Our Japan itineraries provide 1-day plans for every area of Kyoto, step-by-step itinerary, strategy, and walking tours of Tokyo, Kobe, Osaka, Nara, Miyajima Island, and more. These touring plans offer guides and tips for which temples to visit, where to eat, transportation, and the most efficient order of seeing the highlights of each area. None […]
Our Hiroshima itinerary offers a step-by-step touring plan for visiting the peace memorials & museum, seeing the city’s castle, and eating the best okonomiyaki in Japan. We’ll detail the must-see points of interest, and map an efficient route for your day in Hiroshima, Japan. The good news about this Hiroshima itinerary is that it’s entirely […]
Kyoto, Japan has 17 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, all of which we’ve visited. In this post, we share the full list, ranking these temples & shrines from worst to best, and discussing which you should see and which you should skip. As a bit of background, UNESCO World Heritage Sites are landmarks selected by the […]
Our Kyoto, Japan guide offers planning tips & tricks, hotel recommendations, best temples & shrines, transportation hacks, where to eat, crowd info, and more. Before we get to the basics of planning, we’ll share some updates, and why we love Kyoto so much. (Last updated March 5, 2019.) If you’re already in Kyoto and are scrambling […]
Our 1-day Nagoya, Japan itinerary is an efficient step-by-step touring plan for visiting the city’s best museums, eating, and visiting the castle. Best of all, it’s a jam-packed experience that can be accomplished as a day trip while traveling between Tokyo and Kyoto or Osaka on the Shinkansen. Along the way, you can visit a […]
When traveling to Japan’s Kansai region, Kyoto is a great home base. It’s easy to get to several other major cities by standard rail or Shinkansen in under an hour or two, and a few lower profile mountain escapes are also easy to access. We’ve done numerous day trips from Kyoto, and in this post, […]
Robot Restaurant is a crazy show in Tokyo, Japan’s Shinjuku district with dancers, lasers, monsters, and more. In this review, we’ll share how to buy discount tickets, assess whether Robot Restaurant is worth the money, what you should expect, and photos from our experiences. (Last updated February 26, 2019.) If you want the short answer: YES! Robot Restaurant […]
In this guide to Universal Studios Japan, we’ll offer tips & tricks for visiting this very popular theme park in Osaka. Due to its location, size, and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, USJ is a busy park. This strategy is essential for avoiding crowds at Universal Studios Japan…so you don’t wait in a 240-minute […]
When planning trips and picturing the traditional side of Japan, Kyoto is what first-timers envision. It’s the quintessential cultural experience filled with temples, shrines, gardens, teahouses, geisha, quaint alleys, wooden homes, etc. While there’s so much more to Kyoto than all of this, it is the notion of Japan that you’ve seen or imagined. First-timers with […]
No city has been as impacted by Japan’s rising tourism numbers as Kyoto. Crowds during cherry blossom and fall colors seasons can be oppressive, as can national holidays and school breaks. In this post, we’ll offer a sober appraisal of the congestion you might face in Kyoto, plus ways to survive and avoid the worst […]