The issue isn’t that you got lost, but that you found yourself.
Continue ReadingTohoku
Make 2023 the Year You Visit Japan
There’s no good reason not to visit Japan in 2023.
Continue ReadingWhy I Keep Going Back to Yamadera
Taking a Yamadera day trip is easy, no matter where your journey begins.
Continue ReadingJapan’s Most Underrated Cities
The best cities to visit in Japan aren’t always ones you read about in guide books
Continue ReadingThe Real Danger of Visiting Fukushima
Is Fukushima worth visiting?
Continue ReadingSakata Starts Here
I do know what it takes for destinations in Japan to break out from the rest of the pack—Sakata has all of them, and then some.
Continue ReadingMy Own Private Japan
I had Sakata all figured out. Or at least I thought I did.
Continue ReadingImpressions of Akita
First impressions aren’t everything—sometimes, they’re nothing at all.
Continue ReadingBeneath Japan’s Dream Bridge
Far northern Tohoku was the right place kick off my first purely touristic sojourn to Japan in nearly three years.
Continue ReadingJapan Off the Beaten Path
There’s value in seeing Japan off its tourist trail.
Continue ReadingWhere Japan’s Unsung Cherries Grow
“It was superb,” I replied in Japanese to the woman selling soft cream flavored with Yamagata cherries.
Continue ReadingEarly Birds, Late Blooms
Sakura season—for me and for Japan—was so close to its conclusion that even the birds knew.
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