Editor’s note: like Sam, visiting Nara was one of my favorite parts of both of my Japan trips. Also like Sam, both of my visits focused on Nara Park. You can read about my experience here. And for more of Sam’s adventures, click here to visit his index page. It is springtime, and when thinking…
Editor’s note: I’ve been to Japan twice, but have not made it down to Hiroshima. It is the single top place on my Japan bucket list for my next trip, and I’m grateful to writer Sam Spector for his brief but awesome guide to a visit. For more of Sam’s adventures, click here to visit…
Editor’s note: it is kind of fun to read someone else’s take on the exact same trip I took, which is exactly what you’ll get here from Jackie, my mom. While you can read my guides to Tokyo here, and the Kansai region here, I hope you’ll all enjoy her experience as well, especially what…
Since starting The Royal Tour, I’ve had the opportunity to visit more than 30 countries. Most of those, specifically in Europe, are very western in culture. Yes, there are some differences from life here in the U.S., but largely, Americans can navigate without too many issues. Japan, while a modern country with easily used infrastructure,…
Tokyo is obviously Japan’s premier gateway, and at about 40 million people in the metro area, is the largest city in the world. But this region, called Kansai, is Japan’s second largest (roughly 20 million) and maybe the most popular part of the country with tourists. Sitting to the southwest of Tokyo, roughly 2-3 hours…
In a country full of beautiful places, this might be at the top of the list. It is early afternoon at Osaka Castle Park, one alternating between somewhat sunny and totally overcast, humid with rain expected in the evening. The park is green, the cherry blossoms are out in full force, and the castle dominates…
Several years ago, after my first trip to Japan, I wrote an article about how I thought Kyoto was overrated. (Click here to read it.) But fresh off my return trip to my previously least favorite city on the planet, Naples, which led to a redemption of sort, I was excited to go back to…
I’ve done this trip twice, once on each of my journeys to Japan. And both times, it has been among the highlights of my entire time in the country. After all, combining one of the coolest temples in a country full of cool temples with a chance to feed the sacred deer is a day…
I’m sure Kobe, Japan’s seventh largest city with a population around 1.5 million, has a lot of things going for it. I’m sure it has pretty parks, great museums, beautiful temples, and some solid history. I’m sure that if I spent a week or two here, I’d find some of those things and be able…
Sometimes in travel, plans don’t quite manifest the way we would like. An attraction is unexpectedly closed. Weather doesn’t hold. A place is much different - in a worse way - than its photo. For anyone who has spent any significant time traveling, these things will be part of their experiences; there’s no way to…