Japan Travel Tips & Hidden Gems
FAM Tour (n.)Short for “familiarization tour.” A complimentary and often financially incentivized trip organized by a destination, DMO, or tourism bureau to acquaint professionals such as travel agents, influencers, bloggers, and journalists with what the region has to offer. As…
Oftentimes, I say on social media that I need many lifetimes just for Japan. In fact, I doubt that even 10,000 years would be enough to see it all. And even then, by the time a hundred centuries pass, there…
Last week, when writing about Takasaki City in Gunma Prefecture, I referenced Ikaho Onsen a number of times. After hitting publish, though, I realized that I never actually wrote an article on this traditional onsen town. While I have prior…
Nowadays, thanks to the likes of Kusatsu Onsen and other Instagrammable hot springs, Gunma Prefecture shows up on the digital radar of overseas visitors far more often than it used to in years gone by. Still, many people who come…
“Why are there so many f@$#ing dudes here today…?” I thought to myself one Sunday night as I surveyed the sea of shlongs that had invaded Matsuri-no-Yu, a hot spring on top of Seibu-Chichibu Station. For years now, this onsen…
I’ll be honest with you, both on this blog and in real life, I rarely, if ever, venture into the realm of politics. At the end of the day, there are just too many things already on my plate that…
When most people think of Hiroshima, they conjure up images of the Atomic Bomb Dome or the iconic “floating” torii gate of Itsukushima Shrine. Alas, there is so much more to the prefecture than just these mainstays. In fact, unbeknownst…
Rather than take a look at one of the countless hidden gems in Japan as we usually do, this week, I want to zoom out and discuss why one ought to, or even needs to, get off the beaten path…
The area around Japan’s Seto Inland Sea is one of my favorite parts of the country. Home to thousands of islands, this beautiful body of water belies many secrets and hidden gems. Few of them, though, can hold a candle…
When it comes to Japan’s bloody Warring States period (1467–1600), no conflict looms larger than the Battle of Sekigahara. Fought on a misty morning on October 21, 1600, this pivotal clash marked the culmination of decades of political chaos and…
Today folks, we are going to talk about Takamatsu City. Formerly a castle town found on the northeastern part of Shikoku, one of Japan’s four main islands, Takamatsu used to be the main gateway port from Honshu before the construction…
Buckle up, everyone. Today, we’re diving into a group I’ve been itching to feature on this blog for what feels like forever. Known today as the Murakami Suigun, this band of seafaring warlords were basically Japan’s answer to pirate lords,…
When I started making content online all those years ago, one of the goals I set for myself was to visit each and every one of Japan’s 47 prefectures. I had originally planned to complete the list by the end…
“Kitanai naaaa, omae,” a Japanese salaryman scowled at me, glaring with the lifeless eyes of a dead fish. I had just left the convenience store outside Asakusa Station and was parting ways with a family member staying at one of…
When it comes to Miyazaki, few places are more iconic than Takachiho. Tucked away in the northernmost part of the prefecture, deep in the central mountains of Kyushu, this area is home to legendary sites like Takachiho Gorge and Amano…