There are few feelings quite like visiting Japan for the first time.
Months before your flight, you’re planning everything. You’re watching videos, reading travel blogs, saving photos, studying train maps, and trying to imagine what life will be like on the other side of the world.
You prepare as much as you can.
But the truth is, you can never fully prepare for what Japan actually feels like.
Continue reading “The Difference Between Visiting Japan and Returning to Japan”People often ask me why I keep going back to Japan.
There are plenty of places left in the world that I haven’t seen. Countries with incredible landscapes, famous landmarks, and cultures waiting to be experienced. It would probably make more sense to visit somewhere completely new.
But every time I think about planning another trip, my mind always finds its way back to Japan.
Continue reading “Every Trip Leaves a Version of You Behind”I’ll admit it.
Before my first trip to Japan, Tokyo’s train stations were probably the thing I worried about the most.
I’d seen the maps. Hundreds of stations. Dozens of train lines. Millions of people using them every day. Every article I read seemed to remind me that Tokyo had one of the busiest transportation systems in the world, and I convinced myself I’d spend half my vacation hopelessly lost underground.
Continue reading “What I Wish I Knew Before Using Tokyo’s Train Stations”I’ve been fortunate enough to visit Japan four times, and as I plan my fifth trip, one thing has become clear.
I don’t think I’ll ever feel finished with this incredible country.
You would think that after four visits I’d finally start checking destinations off a list. Instead, the opposite has happened. Every trip seems to create an even longer list of places I want to experience the next time I return.
That’s part of Japan’s magic.
Continue reading “Why I Never Feel Finished With Japan”Solo traveling has been a way of life for me for a while now. Friends and family aren’t always able to join me for a trip so as I find myself eagerly booking new adventures, I have to admit something. Solo travel can be lonely.
Continue reading “Ups and downs of solo traveling”
