Why the konbini asks if you're eating in: Japan's 8% and 10% tax, explained
Same rice ball, two prices. Here's what Japan's consumption tax of 8 or 10 percent actually means at the till — and why nobody wants your tip.
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Travel tips and the latest updates.
Japanese tea through the seasons: from the first spring flush to a cold summer pour
Japanese green tea changes with the seasons — the first spring flush, the cold-brew of high summer, and an aged autumn cup. Here's the year, one pour at a time.
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Staying connected in Japan: eSIM, pocket WiFi, or a SIM card?
The free WiFi won't save you the moment you step off the train. Here's the honest guide to keeping the internet in your pocket in Japan — eSIM, pocket WiFi, or a SIM.
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How to stay safe in a Japanese summer — reading the heat before it reads you
Keeping cool is one thing; staying safe is another. Here's how we watch for heatstroke on a Nagoya summer day — the early signs, the official heat alert, and the small habits that keep a trip on track.
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Obon 2026: what Japan's big August homecoming means for your trip
Travelling Japan in mid-August? Obon 2026 (roughly Aug 13–16) fills the trains and closes small shops — but it's also the country at its most beautiful.
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How green tea is made: following one leaf from the field to your cup
How is Japanese green tea made? Follow a single leaf through steaming, rolling and drying — and see why matcha takes a completely different road.
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Sencha or matcha? Same tea plant, two completely different cups
Sencha and matcha come from the very same plant, yet they're grown, made, and drunk in completely different ways. Here's the difference, in plain language.
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Meet the konbini: why a Japanese convenience store might be your best travel friend
The humble konbini is quietly the most useful building in Japan — foreign-card ATMs, genuinely good food, luggage forwarding, and a stack of superpowers for travellers.
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Send the suitcase ahead: how luggage forwarding makes Japan so much easier
Dragging a suitcase up station stairs? Locals don't. Here's how takkyubin sends your bags on ahead, usually for about ¥2,000.
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Onsen etiquette for first-timers: how to relax in a Japanese hot spring (tattoos included)
Nervous about your first Japanese onsen? Here's the etiquette that actually matters — washing first, the little towel, and honest advice if you have tattoos.
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Is Japan cashless yet? How much cash to actually bring in 2026
Cards and phones cover the big cities now — but Japan's small towns, shrines and mountain buses still run on cash. Here's how much to carry.
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How the green tea in your cup got here: a short history of Japanese tea
The history of Japanese tea is a 1,200-year story — monks, emperors, a warrior's tea room, and one farmer who gave the country the green cup it drinks today.
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Suica, manaca, or just your phone? Japan's IC cards, explained for first-timers
One tap-and-go IC card works on nearly every train, subway, bus and konbini till in Japan — and you can now get one before you even land.
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Japan's quiet side: the small towns and countryside of central Japan
A local's guide to the small towns and countryside of central Japan — quiet Hida villages, a castle town, a pottery lane, all an easy trip from Nagoya.
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Things to do in Nagoya, the big city most travellers skip
A local's guide to the best things to do in Nagoya — the castle and the shrine, the food you came for, easy day trips, and how to get around cheaply.
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Sparks, lanterns and an all-night dance: central Japan's summer festivals in 2026
Central Japan's best summer festivals, with 2026 dates: hand-held fireworks in Toyohashi, a river of lanterns in Tsushima, and an all-night dance up in Gujo.
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Takayama: a travel guide to the little Kyoto of the Hida mountains
A friendly Takayama travel guide — the old town of Sanmachi, morning markets, Hida beef, the festival, and how to get there from Nagoya.
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When's the best time to visit central Japan? A month-by-month guide to weather and what to pack
The best time to visit central Japan, season by season — what the weather in Nagoya, Gifu and Mie actually feels like each month, and what to wear.
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What is the Tokai region? Meet Aichi, Gifu and Mie — the three prefectures we call home
People keep asking us what the Tokai region actually is. The short answer — three prefectures, Aichi, Gifu and Mie, gathered around Nagoya.
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Climbing Mt. Fuji in 2026? You can't just turn up anymore — here's the new drill
Fuji's trails open in early July, but the rules changed. The ¥4,000 permit, the reservations and the 2 p.m. gate, explained before you lace up your boots.
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Central Japan in high summer is hotter than you expect — here's how the locals keep cool
July and August in Nagoya are hot and, more to the point, sticky. A handful of small local habits — and one official app — make the heat genuinely manageable.
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From July 1, leaving Japan costs a little more — and two other 2026 money changes worth knowing
Two changes land on July 1 — a higher departure tax and visa fees that jump about fivefold — and tax-free shopping shifts in November. Here's what each one means for your trip.
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The hillside an hour from Nagoya where 50,000 hydrangeas glow after dark
An hour or so from Nagoya, a hot-spring hillside in Gamagori lights up 50,000 hydrangeas until 9pm — and mid-to-late June, right now, is the time to go.
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Japan's tax-free shopping changes in November — you'll get the refund at the airport now
That passport-at-the-register discount changes on 1 November 2026. From then you pay full price and claim the tax back when you fly out — here's how to be ready.
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20 minutes from Nagoya, a 1,300-year-old night you won't see anywhere else
Most visitors never hear about ukai — fishing with birds, by firelight, on the Nagara River. It runs nightly all summer, and Gifu is closer than you think.
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Coming to Japan in June? The rainy season is our little secret
Everyone warns you about Japan's June rain. After years of running tours through it, here's why we quietly love it — and how to travel it beautifully.
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The Japanese habit I wish everyone knew about
Arranging medical trips taught me something simple and a little life-changing about how Japan looks after its people. Let me share it.
Read more →The numbers that won me over on Japanese healthcare
I'm not usually someone who gets moved by statistics. A few of these genuinely stopped me. Let me walk you through them.
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Easier to read, with prices and access right where you need them — now in English and Vietnamese too.
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