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…
Category: Photography
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…
Hokkaido Winter Tales: Lake Toya
Having visited Lake Toya 4.5 years ago on a summer trip from Shanghai to Hokkaido, we were especially excited to visit this beautiful area again. Toyako is situated just a 2 hour drive south of Hokkaido’s capital Sapporo and famous for having hosted the G8 Hokkaido Summit at the Windsor hotel on a mountain top…
Highlights of Burgundy
This June, we were extremely fortunate to be able to hop on a plane to Germany to escape the wet, humid summer in Japan and finally be reunited with family and friends after 1.5 years. After spending two wonderful weeks in my hometown in the north of Germany, we embarked on a 13 hour car…
2 Weeks Shikoku Road Trip
Last summer we were faced with deciding where to travel to in Japan with about 2.5 weeks of summer holiday left. After exploring Ishigaki for a week and going with the flow, we booked the cheapest flight going from Ishigaki to Osaka and then decided to rent a car from Kobe and do a roadtrip…
Roppongi Winter Illuminations
With temperatures dropping close to 0 °C, winter is in full swing in the Greater Tokyo area. Just before the second state of emergency was declared in December, we headed over to Roppongi to see the annual winter illuminations. At Roppongi station you can ascend an elevated platform for perfect views over the sparkling illuminations…
Creative Art Keeping a Mountain Village Alive
While travelling through Shikoku prefecture, which is famous for its Buddhist pilgrimage site and nature, we made it one of our top priorities to visit an unusual place: Nagoro „scarecrow“ village. We first heard of this place watching „James May in Japan“ on Prime, and since then were curious about it. The story behind Nagoro…
The Shimanami Kaido – Japan’s Best Cycling Route
Designated as one of the seven best bike routes in the world by CNN, we were determined to discover the Shimanami Kaido on our Shikoku roundtrip in the summer. Not only did we have high expectations, but this trip turned out to be one of our best holiday experiences in Japan. Getting Started The Shimanami…
Aomori off the beaten track
Japan’s northern Aomori prefecture is most famous for its Hakkoda mountains and apple plantations, but also offers hidden gems that are only accessible by car or bike if you have a high cycling stamina. These were our five favourite places we visited as part of a half-day trip in Aomori while driving around the prefecture…
Cycling along Aomori‘s apple orchards
If you‘ve been following our blog for a while or know us personally, you know that we love cycling, especially in Japan where cycling in the countryside gives you a chance of experiencing authentic culture off the beaten track. While touring Aomori prefecture, famous for its apple orchards, we stayed two nights in Goshogawara as…
Jitensha Adventure 