Planning your trip
10-Day First-Time Japan Itinerary
A real 10-day first-time Japan itinerary, written by someone who's lived here for over a decade. Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto, Nara, Hiroshima — with practical bookings, transport, and timing.
First Trip to Japan: Mistakes to Avoid
The most common mistakes for a first trip to Japan: itinerary, JR Pass, payment, language, luggage. My advice for avoiding them.
Golden Week in Japan
Golden Week in Japan: what it is, why it's complicated, and how to handle it if you don't have a choice. Honest practical advice and alternatives.
Learning Japanese Before a Trip
How to learn Japanese before a trip: how long it takes, where to start, the best resources free and paid, and the phrases that change everything.
What to Pack for Japan
What to pack for Japan: the realistic list, what to absolutely bring, what to buy on the ground, and the right luggage size to plan for.
When to Visit Japan: Month by Month
A real month-by-month guide to choosing when to visit Japan. Best weather, worst crowds, secret sweet spots, and what to avoid.
Why Hire a Local Guide in Japan
When to hire a local guide in Japan, why it changes everything (countryside and Tokyo), and the platform to book directly without an agency middleman: Ikitorii.
Your First 24 Hours in Japan
A calm, practical walkthrough of your very first 24 hours in Japan — from filling the plane forms to the first meal to the survival phrases that dissolve every interaction.
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How Much Does a Trip to Japan Cost
Flights, accommodation, food, transport, sightseeing: a realistic budget for a Japan trip in 2026, with concrete prices and practical comparisons.
How to Travel Around Japan
Trains, buses, ferries, bikes, cars: everything you need to know to travel around Japan stress-free, with practical tips from years of experience.
Japan FAQ
Got questions about Japan? I had tons too. After years of answering the same ones (and discovering new ones), here's...
Culture & customs
Japanese Etiquette
Japanese etiquette for travelers: the rules that really matter, the ones that make people smile, and the ones that can genuinely offend. Without dramatizing.
The Japanese Tea Ceremony
The Japanese tea ceremony: where to experience a real one, what format, how to behave. My addresses in Kyoto and Tokyo.
Watching Sumo Training in Tokyo
Watching morning sumo training (asageiko) at a Tokyo stable: what you see, how to arrange it, the rules to follow, and why it changes everything.
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What to Eat in Japan
Japanese cuisine is more than a list of famous dishes. It's a system, built around rice, seasonal ingredients, and foundational...
Onsen Etiquette in Japan
How to bathe in a Japanese onsen without making a mistake: the step-by-step ritual, the rules, the tattoo question, the difference with a sento, and all the awkward questions you don't want to ask out loud.
Season by season
Japan in Autumn (Momiji)
Japan in autumn (momiji): where, when, and how to see the red leaves. My best spots from Kyoto to Nikko, with precise timing.
Japan in Spring
Japan in spring: sakura, hanami, region-by-region bloom calendar, where to go, how to picnic under the cherry trees, and the traps to avoid.
Japan in Summer
Japan in summer: matsuri festivals, fireworks, ice-cold dishes, how to survive Tokyo's heat, and where to escape to the mountains or Hokkaido.
Japan in Winter
Japan in winter: Tohoku, Hokkaido, the Japanese Alps. Onsen under snow, ice festivals, white landscapes. My best spots and tips.
In the cities
10 Easy Tokyo Day Trips
Hakone, Nikko, Kamakura, Mt Fuji, Yokohama, Enoshima: six day trips from Tokyo with timing, transport, and the one to skip if you only have a day.
13 Lesser-Known Tokyo Neighborhoods
Tokyo isn't a single big city, it's a hundred small villages stitched together. Here are 13 lesser-known neighborhoods worth exploring to understand the real Tokyo.
8 Tokyo Flea Markets
8 Tokyo flea markets to hunt for vintage kimono, ceramics, and Japanese antiques: Oedo Kottou Ichi, Hanazono, Nogi-jinja, Tomioka Hachimangu, and more.
What to do in Fukuoka
Fukuoka, the gateway to Kyushu and probably the best Japanese city for food. Hakata ramen, street yatai, intense festivals, Dazaifu, and easy access to the whole southern island. Three days minimum.
What to do in Hakone
Hakone, the onsen getaway 90 minutes from Tokyo. Mount Fuji views, floating torii on Lake Ashi, traditional ryokan, 17 hot-spring villages, and all the pitfalls of the standard tourist loop you should know about.
What to do in Hiroshima
Hiroshima isn't just the Memorial Park. A city back on its feet, its layered okonomiyaki, Itsukushima and its floating torii, Setouchi a ferry away, and everything most guides forget to tell you.
