Japan Travel Tips & Hidden Gems
“This article is largely written for me as a public manifesto of what I intend to do with my personal brand, A Different Side of Japan, going forward. However, if you want to learn about my thoughts on travel writing in…
If you haven’t seen the headlines already, the government just announced that 2025 saw an estimated record of 42.7 million tourists. This new all-time high brought in a whopping 9.5 trillion yen in revenue, which is a significant boon to…
Just recently, I landed back in Japan after a few weeks reconnecting with the last remnants of family that I still have in the States. After arriving and smoothly making my way through customs without an overly aggressive agent grilling…
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…
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…
“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…
The topic of today’s article is one that has recently emerged from the zeitgeist of the online world. You see, as I was pondering where to write about for this week’s article, I happened to see a notification on Threads…
“The only way out is through…” — Jordan B. Peterson “Hold up, has it really already been almost a year?” I thought to myself as I looked down at the calendar, bewildered. Seemingly in the blink of an eye, it was…
Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you’ve likely heard about Japan’s ongoing struggles with overtourism. Spurred on by favorable exchange rates and an ever-growing popularity, Japan is being besieged by legions of international visitors. While these tourism yennies are…
Whelp… another 365 days have passed. It’s hard to believe that I am now already 38! Where the hell did the time go? Despite traveling 3–4 days out of every week, I’ve barely made a dent in my ever-growing bucket…
As I write this, I am on a limited express train heading down from Nagoya to Toba for my 4th meal with the ama divers of Mie Prefecture. Due to escorting some family around (who were unable to visit for…
Disclaimer: This is not financial advice… — Donny Kimball It was the summer of 2021 and somehow Cheesie and I found ourselves down in Kamakura for the hydrangeas. At the time, I was just transitioning out of my role as…
Now that I have your collective attention with a sucker punch title like that, allow me to now state that we will no longer be using the term “mummy” for the rest of the article. While I mean no offense…
For the past several years, I’ve always published some random musings on my birthday. Seeing as I am now, as of today, again an older man (37 years old if you’re wondering), I figured that I might as well continue…
As of this writing, it’s the first week of 2022. That means that we’re quickly coming up on the two year mark since foreign tourists have been prohibited from entering Japan. Seeing as I am a writer who has the…