When you hear “Himeji” you probably think of the beautiful “Himeji Castle” which is certainly what Himeji is most famous for. However, there are a lot of other things to discover and enjoy! One of them is the annual “Himeji Yukata Festival” (姫路ゆかたまつり) that takes place in late June. Note: 2020 it was cancelled due […]

The post Why the Himeji Yukata Festival is Certainly Worth a Visit appeared first on Zooming Japan.

Your Japan trip was cancelled due to Covid-19 and now you’re not sure what to do? No doubt these are crazy times we’re living in. I’ve already had my share of emergency states and chaos when I lived in Japan, e.g. when the triple disaster hit us in March 2011. Back then it was mostly […]

The post 6 Things You Can Do If Your Japan Trip was Cancelled due to Covid-19 appeared first on Zooming Japan.

It’s probably not a secret that I’m a HUGE fan of Japanese castles. At this point I’ve been to around 150 of them and there are even more waiting to be explored. With so many castles around, it’s sometimes hard to choose which ones to visit. It’s true that there are some pretty amazing castles in […]

The post The Remaining 12 Original Japanese Castle Keeps appeared first on Zooming Japan.

If you visit Japan for the first time, Tokyo is usually the place everybody wants to check out. And indeed there are many exciting things to discover in Tokyo – some of them will be introduced today. However, if you stick to the well-known “golden route” (Tokyo – Kyoto – Hiroshima) you’ll miss some of […]

The post From Tokyo to Okayama (Sample Itinerary for 4 days) appeared first on Zooming Japan.

Hello to anyone who’s still reading “Zooming Japan”. I know this blog has struggled with regular updates for the longest time now. And there’s a reason for that. I’ve been putting this off for quite some time now, but it needs to be done.   The original purpose of “Zooming Japan” You know, I started […]

The post Goodbye Zooming Japan: Hiatus notification appeared first on Zooming Japan.

Japan is famous for its green tea. If you ever drink tea in Japan, it’s most likely green tea. Among the famous types of green tea are Sencha, Genmaicha, Hojicha … but first and foremost Matcha (抹茶).   What is Matcha? While matcha is green tea, the farming and processing is different from that of […]

The post Matcha – Japan’s Healthiest and Most Traditional Green Tea appeared first on Zooming Japan.

A question I get almost on a daily basis is: Is the Japan Rail Pass worth it? Short answer: Yes, for long distance travelling (e.g. a round trip from Tokyo to Kyoto). Ok, ok. You want the long answer, right? :)   What is the Japan Rail Pass? In Japan the most convenient way to […]

The post Is the Japan Rail Pass Worth the Money? appeared first on Zooming Japan.

Enjoying a Japanese hot spring is something you don’t want to miss when visiting the country. Japan is blessed with onsen (温泉 / ♨) thanks to its many volcanoes. The hot water origins from geothermally heated springs. This is different from Japanese sento (銭湯) which are public bath houses, using normal hot tap water. Although […]

The post Onsen Etiquette: Don’t make these 8 mistakes in a Japanese Hot Spring! appeared first on Zooming Japan.

This was probably my longest Japan trip ever since 2007. Either I lived in Japan or my trips were partly business trips to Japan, so I barely could add 1-1,5 weeks of private vacation afterwards. 3 weeks is a very good time frame for a Japan trip in general – if you can afford it. […]

The post From Kanto to Kansai: Kumano Kodo + Nakasendo (Autumn 2017) appeared first on Zooming Japan.