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If Kobe Beef is all you know about Kobe, there are much better reasons to see this miraculous city for yourself. It boasts modern architecture, historical quarters, jazz influence, and a rich sake production history. Ever resilient, Kobe has rebuilt itself after the devastating 1995 earthquake, offering much more beyond its culinary fame.

While Kyoto chokes on tourists, countless other cities and regions of Japan that are equally charming, beautiful or historic remain virtually ignored. Here are 5 amazing cities in Japan other than Kyoto and Tokyo that are easily accessible even to first-time visitors to Japan.

Discover the story of how Gohime, daughter of the Japanese warlord who first made Christianity illegal in Japan, became a Christian herself.

So you're planning for the trip of a lifetime to see Japan in the Spring? So are millions of others, my friend, so let me start with the tip I always give to first-time visitors to Japan. Check off the major items on your Tokyo and Kyoto bucket...

The fifth update to the annual Japan Meteorological Corporation's Cherry Blossom Forecast was released this week, with the 2024 season slated to start a day earlier than the 2023 season here in Tokyo. The full season begins from roughly mid-March...

"The city is so hard. Just cement on top of dirt on top of rock. Even weeds have trouble growing here." Butsu Shoku kicks at the asphalt beneath her feet. The long vine of pothos trailing down her sleeve swings freely. Butsu is part of the growing...

This is the Iya Valley of Tokushima Prefecture, sitting at the edge of the world, sometimes just beyond it.

Many people in the world dream of living in Tokyo. Do you have the personality type that can thrive in Tokyo?

During the latter part of the COVID-19 pandemic, I embarked on a new hobby: long walks across Tokyo. The pandemic itself was just a kick in the pants to get me to do something I...

I’ve wished my life wouldn’t pass me by so quickly, that I would have time for myself. And now that my wish in some twisted way has come true, why am I not doing the things that I always said I would?

Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return. Against my better judgement, I am...

As I mentioned in my introductory post, I love long walks in Tokyo. One of my favorite ways to take a long walk is to connect two stations along the JR Yamanote Line that encircles the central city....

With the state of emergency triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic lifted across all of Japan as of yesterday, is it too late to salvage the year 2020?

As I have been in negotiations for a full-time position at a company I have been freelancing for, I have been "practicing" to be a full-time worker again after 8 years of freelance work. One of the...

The time I tried to do “workation” in Nagano in Japan and failed miserably. But perhaps it wasn’t misery I found, but a chance to truly relax.

This past weekend, I finally exhaled. Well, that was the feeling anyway, as my tea ceremony teacher along with another group of teachers and students hosted a tea ceremony event at a lovely venue in...

Many people in the world dream of living in Tokyo. Do you have the personality type that can thrive in Tokyo?

Preserving a slice of history in my own neighborhood – photos of Showa era buildings that are being torn down in the name of progress.