What to do in Kanazawa
Kanazawa, the other Kyoto, spared by WWII bombs, capital of Japanese gold leaf, Noto sushi, perfect gardens, and Zen. Everything to know before spending three days there.
What to Do in Kyoto
My personal Kyoto guide, neighborhood by neighborhood: where to go, when, how to dodge the crowds, and the temples that are actually worth your time.
What to do in Nagoya
Often skipped between Tokyo and Kyoto, Nagoya is actually the Tokugawa heartland, the home of Toyota, and one of Japan's best cities to eat. Three days to understand why Japanese travelers love it more than guidebooks let on.
What to do in Okinawa
Okinawa isn't really Japan. Former Ryukyu Kingdom, subtropical climate, distinct cuisine and language, postcard beaches and a complicated history. Seven days, and everything to understand before going.
What to do in Osaka
Osaka isn't Tokyo's less polite cousin. It's Japan's kitchen, the birthplace of takoyaki and manzai comedy, the merchant city turned comic city. Three days, and everything most guides don't dare put up front.
What to do in Takayama
Hida-Takayama, the small town in the Japanese Alps: intact Edo merchant street, festivals among Japan's finest, active sake breweries, Hida beef, sarubobo, and the gateway to Shirakawa-go.
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What to Do in Tokyo
The must-sees, the hidden neighborhoods, the best spots for food and nightlife: everything you need to know for a first trip to Tokyo.
Where to stay
The Best Ryokan in Japan
My personal selection of the best traditional ryokan in Japan, by region: from the most accessible to the most iconic. What you experience and how to book.
Where to Stay in Hakone
Hakone is not a day trip. A night in an onsen ryokan is the experience to aim for, and depending on the area you choose (Yumoto, Miyanoshita, Gora, Sengokuhara or the shore of Lake Ashi), the stay changes completely.
Where to Stay in Hiroshima
Hiroshima is one of the most poorly told cities in Japan. People treat it as a solemn pilgrimage or a...
Where to Stay in Kanazawa
Kanazawa was long the sacrificial stop on the Tokyo-Kyoto-Osaka run. Since the Shinkansen arrived in 2015, the city has been...
Where to Stay in Osaka
Osaka has a reputation for being a two-night stopover. That's a shame: it's the other Japan, the one of merchants, comedians, and izakaya. The neighborhood you choose makes all the difference.
Where to Stay in Tokyo
Tokyo has thousands of hotels—capsules, business hotels, luxury ryokan, rooftop hostels. The real choice isn't the hotel. It's the neighborhood.
Where to Stay in Kyoto
Gion, downtown, station area, or ryokan: which neighborhood to choose for your Kyoto stay based on your travel style.
Nature & special places
A Week in a Small Japanese Town
Living a week or a month in a small Japanese town: why it changes everything, how to pick one, where to stay, how to work remotely.
The 18 Most Beautiful Japanese Villages
18 Japanese villages worth visiting at least once: the famous classics, the truly offbeat, the artisan villages, and the ones no printed guide mentions.
The Best Onsen in Japan
10 Japanese onsen towns to live in for one or three nights: Kinosaki, Kurokawa, Yufuin, Ginzan, Kusatsu, Dogo, Arima, Gero, Shibu, Nyuto. My favorites and why.
Natural hazards
Earthquakes and Tsunamis in Japan: A Traveler’s Guide
In Japan, the ground moves almost every day. It's one of the first things travelers worry about, and it's a...
Typhoon Season in Japan: A Traveler’s Guide
Traveling to Japan during typhoon season often scares people, and it shouldn't. A typhoon is almost never a danger to...
No-Taboo Japan
Prostitution in Japan: How It Really Works
Japan is home to one of the largest and best organized sex industries in the world, and yet almost all...
Sex in Japan: The No-Taboo Guide
You rarely land in Japan without a small question in the back of your mind. Is sex taboo here? Is...
Living in Japan
Visas, jobs, and what life here is really like.
Japan Work Visas
A map of Japanese work visas (Engineer/Specialist, Instructor, Business Manager, Spouse, Highly Skilled, Digital Nomad), where to look for a job, and the reality of the Japan job hunt.
The Japan Working Holiday Visa
The Japan Working Holiday visa for Australians, Canadians, Brits, Kiwis, and others: eligibility, application, where to actually find work, real Tokyo costs, and the rookie mistakes.
Why Move to Japan
Fifteen years in Tokyo. What keeps me here, what wears people down over time, and the honest analysis to read before quitting your life to settle in Japan.
