Japan Travel Tips & Hidden Gems
This week’s article is going to be a comparatively shorter piece than those I usually put out. Rather than delve into the weeds on some remote area, we’re going to be taking a look at a handy hack that I’ve…
As I sit down to write this, I’m many kilometers up in the sky aboard a Finnair flight bound for Helsinki. For the next few days, I’ll dutifully be escorting a group of Japanese journalists around the Finnish capital. While…
Warning: This post is NOT safe for work! — Donny Kimball “What the HELL am I doing?!?!” I asked myself, looking around at my bizarre surroundings. To my immediate right, a Japanese gentleman was enjoying the sight of his wife…
Lately, I have oddly been bombarded with questions on social media regarding what types of equipment one should bring along when visiting Japan. Honestly, this is one of those topics that you would think has been covered to death by…
It was an early weekday morning and I was on my way to a client meeting. Since I was completely out of cash again, I figured that I ought to fix things with the few spare minutes I had to…
Alright, I’m going to be frank and state that I just really don’t have the free time required to pump out a Japan area guide this week. While I wish this weren’t the case, life occasionally has a way of…
Anyone who has visited Japan before can attest the country has one of the most efficient transportation networks on the planet. This is especially true in the nation’s capital of Tokyo where you can easily get from point A to…
It’s the very beginning of May and for the first time in longer than I can remember, I actually have nothing pressing to do. As I write this, I’m lazily lounging about in one of Tokyo’s many Starbucks. All around…
Today’s post is one of those articles that hits home pretty hard. As anyone who has visited Japan in the past can attest, this country is very much like heaven on earth for tipplers. Regardless of whether it’s 2:00 PM…
If you’ve been dreaming of traveling to Japan, chances are you’ve seen some spectacular imagery. These days, social media is littered with shots of spacious rooms at luxurious ryokan, verdant foliage, exquisite kaiseki ryori course meals, and bullet trains whizzing…
Long time readers may have picked up on this by now but I really loathe covering Japanese festivals on this blog. Blasphemy right? I mean why would anyone be adverse to something so essential to the local culture? As it…
It was a cold, snowy day in February when it finally hit me. How could I have been so oblivious? After all, it was staring me right in the face all along. You see, oftentimes when traveling, I purposely make…
“Wintry wind — passing a man with a swollen face.” — Matsuo Basho If you haven’t already had a chance to experience them first hand, know that Japanese winters can be pretty harsh. While temperatures never reach exactly what I would call frigid over…
If you’re not humble, life will visit humbleness upon you. — Mike Tyson Looking back over things, it was entirely my fault. Just a few days before, I had been violently thrown from my bicycle in Okayama Prefecture. The result was…
Honestly, I shouldn’t have been laughing but I couldn’t help myself. I really do try to sympathize with the plight of visitors traveling abroad in foreign lands. This one, however, was just too comical. You see, right in front of…