Experience a grand hotel adventure with Pokémon stay packages filled with collaboration amenities and Pikachu-inspired dining, including a luxurious Pokémon-themed suite. Grand Hyatt Tokyo is joining Pokémon’s 30th anniversary celebrations with two summer stay packages, which invite guests to embark on a captivating adventure with their favorite Pokémon in the heart of downtown Tokyo. Available…

Situated at the upper end of the Izu Peninsula, Atami’s rich and storied history dates back to the discovery of natural hots springs (onsen) there around the fifth century. In the years since, the area has built a laudable reputation as a seaside resort renowned for those very hot springs. During Japan’s bubble economy in…

Why not live together with friends with a wide variety of perspectives (such as nationality, age, gender, and values), and through experience programs (various genres and interests), while interacting with nature, deepening your understanding of local and international exchange and the U.N. sustainable development goals and create a place where you can cultivate each other’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…

The farmer who has dropped by the local soba store, a rickety old building that also doubles as a general store and post office, is an expansive character, speaking fondly and at Homeric length about the area in which he lives.  “In our town we have three treasures,” he says, taking a late morning sip…

Buffeted by the whims of larger, more powerful nations and isolated from the international community, Laos, at least until a few years ago, remained more rumor than reality, its capital, Vientiane, an anomaly on the world map. With the completion in 1994 of the Australian-funded Mitprahab, or Friendship Bridge, connecting Vientiane with neighboring Thailand, and…

The volcanic Kuju Mountain Range running through the prefecture is the source of Oita’s many onsen hot springs, the most in all of Japan and a major tourism draw. The city of Beppu, at the western end of Beppu Bay, is famous for its onsen baths, which are fed by eight different springs. Beppu is…

Ise Jingu shrine in Mie Prefecture is considered the most important Shinto shrine in Japan with more than 2,000 years of history. Jingu is described in the oldest Japanese texts, “Kojiki” and “Nihinshoki,” which were edited about 1,300 years ago. Rather than a single shrine, Ise Jingu is better described as complex consisting of many…