Japan Travel Tips & Hidden Gems
As most overseas tourists are already aware, the peak bloom for Japan’s cherry blossoms typically falls in late March or early April for places like Tokyo. However, this timeframe applies primarily to the Somei Yoshino variety of cherry blossoms. What…
These days, more and more, overseas visitors to Japan are starting to realize that Okayama Prefecture is actually one of the easiest additions to any standard itinerary that includes Hiroshima. Thanks to this, Okayama Castle and the lovely gardens of…
While it’s true that Yokohama is indeed getting a bit more popular than it used to be, in many ways, the city is still something of a hidden gem. You see, despite being under half an hour away from Tokyo…
Today, we’ll be taking a look at Hokkaido’s city of Asahikawa. Located in the middle of this massive prefecture, Asahikawa is officially Hokkaido’s second-largest city. Though not as well known as Sapporo, the capital city of Hokkaido, Asahikawa still boasts…
“I feel uncertain as the days pile on, and yet, I think of crossing the Shirakawa Barrier.” — Matsuo Basho Alright, confession time folks. For a good while now, I have wanted to revisit the lovely area of Kawaguchiko (lit. “Lake…
By now, I think I’ve said this more times than I care to count, but there is simply so much more to Hiroshima Prefecture than most people realize. You see, far too many overseas visitors only ever stop by the…
Recently, I took a group of my fellow content creators up to Hokkaido to visit the luxury resort Muwa Niseko. Located in Hokkaido’s skiing capital, this amazing facility is one that I’ve been supporting as a consultant this year regarding…
Since Japan became one of the hottest travel destinations in the world, the collection of shrines and temples in the Nikko area has skyrocketed in popularity. Awarded the honor of being a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999, landmarks like…
In late 2024, I had the chance to visit Nihonmatsu in Fukushima Prefecture as part of a government initiative to encourage more tourists heading to Tohoku to stop by along the way. Truth be told, until this opportunity came up,…
You know, somehow, I completely neglected to do an Aomori area guide thus far. Though I did indeed cover a lot of what the city has to offer in my article about autumn in the prefecture, I guess I just…
For some time now, I’ve been escaping to Chiba Prefecture whenever I needed a break from the madness. Most famously, the seaside town of Katsuura saved me from complete and utter burnout back in 2022, and ever since, Chiba has…
These days, popular spots in Kyoto, such as Arashiyama and Kiyomizu-dera, have succumbed so badly to overtourism that they’re hardly recognizable anymore. Though this was already becoming an issue prior to the pandemic, these places have now reached a point…
One period of Japanese history that has always fascinated me is the unraveling of the Tokugawa shogunate’s hegemony during the mid-1800s. Known now as the Bakumatsu, this historical arc contains so much action that it would be difficult to even…
When I originally published my in-depth primer on Akita Prefecture, I thought I had covered it all. Alas, as is always the case with Japan, no endeavor to thoroughly introduce a place is ever fully complete. In my foolishness, I…
The city of Shimonoseki has LONG been on my bucket list, but for one reason or another, it took me forever to finally get there. As you’ll understand after reading this article, I’m quite ashamed to admit that I should…