22 guides · Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Kumano & Hakone
Japan, at your own pace.
In 2016 I had a stroke. Two years later I walked the Kumano Kodo, an ancient pilgrimage route in the mountains of Wakayama. This is the guide I wish I'd had: honest notes on routes, rest stops, heat and the small bits of gear that make Japan easier when your body sets the speed.
Feature · Tokyo · Azabudai
teamLab Borderless: go early, take your time, and mind your footing
We spent New Year's morning 2020 inside teamLab's digital art museum, and it was one of the best parts of our Tokyo trip. Here's how to plan a visit to the new Azabudai Hills location at a comfortable pace.
New in the journal
Built from my own reviews of places across three trips.
Kyoto
Renting a kimono in Japan: what we learned, and why I'd pay extra for silk
All of Japan
Look down: Japan's decorative manhole covers, and the free cards that go with them
Tokyo, Kyoto & Osaka
Where we ate in Japan, and where I'd eat again
All of Japan
Japan etiquette for first-timers: the communal sauce rule and other things I learned
Tokyo
A men's grooming splurge in Tokyo: a luxury barber and a late-night foot massage
Tokyo · Urayasu
Tokyo Disney Resort, practically: lines, restrooms, food and pacing a long day
Places
Start with a city or region.
The Kumano story and the classics
The guides that started the site.
Hongu · Kumano
Ryokan and onsen at your own pace: our night in Yunomine Onsen
Hongu · Shingu · Nachi
Kumano Sanzan by train and bus: Hongu, Hayatama, Nachi and Katsuura
Osaka
Osaka Castle without the hard parts: an easier way through
Tokyo
Tokyo at a gentler pace: Meiji Jingu, Senso-ji and the East Gardens
Kyoto · Tokyo · Kumano
Filming Japan: the small camera kit I'd bring now
The gear guide
7 small shelves of kit for walking, heat, sleep, packing, power, shopping and filming.
From the trip
Footage I shot in Japan in April 2018.
Look down, too.
Going slowly has its rewards. When you are watching your footing, you notice things other walkers miss, like the cast-iron covers set into roads all across Japan, many with local designs.