Mie Food Guide: Matsusaka Beef at the Source, Ise Udon & the Oyster Shacks of Toba
Mie’s ancient name was Umashi-kuni — “the land of good food” — and the prefecture has spent two…
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Kumano Kodo Iseji: The Pilgrimage Route Through Mie That Foreigners Haven’t Found Yet
When overseas hikers say “Kumano Kodo,” they mean the Nakahechi route through Wakayama — deservedly famous, increasingly busy.…
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Iga & Akame 48 Waterfalls: Real Ninja Country and the Training Gorge of Mie
Iga, in the mountains of western Mie, is one of the two birthplaces of the historical ninja (the…
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Ise Jingu the Local Way: Katamairi, Dawn Pilgrimages & the Merchant Quarter Nobody Sees
Ise Jingu is Japan’s most sacred Shinto site — 125 shrines centered on the Inner Shrine (Naiku) and…
Read more →Ise-Shima Ama Divers: Lunch With Japan’s Last Free-Diving Women & the One-Wish Shrine
The Shima Peninsula south of Ise is home to the world’s largest remaining community of ama — women…
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Walk Ueno to Nippori Through Yanesen | Tokyo’s Most Historic Shitamachi Stroll
This route links Ueno, Yanaka, Nezu, Sendagi, and Nippori — the belt of high ground northwest of Ueno…
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Tokyo’s Forest Walk | Shinjuku Gyoen, Meiji Shrine & Yoyogi Park in One Route
Shinjuku, Yoyogi, and Harajuku read as three separate destinations on the map, but they are stitched together by…
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Shibuya Stream to Daikanyama: The New Riverside Walk Locals Love
For decades the Shibuya River south of the station ran hidden under concrete and neglect — a drainage…
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Golden Gai: How to Actually Drink in Shinjuku’s 200-Bar Maze
Golden Gai is a preserved scrap of postwar Shinjuku: six pedestrian alleys holding roughly 280 bars, most seating…
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Omoide Yokocho (‘Memory Lane’): Eating Yakitori in Shinjuku’s Tiny Alley
Omoide Yokocho — “Memory Lane,” though everyone also knows its ruder postwar nickname — is a pair of…
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