Located on the northeastern edge of Japan’s Kyushu Island, Oita Prefecture — or the onsen mecca, as it’s sometimes known — has many features that draws in visitors from all over the world. Characterized by its hot, balmy summers yet mild, chilly winters, the area is chock full of sightseeing and tourist hotspots. One of…

“Hold on!!”  As your kayak surges into clear air from the top of a rushing 20-foot waterfall, now is about the right time to start thanking whoever you pray to that your new flying instructor is a qualified outdoor guide. For many outdoor adventure operators in Japan, business is much more than a mere nine…

Knowing a place is a journey one can begin but never end. How land, climate and culture shape what we use, appreciate and eat varies with a diversity impossible for our minds to fully comprehend. And there lies the joy of it. If you are willing to look, there is always something new to discover….

Japan is first and foremost an island country – with 3,000 of them in all – and yet in stark contrast to other archipelagic nations such as Indonesia and the Philippines the name Japan rarely, if ever, conjures up images of islands in people’s minds. This curious paradox can largely be attributed to the country’s…

Travel writers in recent times have been less than flattering in their assessment of Mandalay, the ancient capital of Myanmar. But, as Stephen Mansfield writes, there’s still a lot of charm left in the disheveled city yet. Photos also by Stephen Mansfield. Technically speaking, Mandalay no longer exists. The old city, built after King Mindon…

With the Black Ships Festival just around the corner, Rob Gilhooly drops in on the historical port town of Shimoda. “Ah! The moon is up, and tomorrow we’ll be in Shimoda,” said the little dancer. “I love Shimoda.” There’s much to love about today’s Shimoda, though not necessarily what Kaoru, the little dancer and central…

By the time the lunch gong had sounded in the great hall of the Heng Yang monastery, I had already placed generous votive offerings at a shrine in the Temple of the Goddess of Mercy, watched a flour doll and knot-maker at work, witnessed minor grievances being aired at the Ancient Courthouse and met a…

“Where are you from,” she asked. I thought about where I was from and lit a cigarette. That place colored by associations with tattoos, the jabisen, and ways as strange as ornamental designs. “Very far away,” I answered. A Conversation, Yamanokuchi Baku.  Once a place natives of these islands were reluctant to claim as their…

Rob Gilhooly explores a 14-billion-ton block of salt in the middle of South America. Had it been part of some bizarre dream, it might have been more credible. After hours of driving along unsealed tracks that snaked through windswept villages straight out of a Sergio Leone movie, we entered what looked like a vast, open-air…

In the first half of 2020, the number of foreign visitors to Japan decreased suddenly due to the spread of the new coronavirus (COVID-19) infection worldwide, which has seriously impacted the travel industry around the world. What will happen to the Olympic and Paralympic Games that have now been postponed to next year?   Development…