Blog

Trip notes

First-hand write-ups from trips I have actually taken — the route, what it cost, and what I would do differently. Separate from the itinerary library, which covers places whether or not I have been.

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  Two weeks in Japan, and the parts I'd do differently

  Seventeen days from Tokyo to Hiroshima and back, including Kanazawa and Shirakawa-go — the stretch most first-trip routes skip.

  Japan · August 2026 · 12 min read

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  Tokyo: where I stayed, ate and shopped

  Five days across three separate visits, and what I would book again.

  Japan · Tokyo · 9 min read

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  Kyoto: four days, plus Nara and Osaka

  Four days based in Kyoto, two of them spent elsewhere. Where we stayed, what we ate, and the one timing trick that made the difference.

  Japan · Kyoto · 12 min read

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  Hiroshima and Miyajima in two days

  Two days, one for the city and one for the island. Whether that is enough, and what to know before you go.

  Japan · Hiroshima · 10 min read

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  Kanazawa, Shirakawa-go and Takayama: the detour worth making

  Three days off the Tokyo–Kyoto–Osaka line, in the part of Japan most first trips never reach.

  Japan · Kanazawa · 10 min read