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Japan’s spirited third city
5 min read • Jul 19, 2012
Every trip does not have to be about ticking off a sightseeing list. Some of the best destinations are seen by getting under its skin to experience it…
Travel Stories
Japan
- Japanese noodles for beginners
2 min read • Jun 27, 2012
This is an excerpt from the Eating chapter of Lonely Planet's Tokyo guide.
- Get back to nature in Japan
2 min read • Jun 27, 2012
The symbols of old Japan – carp-filled ponds, misty valleys and onsens tucked away in thick forests – are often overshadowed by Japan's image of the neon…
- LLocal flavour on Kyoto’s Kiyamachi street
3 min read • May 8, 2012
Kiyamachi, Kyoto's biggest nightlife strip, is a one kilometre stretch running parallel to the central Kamo River between two main boulevards, Sanjō and…
- Escape from Tokyo: the Izu Peninsula
4 min read • Apr 27, 2012
Tokyo can have you feeling like a pinball being flung about in one giant game of pachinko. And while experiencing the bright lights and buzz of one of the…
- Tokyo's strangest sights
5 min read • Apr 18, 2012
Tokyo is full of baffling attractions. Even more mind-bending is that most of them actually make perfect sense when you stop to think about it. Tokyo runs…
- Tokyo hotels: the weird and the wonderful
5 min read • Apr 5, 2012
Beyond the usual selection of hotels from five-star to budget, Tokyo has plenty that fall off the spectrum entirely. These are places particular to the…
- SSpring skiing, Japanese-style
4 min read • Mar 23, 2012
This winter may have been somewhat of a bust in much of the United States, logging the warmest temperatures since 1999, but skiers and snowboarders on the…
- Japanese bath etiquette: how to visit a sento
3 min read • Mar 15, 2012
At the end of a long day, a hot sento public bath can wash away your troubles, and that’s a pleasure worth sharing. Sento are a fading tradition but still…
- How to navigate Tokyo's train system
6 min read • Mar 14, 2012
Tokyo is blessed with one of the world's most efficient public transportation systems. It's a city of 'paper drivers' - those who have licences but haven…
- KKyoto’s coffee culture
4 min read • Mar 6, 2012
In a city known for tea and temples, Kyoto is also home to a surprisingly vibrant coffee scene.
- SSakura season in Kyoto
3 min read • Mar 6, 2012
With Zen gardens, bamboo groves, Buddhist temples and geisha shuffling along cobbled laneways, Kyoto seems to be lifted straight from the scenes of an…
- Kagoshima: the Hawaii of Japan
3 min read • Mar 2, 2012
When most people think of Japan, what comes to mind is raw fish, Mount Fuji, temples and Tokyo. Few step off the tourist path, but those who do will be…
- Kōyō: Japan's autumn explosion of colour
3 min read • Aug 15, 2011
Literally translated as 'red leaves,' kōyō is to autumn what cherry blossoms are to spring in Japan. Both natural events bring the Japanese out en masse…
- The best of Japan
4 min read • Mar 9, 2011
Japan packs a wallop of cultural wealth, natural beauty and modern oddities into its compact geography – so you can travel from the metropolis of Tokyo to…
- 3 great ways to see live music in Japan
3 min read • Mar 9, 2011
Whether it's taking in a traditional taiko drumming performance, roughing it for a few days at a festival or sweating it out in a basement to young punk…
- DDon't miss depachika: Japan's department-store food halls
3 min read • Mar 8, 2011
Every Japanese department store worth its hand-harvested sea salt has a depachika, a basement food hall offering an array of high-quality comestibles…
- 4 reasons to visit Naoshima, Japan's island of art
3 min read • Dec 14, 2010
Japan may have more contemporary art spaces than you can poke a paintbrush at, but none come quite as scenic as the small, tranquil island of Naoshima…
- Sushi & Sashimi for beginners
2 min read • Sep 26, 2010
This is an excerpt from the food and drinks chapter of Lonely Planet's Tokyo guide.
- Kaiseki-ryōri: Japanese haute cuisine
2 min read • Aug 19, 2010
Sushi has come a long way from its street-snack origins back in the early 1800s; in 2009, a couple of Tokyo sushi bars each earned three Michelin stars…
- BBusiness lunches on the go
3 min read • Jul 22, 2010
You’re bored of boardroom sandwich platters, instant coffee, and water from crushable plastic cups. So forego the usual lunchtime doldrums on your next…
- Tokyo's sumo scene: tradition, tournaments and hearty hotpots
4 min read • Jul 20, 2010
Sumo is an ancient, disciplined sport. But best of all, it’s seriously fun. The rules are simple: the rikishi (wrestler) who gets the other outside the…