Exploring Shizuoka by Bike

Most of you who follow our blog have probably figured out by now that we love cycling off the beaten track in Japan! As it’s often hard finding information online about good bike routes in Japan, we decided to film our bike rides and write these blog articles to provide other cycling enthusiasts with valuable…

Kyushu’s Sakura Cycling Road

Home to wondrous landscapes and lush green fields, Kyushu is Japan’s secret garden. If you get the chance to travel to this wonderful part of Japan, consider renting a bike for at least a day to explore Kyushu’s marvels deeper. Oita Prefecture in Eastern Kyushu is known for having the most hot spring sources in…

Rikugien Garden Night Light-Up

Even though it’s almost Christmas, early to mid-December is actually the best time to see peak autumn colours in Tokyo and Yokohama. The colours that stand out the most in these iconic Japanese cities are the yellow ginkgo and bright red maple leaves. There is a surprisingly small number of parks and gardens in Tokyo…

Ibaraki’s Lakeside Cycling Road

The designated national cycling road around Lake Kasumigaura located in Ibaraki prefecture shows us: when the Japanese put their mind to it, they make cycling roads extremely well! We cycled around Lake Kasumigaura with our own bikes in late September and would highly recommend it to anyone visiting Japan, looking for day trips in nature…

Exploring Yokohama’s Seaside by Bike

Happy Friday! As temperatures have finally dropped since Typhoon Nanmadol made its way through Japan, the weather is now ideal for exploring Japan’s great outdoors by bike. Also, for those of you reading this from outside of Japan, we’re excited to let you know that the Japanese government has announced that tourists are finally allowed…

Life on Mars: Aso-Kuju National Park

‘Mount Aso is one of the most active volcanoes in the world that ordinary tourists can visit,’ I read on a board while looking out to the smokey mountainscape and pondered on whether to feel terrified, but rather enjoyed looking out at such a majestic landscape. Mount Aso can be seen in two distinctly different…

Takachiho’s Mystery Filled Landscapes

Takachiho Gorge is one of those places that you see on the front cover of a glossy magazine advertising travelling to Japan’s natural wonders. And then when you get there and see it with your own eyes, you quickly realise… it looks exactly as on these glossy advertisements! Spending a whole day in Takachiho allowed…

Spring Break in Oita, Japans #1 Onsen Prefecture!

On a cold Saturday morning in March, we set off for a week-long trip to Japan’s southernmost of the 3 main islands to visit an area that has long been on our bucket list: Oita, Aso-Kujo National Park and Miyazaki. Oita Prefecture: Beppu, Oita City and Yufuin As you already read in the title, Oita…

Snowboarding in Nozawa Onsen

Early in January, we decided to go on a 3 day snowboarding break to the accessible-from-Tokyo resort of Nozawa Onsen in Nagano. Just a 15 minute bus ride from Shinkansen station Iiyama, we were there in what felt like no time and checked into Lodge Matsuya. Immediately striking were the huge snow drifts and incredible…

8 Things to do in Ishigaki Off Season

While we are currently experiencing the coldest time of the year in most parts of Japan, you might feel drawn to traveling to the southern islands of Okinawa which are known for its pristine white sand beaches, snorkelling, rich biodiversity and fresh fruit. Ishigaki is one of Okinawa’s most beautiful islands and being closer to…