Oi Racecourse Flea Market: Tokyo’s Biggest (2026)
Oi Racecourse hosts Tokyo's biggest flea market: up to 700 stalls most weekends, 9:00-14:30, free entry. What to find, how to haggle, access, and other Tokyo markets.
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240+ field-tested travel guides across every Japanese prefecture, by Nobu — written from places he has actually stood in.
Field Notes from Every Prefecture
Every place I’ve walked. In one feed.
240+ articles, written from the places I actually stood in. Filed by region, by season, by what the trip is really about.
Coolcation Japan 2026: Where I Escape the Heat (Not Crowded Hokkaido)
Japan's hottest summer on record was 2025, and 2026 looks just as hot. Here's where I go to escape the heat — cool highland escapes, not crowded Hokkaido.
Kinomiya Shrine Atami: The 2,000-Year-Old Great Camphor
Kinomiya Shrine, Atami: the 2,000-year-old great camphor, the walk-around-the-trunk ritual, free entry, nightly light-up, tea by the tree, and access.
Jigokudani Snow Monkey Park 2026: When the Macaques Bathe
Jigokudani Snow Monkey Park, Nagano: wild macaques bathing in a hot spring. What it costs, when they actually soak, the icy 1.6km trail, and how to get there.
Michi-no-Eki Hakuba: A Roadside Stop for Purple Rice
Michi-no-Eki Hakuba roadside station, Nagano: what a michi-no-eki is, Hakuba's purple rice as amazake and chiffon, the soba set, hours and how to get there.
Osaka Castle: Keep, Stones & Turrets (2026 Guide)
Osaka Castle guide 2026: the 1931 reconstructed keep, the 130-ton Takoishi stone, 13 surviving Edo structures, admission ¥1,200, hours and beating the crowds.
Obi Castle & Castle Town: Kyushu’s Little Kyoto
Obi Castle Town in Nichinan, Miyazaki: the Ito clan's 'Little Kyoto of Kyushu' — the 1978 wooden gate, samurai streets, the combined ticket and obiten.
Should You Climb Mt Fuji in 2026 — or See It Without Climbing?
Mt Fuji's 2026 climb means a ¥4,000 fee, daily caps and a 2 PM gate. An honest look at whether to climb — and where to see the famous view without it.
Skip the Crowds in Japan 2026: 12 Overtouristed Spots and Where I Go Instead
Japan's famous spots are mobbed in 2026 — here are 12 of them and the quieter places I send travelers to instead, with verified crowd data and first-hand routes.
Kashiho Mase: An Izu Wagashi Shop in Atami (Since 1872)
Kashiho Mase, a 150-year-old wagashi shop on the Atami coast of Izu — the Izu no Odoriko sweet, seasonal citrus daifuku, its branches, and what to buy through the year.