Activities Sakura Season Along Sapporo's Shinkawa River Kim Bergström From around late April to early May each year, the banks of Sapporo's Shinkawa River are filled with the springtime beauty of...
Planning First Time Japan: 5 Things Not to Forget Steph Newman So you've booked your tickets and made a list of temples to visit, but have you considered these five essential things?
Activities Yakushi-Ike Park Livvy Boote In Machida in the outskirts of Tokyo, Yakushi-Ike Park is a beautiful park next to the Machida squirrel garden, a lovely plac...
Activities Umenomiya Taisha Plum Festival 2027 Kim Bergström Each year on the first Sunday in March, Kyoto's Umenomiya Taisha Shrine is home to a plum blossom festival that celebrates th...
Accommodation Amami Onsen Nanten-en Gary Luscombe Amami Onsen Nanten-en is a traditional ryokan inn hidden deep within the Osaka countryside. Immersed in history and culture, ...
15 Ajimano-en Park Waiting for Spring Takako Sakamoto In mid March I visited Ajimano-en Park in Echizen City, Fukui, to see plum blossoms there. Unfortunately they weren't bloomin...
Culture Kunjudo Jim Bouman Create your own incense or partake in a factory tour in Awaji-shima, just a day trip from Kobe or Osaka
Culture Okutsuhime Shrine Festival in Wajima 2026 Alena Eckelmann Young men dressed in women's clothes and with make-up on their faces carry a portable shrine into the ocean at Sodegahama Bea...
12 Culture Kamakura Camera - Hasedera Temple Peter Oxley A brief survey of one of Kamakura's most endearing temples, founded from a log washed up on a beach thirteen hundred years ago.
Accommodation Hotel Inter-Continental Osaka Bonson Lam The Inter-continental Hotel is a welcome addition to the luxury hotel circuit, and along with other 5 star hotels in the are...
