Japan Travel Tips & Hidden Gems
“What the hell am I doing?!? This is absolutely crazy…” I thought to myself as I glanced down at the time. It was only 8:00 AM and I had already been traveling on a northward bound bullet train for over…
Hey there reader! Welcome back to another round of off the beaten path travel. In this article, we’ll be taking a look at the beachside town of Hayama. Located southeast of the ever-popular tourist area of Kamakura on the Miura…
“While this article was originally written during the pandemic, all of the locations and information featured are still valid…” — Donny Kimball Fellow travelers, I have some great news! I am finally back on the road again! I’m still playing things relatively…
These days, just about everyone under the sun knows of Kyoto’s eternally popular Fushimi Inari Taisha. With its endless series of vermilion torii gates, a shot at this location for the Gram is basically a must-do when visiting Japan’s former…
“While this article was originally written during the pandemic, all of the locations and information featured are still valid…” — Donny Kimball Welcome back to another installment in my ongoing Backyard Tourism series. Presently, as I write this, the world is still…
Note: This article was first written during the early months of the pandemic. The info about the destination is still solid though…. — Donny Kimball As I write this article, it’s the tail end of May 2020. Currently, Tokyo and the last…
If you’ve spent any time on the Gram and follow accounts related to Japan, chances are high that you’ve seen the topic of today’s article at one point or another. Known as Gotoku-ji, this quaint temple is famous online for…
Strange as this may sound, one of the most difficult challenges I contend with is figuring out how to explain that this site is actually not a real business. As I outlined in my controversial Rejecting My Ikigai piece, I’ve…
Ibaraki gets a bit of a bad rap both overseas and in Japan. You see, though the prefecture is indeed home to a wide selection of great allures, there’s nothing that is so iconic that it entirely justifies a visit…
It’s a cool spring evening and all of the families (who should be staying home as the governor of Tokyo has requested) have departed Tennozu Isle. Left alone with nothing but my own thoughts, I’m overcome by a profound sense…
“While this article was originally written during the pandemic, all of the locations and information featured are still valid…” — Donny Kimball Greetings readers! I hope you’re all safe and staying sane. As I write this, most of the world is currently…
For the longest time, I thought that I had already explored all the treasures Kanagawa has to offer. Conveniently situated just to the south of Tokyo, my trips to the prefecture over the years are too numerous to count. So,…
Note: This article was first written during the early months of the pandemic. The info about the destination is still solid though…. — Donny Kimball As I sit down to write this article in early April 2020, Tokyo is on the verge…
Welcome back to yet another installment of my in-depth area guides for Japan’s hidden gems. In today’s article, we’ll be taking a look at Fukui Prefecture. Lovingly referred to as “Dinosaur Country” by members of the expat community (more on…
When writing articles about area guides for Japan, I make every attempt to cover the entire prefecture when possible. Sure, some locations like Kanagawa are never going to fit within the confines of a single piece (hell, Kamakura and Hakone…