Reading suggestions · Northeast Asia

This autumn 2025, I’m off on my 11th trip to Japan. I’ve neglected the south for too long, so like last year, it’s my main destination. After the 2017 and 2024 travel journals, I’m heading to the Japan most tourists don’t see—all by public transport, of course.

Hi there! I’m sharing a sketched-out stroll—completely subjective, absolutely non-exhaustive, and totally personal since it’s based on my own drawings. I put this travel journal together after I got back at the end of 2024, mostly with felt-tip pens and pencils, plus a few collages.

This was my first time returning to Japan since the COVID lockdown. My trips are always intense. We're not here to relax. We're here to explore, mingle with locals, be welcomed into associations and museums, and discover things most people wouldn’t even suspect exist on the other side of the world.

During our walk in Higashiyama, we happened to stop by Café Kikaku, run by a former geisha. A lovely encounter with this colorful person who—while we waited for our lunch—shared some facets of the geisha art with us (music, fan handling, dice games). A truly wonderful moment.

After a few requests like "are you going to write a travel journal" and especially the renewed pleasure from reading other travelers' travel journals about Japan or elsewhere on this forum or others, I've decided to share my 4th installment in the Land of the Rising Sun here.

I’ve been waiting nearly 15 years for this day!! I travel a lot, but this one—this is MY TRIP🙂 It kept getting postponed because... I wanted to do this trip with the right person... because I have a Turkish stamp in my passport and apparently that means they won’t issue a visa... because of COVID... and then because... Then China rolls out a 30-day visa exemption, and boom—it’s go time!

Here’s a little story about my first trip to Japan with my partner. For a first-time visit, we went from October 29 to November 13, 2024.

I hope to take you along with me for 19 nights and 18 full days this autumn 2024. On the itinerary: gastronomy, crafts, festivals, waterfalls, meet-ups, and leisurely strolls—all in simplicity.