2026年– date –

Regional JR passes are cheaper than the nationwide pass — except when they aren't. Prices, eligibility rules, and the routes where buying nothing is the smarter move. Everyone arriving in Japan asks the same question: should I buy the JR...

There's a 135-hectare farm five minutes from the shrine gate. Almost nobody walks there. Here's what happens at Togakushi on a good weekend in August. The bus from Nagano Station pulls in and empties. Everyone walks the same cedar avenue...

A guide to Japanese public baths from people who never had to think about any of this until someone asked. Here's something we realised while writing this article: none of us had ever been taught how to use a public bath. We asked around...

Skip the Shinkansen: 7 Cheaper Ways to Cross Japan (and When They're Actually Worth It) Written by a Japan resident who has taken all of them — including the ones I regret. Here's the math that ruins a lot of people's travel budgets. A 7...

Omotenashi is usually translated as selfless Japanese hospitality. That's not wrong — but it leaves out why the word exists, what you're actually experiencing, and why service here goes rigid the moment you ask for something unusual. The...

No, you don't tip in Japan — but "why not" is the part nobody explains. A Japanese-born editor breaks down what staff are actually thinking, and the few exceptions that are quietly changing. The moment you realize something is different ...