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…
Hokkaido Winter Tales: Sapporo
Being Hokkaido’s capital, Sapporo has lots to offer from culinary experiences to spectacular viewpoints, a vibrant nightlife and nature in the city. In this article, we would like to introduce you to the top five things to do in Sapporo in winter. Experience a nature winter wonderland If you love long snow walks, snow activities…
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…
Hokkaido Winter Tales: Niseko
CRUNCH goes the powder snow as I walk to one of the world’s best ski slopes in Niseko, Hokkaido. Ski and snowboard enthusiasts seem to agree that the snow here is made of 10% water and 90% love or maybe it’s just pure magic. Once we entered this winter wonderland, I knew it would be…
Cycling the Wakayama 800
As we loved cycling one of the world’s best cycling paths across the Seto Inland Sea, called Shimanami Kaido, we were eager to try out another route promoted to cyclists called “Wakayama 800” during a week-long trip this autumn. The route we chose was a mix of mountainside and seaside with some challenging climbs and…
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…
Cycling Along Tottori’s Coastline (Pt. 3)
We suddenly found ourselves in a super efficient coin laundry to wash our clothes, conveniently located right next to a 7-11 convenience store AND ramen restaurant with excellent reviews AND a manga museum when it suddenly hit me: this is Japan!
Cycling Along Tottori’s Coastline (Pt. 2)
Time to see the famous castle ruins! With the cherry trees in bloom all around the vast park area, this place really exceeded our expectations. There was a small scale cherry blossom festival going on and we were able to buy a taiyaki (fish shaped waffle) and sit by the castle walls after having enjoyed the view from the top.
Jitensha Adventure 