Japan Travel Tips & Hidden Gems
“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…
Inevitably, I always get asked by people planning trips when the best time to visit Japan is. As someone who loves this country with all of my heart, I can confidently say that there really is no best time to…
Back in my university years, I had a part-time gig to help pay the bills that required me to go to a local community center at the crack of dawn to secure a reservation for fitness classes. Basically, all I…
As late March turns into early April, the main cherry blossom season in Tokyo comes to a close as the final few petals fall from the trees and flutter to the ground. Alas, while this time of the year marks…
The other day, as I was walking to Osaki Station en route to a client meeting as my fractional CMO alter ego, I happened to pass by the cherry blossoms that line the Meguro River. Oddly, they had not yet…
One of the best things about hunting for off the beaten path spots in Japan for this blog is that I’m always stumbling across new and amazing locations. Honestly, it’s quite surprising how much of the country there is that…
Did you ever wonder why the majority of Japan’s cherry blossoms all tend to bloom at the very same time, usually around the end of March or early April? Well, as it turns out, there is actually a very good…
Today, we’re going to be taking a look at Naruto. Not to be confused with the beloved shinobi and Jinchuriki of the Nine Tailed Fox Kurama with the same name, this city in Tokushima Prefecture is famous for raging whirlpools…
Sitting around the sunken irori hearth on the skin of a bear while listening to Oriyama-san talk about the culture of northern Akita’s Matagi hunters, I thought to myself, “This is exactly the side of Japan that I signed up…
You know… Even all these years later, Fukushima continues to get a bad rap due to the earthquake and subsequent tsunami that happened in 2011. Honestly, it breaks my heart whenever someone inevitably shows up in the comment section of…