Japan · Asia
A 14-Day Japan Itinerary That Leaves Room to Breathe
The fortnight route we recommend most often: Tokyo, a mountain or coastal interlude, Kyoto, and no more than three check-ins.
6 min read
Based in Kyoto, Japan
Kenji Arata
Japan Correspondent
Kenji grew up between Osaka and Kanazawa and has ridden every line on the JR network at least once. He writes about how Japan actually works for visitors — the ticket machines, the seasons, the etiquette nobody explains — and keeps a running list of the country's best station lunchboxes.
Japan
Rail travel
Culture
6 stories by Kenji Arata
Japan · Asia
A Regional Food Guide to Japan
Japanese food is intensely regional. Ramen changes broth every few hundred kilometres, and half the country's best meals are named after the place that invented them.
6 min read
Japan · Asia
Tokyo by Neighbourhood: Where to Actually Spend Your Days
Tokyo is thirteen cities pretending to be one. A neighbourhood-first approach beats a sights list every time — here are the ones worth a full day.
6 min read
Japan · Asia
Four Days in Kyoto, Built Around the Quiet Hours
Kyoto is not crowded — it is crowded between 10am and 4pm, in about fifteen places. Here is a four-day plan that works around that.
8 min read
Japan · Asia
The Complete Japan Travel Guide for a First Trip
How long to stay, when to go, what the trains actually cost and how to structure a first two weeks in Japan without exhausting yourself in the first four days.
11 min read
Japan · Asia
The Best Time to Visit Japan, Month by Month
Cherry blossom lasts about ten days and moves north at roughly 30km a day. Here is what each month actually offers, and the three periods to avoid.
7 min read