Japan Travel Tips & Hidden Gems
Recently, I was showing family members who were visiting from abroad around some of the key highlights of the Tohoku region in northern Japan. During our adventures, we stopped by the former samurai town of Kakunodate as well as Akita’s…
Consento (n.)The Japanese word for an electrical outlet. Derived from “concentric plug,” an early type of electrical fitting used in Japan, the term was shortened from consento puragu until consento eventually became the standard word for the receptacle itself. One…
Japan never ceases to amaze me. The more I travel, the more I discover just how deep the proverbial rabbit hole goes when it comes to this amazing country. Just when I think I have seen all I need to…
Let me begin by saying that if you’re here for advice on cycling, where to get a bike rental, etc., you’ve come to the wrong place. While I’ll, of course, touch on these topics in this piece on the famed…
Even over a decade ago, back at the start of Japan’s tourism boom, Nikko was never somewhere one could describe as off the beaten path. While nowhere near as bad as Kyoto or Senso-ji in terms of crowding, this cluster…
It’s no secret that I am in love with Shikoku Island, and one of the many reasons I keep coming back is that it is home to a third of Japan’s 12 remaining original keeps. While reconstructions like Osaka Castle…
If you’re even a little bit interested in Japanese mythology, you’ve definitely heard of the sun goddess Amaterasu Omikami (henceforth just Amaterasu for brevity). The progenitor of the Imperial line, perhaps no deity in the Japanese pantheon is more important…
Nowadays, Nagano Prefecture really needs no introduction. Whether it’s because of the epic Japow found on the slopes of ski resorts like Hakuba or those ever-popular snow monkeys at Snow Monkey Park, Nagano is now a place firmly on the…
Of the 47 prefectures in Japan, somehow Tokushima always manages to rank towards the bottom when it comes to perceived attractiveness. While it doesn’t necessarily come in last place, Tokushima Prefecture usually sits somewhere in the high 40s. This honestly…
“Donated by Minamoto-no-Yoshitsune in the 1100s.” I paused and reread the placard. Here in front of me, in this aging concrete block of a building that also reeked of mildew, was a weapon offered in hopes of securing military success…
As you might imagine, I get asked all the time online where one ought to go in Japan. And as anyone who has done even a little bit of traveling can attest, the question is entirely unactionable. Japan is vast.…
If you’ve spent any time on Japanese social media, you’ve likely seen Kagawa Prefecture’s picturesque shrine. Located in the city of Kan-onji, this Shinto sanctum is well known for its so-called “torii in the sky” that can be seen pictured…
One thousand twenty-two… One thousand twenty-three… How long have I been climbing? I thought to myself as I hauled my aching leg up to the next stone step. It was an early May morning, already warm enough to promise a…
If you speak with any Japanese person for long enough about what makes the country great, praise for Japan’s four seasons inevitably comes up at some point in the conversation. Whether it is wrapped in the framing of food or…
“This article is largely written for me as a public manifesto of what I intend to do with my personal brand, A Different Side of Japan, going forward. However, if you want to learn about my thoughts on travel writing in…