Unlike Shirakawa-go in the Gifu prefecture, the remote Gokayama region in the Toyama prefecture is exempt from big bus tourism and seems to attrach more independent travelers. Even though the two areas are both declared as UNESCO world heritage sites, they are located in two different prefectures, and I have a feeling [...]

Breathtaking scenery from the bus journey
 
Over-tourism is now a global problem, and it becomes more problematic when a historic and tranquil village is suddenly listed as an Unesco World Heritage Site. While many governments endeavour to get their country's famous sightseeing sites listed in order to generate tourism and income, they are [...]

Stunning scenery of the mountains during the train journey to Takayama
 
Even though I am familiar with unpredictable weather, I wasn't fully prepared for the fluctuation of temperatures and weather while traveling around Japan. For the first 10 days of my trip in the Kansai region, I experienced exceptional warm and sunny weather [...]

 
When I was planning my trip to Mino, I struggled initially to find an accommodation in the town centre. I was quite perplexed by this, and so I started to check on google map. Eventually, I found a hotel called Baison, but apart from the location, I could not find the website [...]

The preserved townscape of Minoshi
 
I think many people who are interested in Japanese paper would have heard of Mino washi paper, especially after it was was designated an Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO in 2014. The origin of this paper dates back to the Nara period (710 ~ 784 CE), and is [...]

 
One big mistake I made when I was planning my trip was that I underestimated the traveling and transferring time of using the public transport in Japan. Trains are punctual and frequent if you are traveling to major and more populated cities, but it becomes more complicated if you want to go [...]

 
Sometimes it doesn't matter how much planning you do before your trip, things would still go wrong... but miraculously, some kind strangers/ locals would appear out of nowhere to help you out. I am sure many people have had these experiences when they travel, and I think it is probably the most [...]

 
"The Peach Blossom Land" was a Chinese fable written by poet Tao Yuanming in 421 CE about a fisherman's discovery of a hidden valley - an ethereal utopia where contented people lead an ideal existence in harmony with nature, unaware of the outside world for centuries. It is similar to the mystical and [...]

Honen-in temple by the Philosopher's path
 
The older I get, the more I believe that everything happens for a reason, which includes the people we encounter over the course of our lifetime. And since I started running my own business, I discovered that when you follow your heart and passion, you are [...]

 
The usually tranquil Philosopher's path was full of tourists with selfie sticks during the cherry blossom period
 
I have been warned and I knew when I struggled to find accommodations three months before my trip, yet I still went to Kyoto during the sakura season. It was not my plan to visit [...]