Karuizawa Travel Guide for First-Time Visitors
Everything first-time visitors need to plan a trip to Karuizawa: best sights, food, transport and where to stay in Nagano.
Kagoshima Food Guide: Kurobuta Pork, Kibinago, Shochu & Where to Eat
Kagoshima occupies a unique position in the Japanese food landscape. The Satsuma Domain, which the city once served as capital, developed a culinary identity so distinct that it sets Kagoshima apart from the rest of Kyushu. At the heart of that identity is Kurobuta pork — black Berkshire pigs raised on sweet potato and grain in the lush Satsuma highlands, producing a meat so marbled and tender it is often described as the pork equivalent of wagyu beef. Alongside Kurobuta, Kagoshima’s food scene features an abundance of fresh seafood from Kagoshima Bay and the Pacific, a rich izakaya culture built […]
Kochi Travel Guide: Kochi Castle, Hirome Market & Shikoku’s Wild Pacific Coast
Kochi is the largest prefecture in Shikoku and one of the least-visited corners of Japan by international travellers — which is precisely what makes it so rewarding. The city sits on the Pacific coast of Japan’s fourth-largest island, backed by forested mountains that rise over 1,000 metres and fronted by the rough, open ocean of Tosa Bay. This combination of mountain and sea shaped Kochi’s character: the people are known throughout Japan as warm, outdoorsy, and enthusiastic, with a food culture built around the extraordinary bonito (katsuo) that fishing fleets pull from the waters offshore. Beyond its culinary identity, Kochi […]
Sakurajima Day Trip Guide: Ferry, Viewpoints & Volcano Experiences from Kagoshima
Sakurajima is one of the most compelling natural spectacles in Japan. Rising 1,117 metres from Kinko Bay, just 4 kilometres from central Kagoshima, this active stratovolcano erupts hundreds of times a year — sometimes visibly, with billowing ash clouds punching skyward; sometimes with subtle sulphur plumes drifting across the bay in the morning light. Unlike Japan’s other famous volcanoes, which require long mountain approaches, Sakurajima is accessible from the city in under 20 minutes: a 15-minute ferry ride from Kagoshima Port deposits you on a volcanic island where you can walk lava fields, soak in geothermal foot baths, and watch […]
Things to Do in Kagoshima: Sakurajima, Sengan-en & the Best of Kyushu’s Southern City
Kagoshima sits at the southern tip of Kyushu, with an active volcano as its front garden and a bay that rivals any in Japan. Most visitors stick to the Tokyo–Kyoto–Osaka circuit, but those who make the journey south discover a city that blends samurai history with volcanic drama and some of the country’s finest food. Sakurajima, one of the world’s most active volcanoes, dominates every view from the city. On a clear day it smokes lazily over Kinko Bay; on an agitated day it throws ash across the rooftops of central Kagoshima, giving the city an energy that is impossible […]