every Verified place has been visited by us and met our standards. We'd love you to visit it and enjoy it too.
未
Scouted
It looks genuinely worth the trip. We just haven't been yet.
These places are selected through our own research and are places we'd personally like to visit. Once we've been, they're either promoted to Verified, or quietly removed if they don't live up to expectations.
限
Carefully curated, never endless.
We deliberately keep every Verified collection focused.
Rather than trying to list everything, we aim to include only the places we'd genuinely recommend. As a guide grows, we'll create new collections instead of endlessly expanding existing ones.
That might mean:
- Kyoto City and Kyoto Prefecture become separate collections.
- East Tokyo and West Tokyo replace a single Tokyo guide.
- Or we'll publish More Secret Spots as we discover enough places that deserve their own collection in a given area.
The goal is simple: every collection should stay focused enough that you could realistically explore it, rather than becoming another endless directory.
分類Whatever you're looking for
Explore by category.
Sometimes you're searching for a café. Sometimes it's a mountain view. Use category filters to focus on what interests you, or browse everything at once.
食 Restaurant温泉 Onsen景色 Viewpoint神社 Shrine工芸 Craft喫茶 Coffee酒場 Bar自然 Nature美術 Museum体験 Activity
使い方How it works
Built for the trip, not the scroll.
01地図
Open the map
Every spot we have, pinned where it actually is. Filter by prefecture, by category, or by what is within reach of where you are standing.
02保存
Save it for later
Found your spot? Save it for reference for your next trip and build your own collection of places to explore.
03圏外
Go offline
Download a region before you travel. Rural Japan loses signal long before it runs out of things worth seeing.
信条How we work
Three promises.
- 信
Not funded by advertisers.
Nothing on the map is there because someone bought the slot. If this ever costs money it will be you paying us, never a venue paying to be listed.
- 私
We do not sell or share your behaviour. Ever.
No ad SDKs, no data brokers, no third-party analytics following you around. Your saved spots are yours.
- 足
We tell you which ones we have been to.
Every place is labelled Verified or Scouted. Nothing is dressed up as first-hand experience when it is research.
開放Coming soon
The app is on its way.
Secret Spots is still finding its feet. The iOS and Android apps are not in the stores yet.
When they are, Shirotori in Gifu — the area around Yamaneko Lodge — will stay free. That is the collection we live in, and the one we want everyone to be able to use.
Until then, the Google Maps lists we already share are Secret Spots Shirotori and Shirotori Wishlist. Questions: liam@neko-logic.com.
- Shirotori, around Yamaneko Lodge in Gifu, stays free
- Every place labelled Verified or Scouted
- Save spots for your next trip
- Download regions before you travel
- New places added as we find them
- No ads, no sponsored listings, no tracking
開
What it costs
Free in Shirotori
Gujo-Shirotori, around Yamaneko Lodge, is the collection we will give away. We are not asking for card details. Other regions may be paid collections later; we will say so clearly before anything costs money.
Paid collections or a subscription may come later to fund research, content and new places. If and when that happens we'll say so clearly and well in advance. Shirotori stays free.
宿If you're going
Looking for somewhere to stay?
The app is a guide, not a booking site. We're starting in Shirotori, Gifu, around the lodge we live in, and we keep two places of our own: that mountain house, and a camper that leaves from Kyoto.
Shirotori, Gifu宿
Yamaneko Lodge
山猫ロッジ
A restored wooden house beside a mountain stream. Sleeps nine, with a wood stove, a deep bath, and the ski slopes twenty-five minutes away. We live upstairs.
See the lodge
From Kyoto車
Neko Van
ネコバン
A family camper for taking the trip at your own pace. Sleeps five, with a real kitchen. Drive it on an ordinary licence, and wake up wherever looks best.
See the van工房Who makes this
A passion project from a studio in Kyoto.
Nekologic is a software studio in Kyoto. We normally build software, games and digital experiences for clients around the world. Secret Spots is something a little different: a passion project born from exploring Japan and sharing the places we think are genuinely worth discovering.
Secret Spots is an ongoing project, and we expect the collection to grow and improve. The goal is a trusted set of places we'd happily send our own friends and family to.
More about Nekologic共
Tell us what we've missed
If you spot something wrong, have a suggestion, or know somewhere that deserves to be in here, we'd love to hear about it. A bar with six seats, a workshop, a view you had all to yourself.
liam@neko-logic.comThank you for trying Secret Spots. We hope it helps you find somewhere memorable.
質問Questions
A few things first.
Every place is chosen by us and clearly labelled. Verified means we've been there and would happily send a friend. Scouted means it looks genuinely worth the trip: we just haven't been yet. Once we go, a Scouted place is either promoted to Verified, or quietly removed if it doesn't live up to expectations.
行
Go somewhere they haven't queued for.
The app is coming soon. Until then, Secret Spots Shirotori and Shirotori Wishlist are the lists around our lodge. Write to liam@neko-logic.com if you need us.
Coming soonComing soon