naoyasaijo– Author –

Imagine sitting on a wooden bench beside a rushing mountain river, watching a basket whiz across a rope overhead and land at your feet — inside, freshly made dango and a cup of green tea, delivered from a shop on the opposite cliff by a ...

Japan’s craft beer revolution began quietly in 1994, when the government slashed the minimum annual production requirement for beer licenses from 2 million liters to just 60,000 — unleashing an explosion of small-batch, artisan bre...

Imagine arriving at a harbor where the smell of the ocean mingles with the aroma of soy-simmered seafood, where fishing boats line up like a colorful fleet from another era, and where every meal feels like a celebration of the sea. That&...

Somewhere in the mountains of Yamagata Prefecture, skiers are gliding down freshly carved powder turns as wildflowers bloom on the ridgelines above them — and it’s the middle of July. This isn’t a hallucination, and it’...

Imagine a small, gently chugging diesel train winding through emerald valleys and across soaring river bridges, while tendrils of morning mist curl up from the glassy surface of the Tadami River below. This isn’t a scene from a dre...

Picture a city where the post boxes are shaped like giant shogi pieces, where every taxi driver can explain the difference between a bishop and a rook, and where once a year hundreds of people dressed in full samurai costume play out a l...

Imagine sitting down to a plate of perfectly charcoal-grilled beef tongue, paper-thin slices sizzling and fragrant, served alongside a rich oxtail soup and a bowl of nutty barley rice. This is gyutan — Sendai’s most beloved culinar...

You’ve taken the shinkansen to Sendai, you’ve done Matsushima, maybe you’ve browsed the beef tongue restaurants along Kokubuncho Street — and now you’re wondering what else Miyagi Prefecture has to offer that isn&...

Most visitors to Aomori Prefecture head straight for the Nebuta Festival in Aomori City — and while that spectacle is undeniably incredible, they’re missing something equally remarkable just 40 minutes down the train line. Hirosaki...

Rising 2,038 meters (6,686 feet) above the fertile plains of Iwate Prefecture, Mount Iwate is the largest volcano in Tohoku and one of the most iconic mountains in northeastern Japan. From the green fields of nearby Koiwai Farm — Japan&#...