Japan Travel Tips & Hidden Gems
“Why the hell am I watching Initial D… On TikTok of all place!?!?” I was 45 minutes into a rather bad doom scroll, and the Algorithm Allfather had somehow decided that I was into an anime about car racing (I…
Just as is the case with the cherry blossoms, Japan has a lot of amazing locations for the hydrangea season. Over the years, I’ve been to many of the popular spots like Kamakura’s Meigetsu-in, but few places can compare with…
Ever since first reading the Japanese historical novelist Yoshikawa Eiji’s book Musashi, I’ve had a bit of an obsession with Japan’s most notorious swordsman. Known to history as Miyamoto Musashi, this famed fencer from the early days of the Edo…
Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock lately, you’ve probably already heard that Japan has a bit of an overtourism problem. As you might imagine, the issue is especially prevalent in the big cities, with Kyoto in particular bearing much…
For the past year, I’ve been working with the Setouchi DMO to help promote the region internationally via the press and on social media. Over the many moons that we’ve collaborated together, I’ve learned a great deal about this amazing…
Today, I’d like to talk to you about Kumano — no, not that Kumano in Wakayama. Instead, this time, we’re going to look at the sleepy town of Kumano in Hiroshima Prefecture. Likely, most of you have never heard of this hamlet…
More and more, the prefecture of Okayama is starting to pop up on the radars of international visitors to Japan. Conveniently located on the way to Hiroshima, it seems many more people are getting wise to why one might want…
For the longest time, I thought that I was cursed by Okayama Prefecture. After all, I had good reason for this belief. Until recently, every single time that I visited the prefecture, Okayama somehow found some way to almost kill…
It’s been more than a decade since the triple disasters of 2011 wreaked havoc on Japan’s Tohoku region. Even today, many people still fear traveling to Fukushima Prefecture due to some ill-formed notion that they’d be at risk of radiation…
Last year, while escorting a few journalists from the UK as part of my ongoing work with the Setouchi DMO, I had the chance to finally visit the impressive Kosan-ji temple complex. Located along the Shimanami Kaido on the island…
If you pay attention to Instagram at all, chances are you’ve already seen shots of the annual Kawazu Cherry Blossom Festival floating around online. Generally running from mid-February to early March, this celebration is a herald of what comes later…
Despite being just around 40 minutes to the south of Kansai International Airport, too few foreign tourists ever make it down to Wakayama City. Truth be told, until recently, even I was among the ranks of those who had yet…
If you spend any time at all browsing Instagram for wintertime Japan travel content, you’ve likely come across the Zao Fox Village during a doom scroll. Located in Shiroishi City on the Miyagi side of Mt. Zao, this gem up…
Welcome back to another installment of Backyard Tourism. If this is your first time reading one of these articles, know that the goal of this ongoing series is to take places that no one knows about and show how storytelling…
In terms of inbound tourism, Shimane is already a prefecture well off the beaten path. Though it does attract some international visitors thanks to the presence of the venerable Izumo Taisha, Shimane’s charms are worlds away from the overcrowded streets…