The small single-car train crosses the Japanese countryside, the rice fields, and then is surrounded by mountains. Pass a station with a cat stationmaste and stop at a small thatched station. A short bus ride and you find yourself in the Edo period, on the Aizu Nishi-Kaido that connects Aizu…
Seeing the monkeys close, in total freedom, perhaps while they are enjoying the warm thermal waters of a Japanese onsen…. Is the reality of the Jigokudani park, also known as Snow Monkey Park, in Japan, precisely in the Nagano prefecture. Totally one of the experiences to not to miss in…
Japan Useful Informations
Travel to Japan – F.A.Q and everything you need to know to travel to Japan
When planning a trip to Japan, it is normal to have a lot of questions and doubts about this distant country. We all have in mind the splendid images of cherry blossoms, Mount Fuji and the amazing shinkansen, the bullet trains, and many people dream of a trip to Japan…
Entering an onsen means to remove everything, literally. Onsen, the traditional Japanese hot springs, are not just a place to relax by immersing yourself in the hot thermal waters, but they are a place where you enter totally naked, stripping off your clothes, make-up, prejudices and anxieties about your body.…
Located in a hollow in the heart of the Japanese Alps, Nagano was the city that hosted the 1998 Olympic Games and due to its location it is an excellent gate to other destinations in the prefecture, first of all the Snow Monkey Park, the park of the snow monkeys,…
Loyalty, obedience, sacrifice, honor… these are the values that we associate to the Samurai spirit of Bushido. In modern Japan there are still many traces of the feudal Japan of the past, such as the story of the 47 Ronin or that of the Byakkotai, the brigade of the White…
Among the many Japanese rites of the beginning of the year, such as the Hatsumode, the first visit of the year to the Shrine to pray for luck in the new year, there is also the Shichifujukin Meguri, or the pilgrimage of the 7 lucky gods. This pilgrimage is usually…
When I travel I usually choose where to overnight based on location and price, often choosing hostels, airbnb or simple guesthouses. They just need to be clean and well connected, because I’m just sleeping there, as I spend most of my time out exploring! The Japanese ryokans, however, are a…
Nikko is one of the gateways from Tokyo that with Kamakura is recommended most often. It’s a mystical place where temples and nature coexist in harmony. Of course, nowadays it is famous especially for the Unesco Heritage temples and the colorful Toshogu, appreciated by tourists who visit Nikko in a…
Ikaho is a district of Shibukawa Onsen, in Gunma prefecture, north of Tokyo, which became popular especially in the end of the 16th century, when injured samurai of the Sengoku Judai (Warring States Era) come here to heal their wounds in the thermal baths rich in Ikaho. Nowadays, along with…