Beyond Sakura: Japan's Other Spring Blooms
The cherry blossoms last a week — Japanese spring lasts months. Wisteria at Ashikaga, blue nemophila at Hitachi Seaside Park, moss phlox under Mount Fuji, and exactly when and where to catch each one.
Hatsumode: Welcoming the New Year in Japan
Forget the countdown party. Japan's New Year is its quietest, most important holiday — three million people at Meiji Jingu, 108 temple bells at midnight, year-crossing noodles and the first sunrise. Here's how it works.
Japan in Summer: Fireworks, Festivals and Beating the Heat
Yes, it's hot. It's also the season of Kyoto's Gion Matsuri, Aomori's glowing Nebuta floats and 20,000 fireworks over the Sumida River. How to do a Japanese summer well — and stay cool doing it.
Shun: Eating Japan's Autumn in Season
The Japanese even have a phrase for it: the autumn of appetite. Grilled sanma, fragrant matsutake, Tamba chestnuts and new-crop rice — what to eat in autumn and the markets in Kyoto and Kanazawa where you'll find it.
The 24 Sekki: Reading Japan's Micro-Seasons
Japan doesn't really have four seasons. It has seventy-two — from 'east wind melts the ice' to 'wheat ripens.' Learn to read the sekki and the whole country starts changing under your feet.
Tsuyu: Hydrangeas and the Beauty of Japan's Rainy Season
Everyone tells you to skip Japan in June. They're wrong. Glowing blue hydrangeas at Kamakura's Meigetsu-in, the Hakone hydrangea train, half-empty temples and a country at its greenest — here's how to do the rainy season right.
Winter Illuminations: Japan After Dark
When the days get short, Japan answers with light. The sea of LEDs at Nabana no Sato, Kobe's Luminarie, Sapporo's snow festival and the candlelit Otaru Snow Light Path — where to go, and when.
Chasing Autumn Leaves: A Koyo Primer
Koyo lasts weeks, not days — and rivals the cherry blossoms. How to time it, from Daisetsuzan's mid-September first colour to Kyoto's Tofuku-ji in late November, with the spots worth the trip.
Cherry Blossom Viewing Beyond the Crowds
Skip the selfie-stick scrum. From the moat boats of Chidorigafuchi to Hirosaki Castle's petal-filled moat and Kyoto's quiet Kamo River, where to find hanami magic without the queues.
Winter Onsen Towns Worth the Snow
Chest-deep in steaming water while snow falls on your hair — that's yukimi onsen. From the gas-lamp-lit ryokan of Ginzan to Kinosaki's bath-hopping arcades and the snow monkeys of Jigokudani.