Japan Travel Tips & Hidden Gems
Unfortunately, most overseas visitors to Japan only ever experience Nara as a day-long excursion from Osaka or Kyoto. As soon as these travelers arrive in the city, they make a beeline for attractions like Todai-ji’s Daibutsu and the venerable Kasuga…
Recently, I took part in what is locally referred to as a “monitor tour” to assess the viability of a new route that the government and railway companies are considering. The other participants and I started in Tokyo’s Taito Ward…
Japan always manages to surprise me. Every time that I think that I’ve FINALLY crossed an area off of my now 6,000 item-long bucket list, I somehow manage to uncover more allures in the region. For example, I was recently…
A few weeks ago, while browsing the endless list of locales that I want to see in Japan, I realized that I had somehow managed to not feature Gero Onsen. Seeing as it is considered to be one of the…
Today, I’d like to introduce you to Omiwa Shrine, a spiritual sanctuary that has long been on my bucket list. Found in the southern portions of Nara Prefecture, this ancient sepulcher is regularly considered to be Japan’s oldest shrine. The…
“What are you doing tomorrow?” I asked. To be honest, it wasn’t really a question but more of a formality. “Ummm—I have…” she retorted before I cut her off with a definitive “You can do that later. We’re going on…
Anyone who has been following me for a while now will know this already but I absolutely loathe when people harp on about Fukushima. Yes, there was a terrible triple disaster back in 2011. No, the entirety of the prefecture…
Most first-time visitors to Japan default to following what’s often referred to as the Golden Route. Running all the way from Tokyo in the east to Hiroshima in the west, the route includes most of the mainstream attractions, and while…
For the longest time, I’ve been itching to feature Hokkaido on this blog. Alas, the prefecture is just so expansive that I’ve struggled to figure out where to begin. Trying to fit all of Hokkaido into a single article is…
The islands of Okinawa are quickly becoming popular with overseas visitors. And even though Japan is not necessarily known as a beach resort destination, locales like Miyakojima and Ishigaki are making a name for themselves outside the domestic market. And…
For the past month or so, my entire feed on Instagram has been overtaken by red spider lilies. Known in Japanese as manjushage or higanbana (the term that I’ll opt to use from here on out), these flowers are synonymous…
Just recently, I had a harrowing realization while reviewing the locations that I’ve covered here on this blog thus far. Somehow, I had managed to skip featuring Shiga Prefecture’s charming town of Nagahama. Despite spending my most formative years nearby…
Just how many hours had it been since I started making my arduous ascent toward the summit of Mt. Kumotori (lit. “Cloud Catcher Mountain”)? Somewhere along the way, I had switched off the active part of my mind for the…
For someone like myself claiming a serious addiction to Japan, there are countless areas in this amazing country that I treasure. For example, the northern Tohoku region will always hold a special place in my heart. Home to sacred sites…
Ever since I started producing travel content in 2016 (and indeed even before that), I have wanted to check out Wakayama Prefecture’s three ancient Kumano shrines. Allegedly dating back to before the founding of the Yamato polity and the imperial…