Category Archives: Roadtrips

Roadtrip to Narai-juku in Nagano

As the holiday of Culture Day draws near, every year without fail, I’m planning a road trip. And every year, without fail, the planning is going to be so last minute that the most accessible destination from Tokyo is going to be the same: Nagano prefecture. Starting backward, I’m going to describe my latest trip,ContinueContinue reading “Roadtrip to Narai-juku in Nagano”

Roadtrip to Hokkaido: The stinky valley (Pt. 3)

A surprise to no one, it seems like Hokkaido’s north is pretty cold, even when judging from spring’s average weather. That’s why, it is time to head to the south, where belated hanami blossoming (compared to the rest of the country) awaits. The first stop is Noboribetsu (登別), which with your new-found Ainu vocabulary skillsContinueContinue reading “Roadtrip to Hokkaido: The stinky valley (Pt. 3)”

Roadtrip to Hokkaido: All is white (Pt. 2)

At the end of last post, we left lake Akan to head towards Biei, which presents itself as ‘the most beautiful village in Japan’. tldr; it may well be, but I visited in the wrong season. Nevertheless, despite being known mainly as a hot photo spot for the seemingly infinite flowering fields, there are plentyContinueContinue reading “Roadtrip to Hokkaido: All is white (Pt. 2)”

Roadtrip to Hokkaido: Looking for the natives (Pt. 1)

If you are good with hints, then you probably noticed already that a post about Hokkaido was long overdue. In previous posts, you already got a sneak peek of what spring roads look like in the far north, as well as understood more about the climate of the northern parts of Japan (use google-translate ifContinueContinue reading “Roadtrip to Hokkaido: Looking for the natives (Pt. 1)”

The roads of Hokkaido

Japan is made up of 4 main islands and thousands of smaller ones. One of the latest acquisitions is the northernmost island of Hokkaido, “courtesy” (more like genocide) of the indigenous Ainu. In the past, it used to be refered to as Ezo by Japanese and Ainu Moshir by the Ainu. Hokkaido (北海道) means northernContinueContinue reading “The roads of Hokkaido”