Aomori
Aomori Nebuta Festival Guide: A First-Timer’s Guide to Japan’s Giant Glowing Floats and How to Dance in the Parade
Every August 2 to 7, Aomori in northern Japan hosts the Nebuta Festival, one of the country's three great Tohoku festivals and…
Culture & Customs
Ouchijuku Travel Guide: A First-Timer’s Guide to Fukushima’s Edo-Era Thatched Post Town
Ouchijuku is a perfectly preserved Edo-period post town in the Aizu region of Fukushima, where around forty thatched-roof houses line a single…
Culture & Customs
Yamadera Temple Guide: How to Climb Yamagata’s 1,000 Stone Steps to Risshaku-ji
Yamadera (Risshaku-ji) is one of Tohoku’s most spectacular temples, a string of wooden halls climbing a forested cliff in Yamagata Prefecture, reached…
Culture & Customs
Tono Travel Guide: Japan’s Folklore Capital — Kappa Legends, Mountain Shrines and Rural Tohoku
Discover Tono, Iwate Prefecture's extraordinary folklore capital in the heart of Tohoku. This complete guide covers Kappabuchi Pool, the legendary water sprites…
Hokkaido
Japan Ski Resorts Guide: Best Slopes, Powder Snow, and Everything First-Timers Need to Know
Affiliate disclosure: This article contains affiliate links. If you book a hotel, tour, eSIM, or rail pass through some of the links…
Culture & Customs
Hiraizumi Travel Guide: A First-Timer’s Guide to Iwate’s Golden Temples, Pure Land Gardens and the UNESCO Heritage of Tohoku
Hiraizumi, the quiet UNESCO World Heritage town in southern Iwate, was once a golden rival to Kyoto. This first-timer's guide covers the…
Hokkaido
Hakodate Travel Guide: A First-Timer’s Guide to the Night View, Morning Market and Hokkaido’s Historic Port City
Hakodate, at the southern tip of Hokkaido, is one of Japan's most rewarding port cities and a perfect introduction to the north.…
Hidden Gems
Zao Guide: Snow Monsters, Crater Lake and Yamagata’s Most Magical Mountain Onsen
Tucked into the mountains of Yamagata, Zao offers one of Japan's most remarkable winter spectacles — the famous juhyo "snow monsters," frost-encased…
Hidden Gems
Morioka Travel Guide: Iwate’s Castle Town, Three Famous Noodles and the Heart of Tohoku
Morioka is Iwate's underrated capital — a small, walkable Tohoku city named one of the world's best places to visit by The…
Fukushima
Ouchi-Juku Complete Guide: Fukushima’s Preserved Edo-Period Thatched-Roof Post Town
Complete guide to Ouchi-juku, a perfectly preserved Edo-period post town in Fukushima Prefecture with thatched-roof houses, negi soba eaten with a long…
