SOIL Nihonbashi
Curved terracotta, planted balconies and a round tub in the room. The most interesting building you can sleep in in central Tokyo — for far less than a five-star.
Four Seasons Tokyo at Otemachi
A bathtub against floor-to-ceiling glass with the whole city in front of you. The hotel I recommend most often in Tokyo — and why it earns a straight five.
Which Tokyo neighborhood should you stay in?
Tokyo has no single centre — it has a dozen, and the one you sleep in quietly decides what your trip feels like. Ginza, Shibuya, Shinjuku, Nakameguro, Roppongi and Asakusa, honestly compared.
What a kaiseki dinner is actually like
The course order, the timing, what to wear, what it costs — and why the best rooms still take reservations only by phone, in Japanese.
Should you add Okinawa or Ishigaki?
Japan's tropical south is genuinely wonderful — and the most common way a Japan trip gets overstretched. When it fits, when it doesn't, and what to do instead.
HOSHINOYA Tokyo: A Ryokan in a Tower
A genuine ryokan stacked seventeen floors above Tokyo's business district — tatami suites, a bamboo-tier breakfast, and a rooftop hot-spring onsen.
A luxury 14-day Japan itinerary for first-time visitors
Four bases, one direction, and a third of the days deliberately left open. The shape I use most often, with what to book and when.
Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto and Osaka: the most seamless route
The route works. The way most itineraries sequence it does not. Which direction to travel, where Hakone fits, and the Odawara catch nobody mentions.
How foreign travellers can reserve restaurants in Japan
Four tiers of restaurant, and only one is easy. Why the best counters take only Japanese phone calls, what introduction-only really means, and the routes that work.
How to plan transportation for a two-week Japan trip
Whether the rail pass is still worth it in 2026, when to book what, and the four routing mistakes that quietly cost you two days out of fourteen.
How much does a custom Japan itinerary planner cost?
Real 2026 prices from real services, compared side by side — and the one line item that makes two identically priced services completely different products.
How luggage forwarding works in Japan
Send your suitcase hotel-to-hotel overnight for about ¥2,000. The costs, the 11am deadline, and the ryokan mistake that makes people pay twice.
What to book three months before a Japan trip
Most trips are planned in the wrong order. What belongs at six months, what belongs at three, what can wait — and what you should never book in advance.
Is the Shinkansen Green Car worth it?
What you actually get for the extra 30 to 40 per cent, what it costs Tokyo to Kyoto, the three trips where it earns its price — and why Gran Class is not an option on this route.
Private car vs train in Japan: when each makes sense
Japan is the one country where hiring a driver is usually the worse option. Real costs, and the days where a car genuinely changes what is possible.
Japan travel planner vs travel agency vs hotel concierge
Three different jobs, three different paymasters. Who actually works for you, what each can and cannot do, and which one you need.
How many days do you need in Japan?
Ten days is the sweet spot, seven the practical minimum. The number that matters is not days but bases — each change of city costs you half a day.
Tokyo or Kyoto: which deserves more of your trip?
Give Tokyo the nights and Kyoto the mornings. How to split 7, 10 and 14 days between them — and why Tokyo should come first.
Cherry blossom or autumn: which season should you book?
Blossom lasts a week and moves; autumn lasts a month and does not. The two seasons compared on crowds, cost, weather and how far ahead you must book.
Is Japan expensive? What two weeks actually costs
Cheaper than you expect to eat and move around, about what you expect to sleep, and more than you expect to travel between cities. Real numbers at three budget levels.
Ryokan or hotel: which should you book?
A ryokan is not a Japanese-style hotel. What the evening actually involves, what it costs, how many nights to book — and when a hotel is simply better.
Golden Week, Obon and New Year: the weeks to avoid
The three periods when the whole country travels at once. Exact dates, what actually closes, and how to travel through them if you have no choice.