We leave Kyoto with only our backpacks for three days, after sending out our luggage to Nagano. Coming ahead: Himeji castle, part of the Nakasendo trail from Magome to Tsumago, and Matsumoto. Two castels, rice fields, a miso brewery and…

After Osaka, where we landed and spent our first three days in Japan, we had our first Shinkansen ride to Kyoto (only 14 minutes to travel about 60 kilometers). Our first impression when stepping foot in Kyoto: the city is…

After visiting Matsumoto castle and hiking the Nakasendo trail, our one-month train trip in Japan brings us to Nagano and the Japanese Alps. We arrive in Nagano around 2 PM and retrieve our luggage, previously sent from Kyoto by ta-q-bin….

We headed to Sendai from Nagano. We sent our luggage from our hotel in Nagano, to receive them in Sapporo, Hokkaido, a few days later. In the meantime, we travelled with our backpacks. From Nagano, we rode a first Shinkansen…

After our last stop in Sendai, we rode the train to Hakodate, a big harbor city that often serves as an entry point to the northernmost main island of Japan. This is the farthest the Shinkansen goes on Hokkaido (there…

Next step in our 1-month train itinerary in Japan: after spending a few days on Hokkaido, we stopped in Nikko on hour way down to Tokyo. This city can easily be visited from Tokyo, but as it was on our…

Our last stop during this month-long travel through Japan was Tokyo. Very first time we set foot in the capital city of Japan, since we landed in Osaka and travelled North without passing by Tokyo. Leaving Nikko, we rode the…

You can find about everything in Tokyo, otaku (geek) areas, video games centers, leisure and amusement parks, nightlife, all kinds of restaurants, cultural treasures and tradition… Maybe there’s one thing missing in Japan’s capital city: nature. Here are three one-day…

West of Tokyo are the trendy neighborhoods: Shibuya, Shinjuku, Roppongi, Harajuku… This is were fashion shops and nightlife are. There’s also Ikebukuro, the so-called “Akihabara for women”. Further West, you’ll also find Gotokuji, the famous manekineko cat shrine. In total,…