Basic Travel Hacks
How to use your phone in Japan without breaking the bank
Navigating around Tokyo: How to get where you’re going if you don’t speak Japanese
How and where to get cash in Japan
How to buy and use a transit card
How to get into Tokyo from Narita airport
How to take a taxi in Tokyo if you don’t speak Japanese
How to buy tickets for the bullet train if you don’t speak Japanese
How to choose a hotel in Tokyo
Special needs
What to bring with you, because you can’t buy it in Japan
How can I travel in Japan with food allergies?
Insider travel tips
Hacking leaf season: See beautiful fall leaves, but avoid the crowds & prices
Where to see the best cherry blossoms in Tokyo, with maps
The best secret cherry blossom spots in Tokyo
How to get yourself invited to a cherry blossom party
How to survive a cherry blossom party
The best holiday illuminations in Tokyo
Shrine or temple? The Quickie Guide
Should I…?
What shouldn’t I do in Tokyo? Ten overrated experiences and what to do instead
Should I see a kabuki performance?
Should I hire a guide in Japan?
How to get tickets & enjoy specific experiences
How to buy tickets and go to a kabuki performance
How to shrine & temple in Japan
How to beat the crowds and duck peak prices during autumn leaf season
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HOW TO ENJOY TOKYO WHEN…
…it’s raining
…you’re traveling with kids
…your wallet is feeling thin and you want to do something memorable for free
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TOKYO’S BEST-KEPT SHOPPING SECRETS
Where to find the best capsule toy (gachapon) vending machines in Tokyo
Shimojima: The best gift, paper & packaging emporium in Tokyo
Setagaya Boroichi: the most legendary flea market in Tokyo
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BEST PHOTO SPOTS
Blooming things
Five flower seasons that will make you happy you missed the cherry blossoms
Where to take the best cherry blossom photos in Tokyo, with maps
Beyond cherry blossoms: Where to take flower extravaganza photos, all year around
Where to take boggling photos of the secret flower seasons of Japan
Where to take the best autumn leaf photos in Tokyo
Things lit up at night
How to walk across the Rainbow Bridge (and get shots of Odaiba and the Tokyo skyline)
The Sumida River bridges, boats & landmarks at night
Tokyo Tower lit up at night
Senso-ji temple lit up at night
The giant Gundam robot: It moves and lights up!
FEB Plum blossoms lit up at night
MAR-APR Cherry blossoms lit up at night
APR Urban landscape cherry blossom-themed illuminations
OCT Art festival that lights up the Yokohama waterfront every fall
OCT-DEC The best places to see autumn leaves lit up at night
MAY All-night art festival in Roppongi
NOV-DEC The best holiday illuminations all over Tokyo
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BEYOND TOKYO
Animals
Let’s go to Fox Village
Let’s go to Bunny Island
Let’s go to the lemur petting zoo
Festivals
Kamakura Matsuri: Thousands of glowing igloos, all over town (FEB)
Places
At the Ise Shrine, everything old is new
The Werewolf Shrine
Shirakawago (old-fashioned farmhouse village) in the snow
Where to see the most beautiful autumn leaves in Japan
Flower Extravaganzas
Endless fields of Baby Blue Eyes
Hillsides painted with shibazakura
The forest carpeted with millions of red amaryllis
The enchanted hydrangea forest
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Why, Japan, why?
Why are tattoos still taboo in Japan?
Why are there no public trash cans in Tokyo?
Why is it hard for foreigners to get into a host (or hostess) club?
Why are cherry blossoms loved so much more than other flowers?
Why do only men get chocolate on Valentine’s Day?
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Last Tea Bowl Thief was chosen as an Editor’s Pick for Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense on Amazon
“A fascinating mix of history and mystery.” —Booklist
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Jonelle Patrick writes novels set in Japan, produces the monthly e-magazine Japanagram, and blogs at Only In Japan and The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had
Jonelle Patrick writes about Japan 