Verhalen & lijsten

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Reisverhalen, samengestelde lijsten en eerlijke kijk op Japan, van iemand die steeds terug blijft gaan.

Pizza at Pizza Studio Tamaki (PST Higashi-Azabu), Tokyo
Lijst

De beste pizza van Tokio: 11 pizzeria's op de wereldranglijst

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.

8 min lezen
Kyoto in 2 dagen: een route die de tourbussen verslaat
Reisroute

Kyoto in 2 dagen: een route die de tourbussen verslaat

A 2 day Kyoto itinerary timed around the crowds: Fushimi Inari at dawn, bamboo before 8am, Gion at lantern hour. With budgets and quiet swaps.

2 min lezen
Tokio in 3 dagen: een route die de drukte voorblijft
Reisroute

Tokio in 3 dagen: een route die de drukte voorblijft

A 3 day Tokyo itinerary sequenced around the crowds: Senso-ji at dawn, Meiji Jingu at opening, Skytree at dusk. With budgets, tips and quiet swaps.

3 min lezen
Museums in Tokyo, from the national collection to digital art
Lijst

De beste musea van Tokio

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

10 min lezen
Beaches in Okinawa, from the main island to the outer islands
Lijst

De mooiste stranden van 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.

9 min lezen
Eating around Shinjuku Station, Tokyo
Lijst

De beste 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.

10 min lezen
Eating in Shibuya, Tokyo, from standing counters to a one-star kitchen
Lijst

De beste restaurants van 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.

12 min lezen
Wagyu beef in Tokyo, from yakiniku charcoal to teppanyaki
Lijst

Beste wagyu in Tokio: welk format je boekt, en waar

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.

10 min lezen
Beaches in Japan, from Iwate coves to subtropical sand
Lijst

De 11 mooiste stranden van 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.

9 min lezen
Tokyo coffee, from Showa-era kissaten to third-wave roasters
Lijst

De beste koffiezaken en cafés van Tokio

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.

9 min lezen
Tokyo bar counters, from Ginza cocktails to a Golden Gai stool
Lijst

De beste bars van Tokio

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.

9 min lezen
Japanese souvenirs worth the suitcase space
Lijst

De beste souvenirs uit 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.

15 min lezen
Tokyo in oktober: wat je kunt verwachten en waarom het loont
Ervaring

Tokyo in oktober: wat je kunt verwachten en waarom het loont

Tokyo in oktober: 17–25°C, weinig drukte, het Kawagoe-festival en vroege herfstkleur in de parken. Wat je krijgt, wat je mist en hoe je plant.

8 min lezen
Dagtrips vanuit Osaka: 8 uitstapjes (waarvan 3 die niemand noemt)
Lijst

Dagtrips vanuit Osaka: 8 uitstapjes (waarvan 3 die niemand noemt)

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.

9 min lezen
De beste dagtrips vanuit Tokio: de keuzegids
Lijst

De beste dagtrips vanuit Tokio: de keuzegids

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

11 min lezen
Beste sushi in Tokio: van kaitenzushi voor een habbekrats tot de toonbanken van Ginza
Lijst

Beste sushi in Tokio: van kaitenzushi voor een habbekrats tot de toonbanken van Ginza

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

4 min lezen
Lopende band sushi in Japan: de complete beginnersgids voor kaitenzushi
Ervaring

Lopende band sushi in Japan: de complete beginnersgids voor kaitenzushi

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

4 min lezen
Gion Matsuri: Kyoto's maandlange zomerfestival
Ervaring

Gion Matsuri: Kyoto's maandlange zomerfestival

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.

5 min lezen
Koyasan, Japan: hoe een nacht in een boeddhistische tempel echt is
Ervaring

Koyasan, Japan: hoe een nacht in een boeddhistische tempel echt is

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.

9 min lezen
Tokyo sushi omakase — chef plating nigiri at a counter, single piece on a wooden board
Lijst

Beste sushi omakase in Tokio

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.

9 min lezen
Tokyo street food — Tsukiji morning market, Ameyoko alley at dusk, depachika basement
Lijst

Tokio 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.

9 min lezen
Osaka food guide — Dotonbori neon, takoyaki griddle, kushikatsu skewers, Kuromon market
Lijst

Waar eten 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.

8 min lezen
Kyoto Michelin restaurants — kaiseki tatami room with seasonal courses, garden view
Lijst

Michelin-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.

8 min lezen
Tokyo Michelin restaurants — sushi counter, kaiseki tatami, French open kitchen, yakitori grill
Lijst

Michelin-restaurants in Tokio

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.

10 min lezen
Tokyo yakitori — chicken skewers over charcoal, counter omakase
Lijst

De beste yakitori van Tokio

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.

7 min lezen
Tokyo izakaya — counter drinks, sashimi platter, yakitori smoke, yokocho alley
Lijst

De beste izakaya van Tokio

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

8 min lezen
Kyoto kaiseki — Hyotei, Kikunoi, Kitcho Arashiyama tatami room with seasonal dishes
Lijst

De beste kaiseki van Kyoto

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

7 min lezen
Five cheap Japanese chain restaurants — gyudon, udon, conveyor sushi, Italian
Lijst

De 5 goedkoopste restaurantketens in Japan

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

8 min lezen
Tokyo ramen — tsukemen, shio, tantanmen across six neighbourhoods
Lijst

De beste ramen van Tokio

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

9 min lezen
Tokyo sushi — counter, omakase, fresh fish
Lijst

De beste sushi in Tokio

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.

5 min lezen
Kyoto food — kaiseki, yudofu, machiya
Lijst

Waar eten in Kyoto

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

5 min lezen
Tokyo food — ramen counter, yakitori smoke, sushi conveyor
Lijst

Waar eten in Tokio

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

8 min lezen
Bowl of Fuji Ramen Masterpiece tonkotsu — pale silky broth, shredded cabbage, chashu, marinated egg, nori
Lijst

De beste ramen van Asakusa

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

5 min lezen
Mountain mist over a traditional Japanese village
Lijst

10 verborgen-parel bestemmingen in Japan die de omweg waard zijn

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

2 min lezen
Forest temple steps surrounded by autumn maple foliage in red and gold
Ervaring

Herfst in Kansai: drie dagen, één zonsopkomst, tweeënveertig esdoorns

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.

3 min lezen
Cherry blossoms over a traditional Japanese garden
Lijst

Waar heen in Japan in 2026: een uitgesproken lijst

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

2 min lezen
Illuminated Tokyo Skytree above Asakusa rooftops
Ervaring

Een jaar Japan: wat ik leerde in 12 maanden reizen

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

3 min lezen