Interests

Yokai culture in Japan: where to find it as a traveler

Sushi in Japan

From a few hundred yen at a conveyor belt to a 30,000 yen omakase, sushi in Japan is a spectrum. Seven forms explained, plus how to pick the right room.

Autumn Leaves (Koyo)

Koyo runs six weeks, sweeping from Hokkaido in late September to Kyushu in early December. Pick your week, then pick the latitude to match.

Cherry Blossoms (Sakura)

Sakura peaks for five days per region and drifts from Kyushu in late March to Hokkaido in early May. How to read the JMA forecast and book smart.

Japanese Culture

Sumo six times a year, kabuki most months in Tokyo and Kyoto, tea ceremony classes daily. What to book ahead and what to walk into without a plan.

Japanese Food

Tokyo leads in Michelin stars, Osaka in street food, Hokkaido in seafood. Match the city to the dish rather than chasing famous names.

Golden Week

Seven to ten consecutive holidays, tripled hotel prices, and sold-out Shinkansen. Book six months ahead or skip Kyoto and Hakone entirely.

Japanese Nature

Three-quarters of Japan is forested mountain. The transit network reaches deep enough for a serious day-trip from Tokyo or Kyoto without a car.

Snow in Japan

Hokkaido and Niigata catch 5-10 metres per winter. Niseko powder, Hakuba's Olympic valley, snow monkeys, Shirakawa-go light-ups and ryokan onsen.

Temples and Shrines

Japan has roughly 80,000 temples and 80,000 shrines. Here is how to tell them apart, what the rituals mean, and which ones are worth the detour.

Year-Round Japan

Sakura gets ten weeks of attention. The other 42 are quietly excellent: winter onsen, early-summer hiking, year-round festivals, and weatherproof cities.

Japanese Festivals (Matsuri)

Japan's matsuri month by month: yatai floats, hanabi, dance festivals, snow lanterns. When to go, and how to attend without getting it wrong.

Onsen

Japan has more than 27,000 hot-spring sources across 3,000 onsen towns. Six-step etiquette, the real tattoo policy, and five regions to start with.

Best pizza in Tokyo

Tokyo holds the top two spots in 50 Top Pizza Asia-Pacific. The best pizza in Tokyo, from a 400 yen slice to an eight-course Neapolitan counter.

Best museums in Tokyo

The best museums in Tokyo, with the Monday closures and timed tickets that wreck itineraries. From the national collection to a free cabinet of curiositie

Best beaches in Okinawa

The best beaches in Okinawa, sorted by whether you can drive, need a ferry or need a second flight. With swimming seasons and the jellyfish-net dates.

Best restaurants in Shinjuku

The best restaurants in Shinjuku, sorted by district and station exit. A 990 yen Michelin lunch, Omoide Yokocho eel and a depachika dinner.

Best restaurants in Shibuya

The best restaurants in Shibuya, laddered by price from a sub-1,000 yen counter to a one-star kitchen. Where to eat instead of the chains by the crossing.

Best wagyu in Tokyo: which format to book, and where

The best wagyu in Tokyo starts with the format, not the restaurant. Yakiniku, teppanyaki, sukiyaki and steak compared, with 11 rooms from 790 yen upward.

Best beaches in Japan

The best beaches in Japan run from Iwate to the subtropics. Eleven picks, and the eight-week swimming season that governs every one of them.

Best coffee shops and cafes in Tokyo

The best coffee in Tokyo runs on two cultures: Showa-era kissaten and third-wave roasters. Eleven picks, their unwritten rules and what a cup costs.

Best bars in Tokyo

The best bars in Tokyo, from world-ranked cocktail counters to a 490 yen standing sake bar. Plus the seat charges and booking rules nobody warns you about.

Best souvenirs from Japan

The best souvenirs from Japan and the shops that sell them properly. Knives, matcha, stationery and sake, plus the tax-free rules changing in 2026.

Tokyo in October: what to expect, what to do, and why it's worth it

Day trips from Osaka: 8 escapes (including 3 nobody else lists)

Kyoto, Nara and Himeji plus five quieter picks: a mountain with 30,000 cherry trees, Japan's best Edo merchant quarter, and a UNESCO cedar-stair shrine.

Best day trips from Tokyo: the decision guide

Nikko, Kamakura and Hakone, each paired with a crowd-free alternative that scratches the same itch. Choose in thirty seconds, not thirty minutes.

