The first time I saw Lake Biwa properly, from the window of a Biwako Line train pulling into Otsu, I was surprised by how big it actually is. You hear "Japan's largest lake" and your brain still...
Best Indoor Play Areas in Tokyo (Perfect for Kids on Hot and Rainy Days!)
Tokyo in summer does something to a family holiday that nobody warns you about. The humidity sits on your chest before nine in the morning, and by midday even the most enthusiastic six-year-old is...
Sake Experiences You Should Try to Taste and Understand Japan’s National Drink
For years, sake for me was just the stuff arriving in a small ceramic flask at the end of an izakaya dinner. It was something I drank because it was there rather than because I understood it. Living...
Tourist Traps in Japan: What to See, What to Skip, and Where to Go Instead
We at Flip have spent years building itineraries for people visiting Japan, and we keep watching the same pattern play out. Someone lands in Tokyo with a list of spots pulled from some old blog...
Travelling Kyoto with Kids: An Honest Family Travel Guide
Kyoto tends to get filed under "serious" travel, the place you go for history and culture rather than fun, and I think that reputation puts a lot of parents off before they have even looked...
20+ Best Things to Do in Japan with Kids
When parents start researching things to do in Japan with kids for their trip, they usually end up frustrated, staring at a list of temples and shrines that look stunning in photographs but are...
Step-by-Step Guide to Planning a Nature-Focused Japan Trip (Tried and Tested by an Agency)
Most people planning a trip to Japan build their route around cities. Tokyo, then Kyoto, maybe Osaka, with a day trip to Nara squeezed in for the deer. It works, and it is a fine trip, I will not...
Home Cooking Classes in Japan: Types, What to Expect, and Where to Book
Japan has more Michelin-starred restaurants than any other country outside of France, and it is easy to spend an entire trip eating extraordinarily well without ever touching a kitchen. But as a...
Travelling Japan with Kids? Here are the Best Destinations for Your Family
When my son was born, I quickly realised that I might have to write travel off the calendar for a few years. Planning and managing a trip is hard enough. Adding kids to the equation is, to say the...
Top Japan Cultural Experiences for First-Timers (According to Local Guides!)
One of the reasons Japan is such a popular tourist destination is the sheer number of unique and memorable experiences you can have in the country. But what we have seen as a boutique travel agency...
All the Ninja and Samurai Experiences You Can Enjoy in Japan
Most people outside Japan grow up with a fairly cartoonish idea of what samurai and ninja actually were. Samurai become noble swordsmen in slow motion films, all silence and honour. Ninja become...
Unlocking All the Authentic Maiko & Geisha Experiences Japan Has to Offer
When you picture Japan, the geisha is probably one of the first things that come to mind. If the embarrassing videos of oblivious tourists hounding them along the streets of Kyoto are anything to go...
I Booked a Sumo Dining Experience, and You Should Too
Living in Japan for a decade now, I would love to tell you that sumo is completely mundane to me already. I would love to say I attend tournaments every other weekend, and act as though bumping into...
Sumo Morning Practice in Tokyo: What It Is, How to Book, and More!
Most visitors to Tokyo see sumo from the outside. By this, I mean that they watch tournament highlights on a screen, maybe spend half an hour at the Kokugikan Museum in Ryogoku, or buy a cool...
The Ultimate Mie Area Guide & 3-Day Itinerary
Most people who visit Mie come to see Ise Jingu, tick it off, and leave. They spend a morning at the shrines, eat a bowl of udon on the way out, and catch the train back to Osaka or Nagoya before...