Travel Tips

Practical travel information to help you plan and travel Japan smoothly.

Travel Tips

Skip the Crowds in Japan 2026: 12 Overtouristed Spots and Where I Go Instead

A quiet lane in Kyoto's preserved Saga-Toriimoto district at dusk: a thatched teahouse with paper lanterns, stone lanterns and a vermilion torii gate, with a classic Japanese taxi passing and no crowds in sight

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.

Nobu
June 16, 2026

Location, Experience, Kanto, Tokyo, Travel Tips

BEAMS Japan Shinjuku: Japanese Souvenirs, Floor by Floor

BEAMS Japan in Shinjuku is a six-floor, Japan-themed store — souvenirs from all 47 prefectures, crafts, fashion and art, plus a restaurant. Free entry, tax-free, a minute from the station.

Nobu
June 14, 2026

Location, Culture, Experience, Kyushu & Okinawa, Saga

Arita Porcelain Park: A Free Baroque Palace in Saga’s Pottery Town

The full-scale replica of Dresden baroque Zwinger Palace at Arita Porcelain Park in Saga, its ornate stone facade and green copper roof reflected in a still pool of water under a blue sky with clouds.

Arita Porcelain Park in Saga is a free theme park built around a full-scale replica of Dresden's Zwinger Palace — with a sake brewery, porcelain workshops and a baroque garden.

Nobu
June 14, 2026

Travel Tips, Seasonal Travel

What I Actually Buy for a Japanese Summer (and What to Skip)

Wide panoramic view down Shijo-dori in Kyoto during Gion Matsuri Yoiyama night showing a dense crowd of thousands of festival visitors stretching down the closed street with rows of red and white yatai food stalls on both sides and tall buildings lit up overhead

An honest, first-hand list of what's worth buying for a hot, humid Japanese summer — cooling rings, fans, sunscreen, rain gear — what a convenience store already covers, and what to skip.

Nobu
June 13, 2026

Location, Culture, Kansai, Nara, Shrines & Temples

Yakushiji Temple: Nara’s Twin-Pagoda World Heritage Site

The reconstructed Golden Hall of Yakushiji Temple in Nara flanked by its two three-story pagodas, the vermilion and white Hakuho-style buildings of the World Heritage temple under a clear blue sky.

Yakushiji in Nara's Nishinokyō is a World Heritage temple founded in 680 — its East Pagoda (730) is the only original building left, and its bronze Yakushi Triad is a National Treasure.

Nobu
June 13, 2026

Location, Culture, Experience, Kyushu & Okinawa, Saga

Yoshinogari Historical Park: Japan’s Great Yayoi Village in Saga

An elevated panoramic view over the reconstructed Yayoi-period moated village at Yoshinogari Historical Park in Saga, with wooden palisades, thatched-roof buildings, green rice fields and distant mountains.

Yoshinogari Historical Park in Saga preserves one of Japan's largest Yayoi-period moated settlements — reconstructed watchtowers, a ceremonial hall and a leaders' burial mound on a 117-hectare site.

Nobu
June 12, 2026

Saga, Kyushu & Okinawa, Location, Transportation, Travel Tips

Getting to Imari & Arita: Saga’s Pottery Towns by Train & Car

A single yellow local railcar crossing golden ripe rice fields at sunset with layered blue mountains behind, a rural railway scene in the Saga countryside of Kyushu

How to reach Imari and Arita from Fukuoka — the split Chikuhi Line, the limited express to Arita, the Matsuura Railway, and why a car wins.

Nobu
June 8, 2026

Saga, Culture, Experience, Kyushu & Okinawa, Location

Imari Shrine: The Vermilion Gate, the Sweets God & Tontenton

The striking vermilion two-storey tower gate (romon) of Imari Shrine in Imari, Saga, built over a white arched tunnel with stone steps leading up to the shrine, framed by trees

Imari Shrine in Saga: a photogenic vermilion gate over a white tunnel, a rare shrine to the god of sweets, and the Tontenton fighting festival.

Nobu
June 8, 2026

Saga, Culture, Experience, Kyushu & Okinawa, Location

Arita Sera: Where to Shop for Arita Porcelain in Saga (2026)

The long covered shopping arcade of Arita Sera in Arita, Saga, glass-fronted porcelain shops with displays of plates and vases on one side and a paved walkway with planters and trees on the other

Arita Sera: 22 Arita-porcelain shops on one hilltop in Saga, open year-round with free parking — the easy place to buy the real thing.

Nobu
June 8, 2026

Saga, Culture, Experience, Kyushu & Okinawa, Location

Imari Ware: Japan’s First Porcelain (Arita, Old Imari & Nabeshima)

An antique Old Imari (Ko-Imari) porcelain bowl decorated in deep cobalt blue, iron red and gold brocade with chrysanthemum and flower patterns, the classic Hizen export style made in Arita, Saga

Imari ware is Japan's first porcelain — made in Arita from the 1610s, named for the port it shipped from, and exported to Europe as Old Imari.

Nobu
June 8, 2026