Japan

Kyoto is one of my favorite cities in Japan. It is a must-see every time we visit the country, and is one of those places I could imagine myself living in as well- it is just that fun.

But, when it comes to planning where to stay in Kyoto, you have a very important consideration to keep in mind, namely, Kyoto is huge! This is not just in population, like most major cities in Japan, but also in area. 

So when planning your base, it is less the number of people that is a concern (although we will discuss why that is also an issue later on), but rather that Kyoto is just very, very large, and it can take quite a bit of time to travel around to see all of the highlights!

Read more

When planning a trip to Japan, odds are good you’re going to spend a fair bit of time in Tokyo.

As many consider Tokyo to be the largest city in the world by population (when including the metro area), it shouldn’t be a surprise that there is really a lot to do here. There is so much to see, in fact, that we could visit many times over and still not feel like we’re doing the city justice.

Naturally, with the population comes the urban sprawl, and Tokyo is simply massive from an area standpoint. As such, when it comes to planning where to stay in Tokyo, you really have a lot to consider as the options are nearly endless.

But one thing is certain- no matter what, staying near a subway station is a great idea. But even there, a few subway locations are better than others when it comes to getting around this massive city and is our guiding consideration when booking a hotel or apartment rental.

Read more

During our travels around Japan, we wanted to get out and experience some days of nature in between visiting bustling cities.

The Shimanami Kaido trail caught our eye as it is one of the most popular cycling routes in Japan and connects several islands together over an approximately 70 kilometer route between Onomichi and Imabari (plus numerous side trails for those who want to explore each island in more depth).

As avid bikers, we knew we had to check out this route. So we booked our dates several weeks in advance, said a little prayer to whatever spirit controls the weather, and made our way to Onomichi to get ready to ride.

Thankfully, we got lucky with mostly great weather for our ride and only had to rush to Imabari quickly in the final legs of our ride before a larger storm came in. So in this one, we thought we’d share more about what you can see when biking from Onomichi to Imabari on the Shimanami Kaido, and give some tips we learned along the way to have a great time!

Read more

When visiting Japan, odds are good you have soaking in the natural hot springs of an onsen on your must-do list.

But did you know there is a town with not one, not two, but seven onsens open for visitors to enjoy? And, perhaps important to many, are also tattoo-friendly? Enter Kinosaki Onsen, a beautiful mountain coast town in northern Japan that is just a 2 1/2 hour train ride from Kyoto.

While we have an entire article dedicated for how many days in Kinosaki Onsen (read: more is always the answer), in this one we thought we’d share a little bit about the seven onsen you can find in town- what they’re like, which ones we liked, and which ones we did not spend much time in at all.

Although all the onsen here are quite fun and you should check each out on a visit, a few were standout favorites.

Read more