Kobe’s Kitano-cho District went against all our expectations of a Japanese city with its wooden mansions with half-timbered façades and dormer windows. That’s because the quarter is home to historic mansions of foreign merchants who came to Japan after the country opened up to the West. The Ijinkan (foreign houses) from the Meiji Era (1868…
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JapanThe Ultimate Guide to Finding Cheap Kobe Beef in Kobe, Japan
Kobe Beef is arguably the world’s most famous meat, and it’s considered a delicacy not only for its taste, but also for its tenderness and texture. It can be found on menus of high-end restaurants around the world, but it originated in the southern Japanese city of Kobe. As you might imagine, delicacies of international…
JapanThe Complete Guide to Japan’s Himeji Castle
Apart from the floating gateway of Itsukushima Shrine, I’d argue that the white silhouette of Himeji Castle’s keep with its layered roofs and pale plaster walls is the most recognisable landmark in Japan. It’s one of the country’s most complete surviving feudal castle complex and has been declared both a National Treasure of Japan and…
JapanA Guide to Naoshima – 9 Amazing Things to See on Japan’s Quirky Art Island
The Seto Inland Sea, which lies between Shikoku and southern Honshu, is home to lots of little islands, but I’m sure none of them are as interesting and off-beat as Naoshima, which has the fitting nickname “Art Island”. Since the late 1980s, Naoshima has slowly been transformed from a sleepy fishing island to a unique…
JapanExploring the Unique Honmura Art House Project on Naoshima, Japan
Honmura Town on the southeastern coast of Naoshima Island has made quite a transformation over the last few decades. Since the late 1990s, the empty shells of a few abandoned buildings in the sleepy fishing village have been remodeled and now hold very different and often pretty surprising art installations. What we found most interesting…
JapanWhat to Know About Cycling the Kibi Plain in Rural Okayama, Japan
We had a lot of fun exploring Japan’s many unique cities, but after a while we were itching to get out into the beautiful nature that so far we had mostly glimpsed from Shinkansen windows while zipping by at 300 kilometres an hour. Places like Mount Fuji or Shikoku’s Iya Valley are amazing natural destinations,…
JapanKoraku-en Garden and Other Great Things to See in Okayama, Japan
Okayama Prefecture in southern Honshu is also called the “Land of Sunshine“, as it’s one of Japan’s sunniest regions. The capital city, which is also called Okayama, is a cool destination, where we didn’t meet many other foreigners (especially compared to nearby Himeji). The reason can’t be a lack of sights, because in my opinion,…
Japan8 Amazing Things to See and Do on Miyajima Island, Japan
Miyajima Island seems to be on a lot of people’s Japan itineraries because of the historical Itsukushima Shrine and its world-famous floating gateway. It’s a beautiful place for sure, but in my opinion there are many other cool places that make it worth sticking around on the island a little longer. For one, there are…
JapanEverything You Need to Know About Visiting the Magnificent Itsukushima Shrine, Japan
Even if you’ve never been to Japan, I’m sure that you’ve seen pictures of the beautiful vermilion gate of Itsukushima-Jinja, which looks like it’s floating on the waters of Hiroshima Bay. The torii seems to have become synonymous with the architecture of Japan’s Shinto shrines. The shrine itself has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage…
JapanA Short Guide to the Japanese Tea Ceremony
The traditional tea ceremony (or chado) is a big part of Japan’s cultural heritage. We’ve always found them quite fascinating, but they can also be slightly intimidating because there are so many rules involved (starting with how to hold the cup). That said, people in Japan are definitely aware that most foreigners didn’t grow up…