Best sushi in Tokyo: where to eat, from ¥1 belts to Ginza counters

From Uobei's tablet-order conveyor belt and Katsu Midori to Toyosu market counters and an approachable Ginza classic. Ten picks, cheapest first.

Conveyor belt sushi in Japan: a first-timer's guide to kaitenzushi

How kaitenzushi works: touch-screen ordering, plate-colour prices, and where to find the best conveyor belt sushi spots in Tokyo.

Gion Matsuri: Kyoto's Month-Long Summer Festival

Kyoto's oldest festival runs all of July, not just the 17th parade. The lantern-lit yoiyama evenings are quieter and often the better reason to come.

Koyasan, Japan: what a night in a Buddhist temple is actually like

What a shukubo stay at 800m actually involves: a 6am goma fire ceremony, shojin ryori dinner, and Okunoin cemetery after the day-trip crowds have gone.

Best Sushi Omakase in Tokyo

Six omakase counters from a ¥6,000 lunch to Ginza's top tables. What omakase means, how booking works, and which counters are actually gettable.

Tokyo Street Food

Tsukiji at 07:00, Asakusa midday, Ameyoko at dusk, plus depachika basement halls. Six walks from famous to locals-only, with cash and timing notes.

Where to Eat in Osaka

Takoyaki at Aizuya, okonomiyaki at Mizuno, kushikatsu at Daruma Shinsekai, Kuromon Market at dawn, and kappo counter-kaiseki, mostly at half Tokyo prices.

Michelin Star Restaurants in Kyoto

Kyoto's 2025 guide lists 93 starred restaurants, dominated by kaiseki. Seven picks across three tiers, from 3-star Hyotei to a 1-star Gion sushi counter.

Michelin Star Restaurants in Tokyo

Tokyo leads the world with 170 starred restaurants. Eight picks across 3-star, 2-star and 1-star tiers, plus Bib Gourmand under ¥6,000 and how to book.

The Best Yakitori in Tokyo

From Torikizoku's ¥328 skewers to the Michelin counters at Birdland Ginza and Torishiki Meguro. Tare vs shio, chicken-part vocabulary and how to order.

The Best Izakaya in Tokyo

Where Tokyo actually drinks after work: four izakaya worth the trip, plus how to walk Omoide Yokocho, Golden Gai and Ebisu Yokocho.

The Best Kaiseki in Kyoto

Hyotei, Kikunoi, Kitcho and two more Michelin-starred kaiseki rooms, plus the lunch trick that cuts the price by 40 to 60 percent.

The 5 Cheapest Chain Restaurants in Japan

Matsuya breakfast, Yoshinoya gyudon, Marugame udon, Kura Sushi conveyor and the Saizeriya wildcard. Plus a plain guide to surviving the ticket machine.

Best Ramen in Tokyo

Six Tokyo ramen counters eaten over three days: Fuunji's tsukemen, Nakiryu's Michelin tantanmen, and an honest Ichiran vs Ippudo answer.

Best Sushi in Tokyo

Six picks across three tiers: ¥90-per-piece standing bars near Tsukiji, an Akasaka omakase counter, and the three-Michelin room you can't easily book.

Where to Eat in Kyoto

Kikunoi kaiseki, Tousuiro yudofu, Pontocho obanzai, Nishiki Market at opening. Lunch at a kaiseki house costs half the dinner price.

Where to Eat in Tokyo

Eight cuisines, four chains, five neighbourhoods. From Fuunji tsukemen to depachika bento marked down at 19:30, with queues mapped.

The Best Ramen in Asakusa

Five minutes off Nakamise-dori, past the tourist tempura: Fuji Ramen, Yoroiya, Yukikage, Hayashida and Bibi, with what to order at each.

10 Hidden-Gem Destinations in Japan Worth the Detour

Takayama sake breweries, Onomichi's cat-filled temple walk, Kanazawa's geisha districts: ten places past the standard Tokyo-Kyoto loop.

Autumn in Kansai: Three Days, One Sunrise, Forty-Two Maple Trees

Three days chasing maple peak through Kyoto and Nara, plus the lesson that the official koyo forecast runs 48-72 hours behind reality every single year.

Where to Go in Japan in 2026: An Opinionated List

Five places noticeably better than three years ago, including Kanazawa after the Hokuriku Shinkansen extension, and three now worth deliberately skipping.

A Year of Japan: What I Learned in 12 Months of Trips

Three trips across March, August and November: why Kyoto in cherry blossom season disappointed, and what to book differently next time.