Edo-Tokyo Open Air Museum and Kawagoe

The warmer weather is perfect for little day trips, not far from central Tokyo. When my friend, Flavia, visited me over the weekend, I was thinking what we could visit together in Tokyo, as she loves museums and we both wanted to discover a new one. I have heard about Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum…

Read More

Early Sakura

Europe is covered in March snow but in Japan (or at least in Tokyo…) spring has sprung! Now, besides the early bloomers, the ume (plum) flowers, you can admire early sakura (cherry) blossoms in several places in Tokyo. One of those places is Shinjuku Gyoen, a beautiful park located in the busy Shinjuku, a perfect…

Read More

Ume Matsuri at Yushima Tenmangu

Let’s continue the story about 梅 ume and spring in Tokyo. Over the last weekend, Tokyo was blessed with wonderful weather that couldn’t keep me inside. So, Saturday, I headed to this shrine I have heard of as being famous for its beautiful plum flowers (ume) and for Tenjin, the kami (god, spirit in Shinto)…

Read More

Almost Spring in Tokyo

It is getting warmer and warmer, birds are singing, trees started to bloom, winter is almost gone and spring is ready to take its place. Many argue that spring is the best season to visit Japan and the reason for that are of course the country’s famous sakura or cherry blossoms. But before hanami or…

Read More

5 Dreamy Winter Places in Japan

Happy New Year! (Can I still say it even though it has been 1 month since the new year started? oh well…) The first month of 2018 was very busy for me, as I had finals and lots of work to do in general. But that didn’t stop me from daydreaming about some places I…

Read More

Nostalgic Trip to Ikaho

One of my Japan travel goals is to see all of its prefectures, 47 in total, and I am almost halfway to this goal, yaay. For Christmas, I wanted to go on a short getaway, preferably to a destination with snow, that is why I chose Gunma prefecture, which is not so far away from…

Read More

Day Trip to Hakone

Hakone, the onsen (hot springs) town, located less than one hundred kilometers from Tokyo, is one of those must-see places that most tourists have on their Japan travel list. It is a popular day trip destination from Tokyo for both foreigners and Japanese alike. However, last time I was in Japan, I somehow managed to…

Read More

Autumn in Tokyo: Ichou

According to the calendar, we already entered the beautiful month of December! So yay for the month of Christmas and presents and pretty decorations everywhere and carols and so on. But the weather in Tokyo is still on the autumn side, the autumn leaves still being at their peak, so here comes another post about…

Read More

Autumn in Tokyo: Okutama

Long time no post! And long time no hike for that matter (maybe since hiking around Santorini?) … Lately, my Grad school has been keeping me busy with all kinds of presentations, papers and so on, but I still managed to keep my goal of visiting a new place in Japan at least once a…

Read More

Japan’s Natural Beauty: Kochia

Living in Japan for a year, I visited many so-called “main” or “must-see” places so now I am looking for new places to discover, maybe a bit off the beaten path. Luckily there are still many beautiful places left to see in Japan so I hope to get the chance and see as many of…

Read More