Tag Japan How-To’s

I was getting visibly uncomfortable… For several minutes, the museum attendant had been trying to tell a group of tourists in broken English that photos were not allowed. As is sometimes the case, they weren’t having any of it and…

No trip to Japan is complete without sampling the country’s legendary nightlife. From banging nightclubs to hole-in-the-wall style local bars, Japan’s major cities have more than enough to keep you entertained until dawn. In comparison to major cities in the…

Enjoying a Japanese onsen experience is one of my favorite local pastimes. I can truly think of no better way to relax and soak away the stress that accumulates from life and work than a dip in a natural hot…

I visit A LOT of Shinto shrines while gathering content for this blog. From derelict and dilapidated hidden gems to the ultra-famous Fushimi Inari Taisha pictured above, I’ve seen all manner of shapes and sizes. After all, visiting a shrine…

It’s no secret that autumn is my favorite time of year. From the Higanbana (red spider lilies) that flower at places like Kinchakuda Manjushage Park to the last maple leaves, I love all of it. Not only are things cooler…

It’s a common scenario. You’ve just arrived in Japan (or in a new destination) and want to start exploring but it’s still too early to check-in to your hotel or Airbnb. Alternatively, check-out for the previous place was at the…

This week we’re going to take a break from dissecting how to visit Japan’s offbeat tourist destinations. Instead I want to shed some light on a topic I get asked every now and then by both friends in Japan and…

It often seems almost every place in Japan is famous for SOMETHING. Over the years, regional cultural quirks have combined with geographical features to produce a surprisingly wide variety of local specialties. Though many outsiders often mistake Japan as homogeneous,…

“A civilization stands or falls by the degree to which drink has entered the lives of its people, and from that point of view Japan must rank very high among the civilizations of the world.” — Yoshida  Kenichi Booze, hooch, sauce — call…