Tips for Visiting a Japanese Hot Spring
Japan is famous for its volcanic peaks, which also hint at a national treasure underground: geothermally-heated mineral spring waters. For longer than records have been kept, Japanese have been bathing in natural, hot spring-fed ‘onsen’ to benefit from their restorative and healing powers. For travelers to Japan, a visit to an...
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How These Hotels in Japan are Celebrating Cherry Blossom Season
Early spring in Japan spells ‘sakura,’ or cherry blossom season, when the entire country is awash in the lacy, pale pink blooms on millions of cherry trees lining rivers, avenues, mountainsides and park walks. A culture obsessed with seasonality values perhaps cherry blossom season the most, and this may be the...
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Dare You! Where to Eat the World's Most Dangerous Fish
Prepared incorrectly, it’s 1200 times more toxic than cyanide! Yet this fish has been a treasured delicacy for nearly three thousand years - and foodies with a daredevil streak make sure to include it on their list of dishes they must try on a visit to Japan.Fugu is Japanese for various species...
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Discover 'Japan's Machu Picchu'
In Japan, it’s called the ‘Castle in the Sky’, but international travelers who’ve discovered historic Takeda Castle have compared it to another mountain-top historic ruin half a world away in South America. Peru’s Machu Picchu has made most intrepid travelers’ bucket lists of adventures. But Japan’s Takeda Castle (pronounced: ‘tah-kay-dah’)...
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Mount Fuji and 3 Other Mountains You Need to Visit in Japan
France has the Eiffel Tower. The U.S. has the Statue of Liberty. But the visual shorthand for Japan is not man-made. It’s Mount Fuji.The Japanese archipelago is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire. Chains of volcanic mountain ranges form the spine of the Japanese islands, and mountains have assumed immense cultural and...
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How the Postponed Tokyo Olympic Games Will Feature Japan's National Sport
We should be watching the opening ceremony of the XXXIII Olympiad right now. But COVID has changed the history of the Olympics along with so many other features of our lives. Tokyo 2020 retains the name, but the dates have changed.Originally scheduled to take place from July 24th through the second week...
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