by Dian Turner | Mar 24, 2026 | 2026, ASIA, JAPAN
First stop: the Imperial Palace gardens—where we immediately noticed the pine trees looking way more put-together than we did after a long flight. Apparently, these trees symbolize long life in Japan, which makes sense because they’ve clearly had the time to perfect...
by Dian Turner | Mar 23, 2026 | 2026, ASIA, JAPAN
A more “relaxed” day in the world’s largest city… Tokyo—home to a casual 41 MILLION people. (Because apparently personal space is optional here.) Fun fact: it used to be a humble little fishing village called Edo… and then someone said, “Hey, let’s trade with the...
by Dian Turner | Mar 22, 2026 | 2026, ASIA, JAPAN
Arrived yesterday in Takayama after surviving what can only be described as a high-stakes, nine-minute train-switching Olympic event. Takayama is a charming little village of about 82,000 people… casually spread across 800 square miles like someone forgot to cluster...
by Dian Turner | Mar 19, 2026 | 2026, ASIA, JAPAN
We set off today to explore the countryside and experience what I like to call “Rural Japan: Tunnel Edition.” Honestly, I’m pretty sure we didn’t drive there—we just teleported from tunnel to tunnel. I lost count somewhere around tunnel #35, but...
by Dian Turner | Mar 18, 2026 | 2026, ASIA, JAPAN
Kanazawa is a city with about half a million people, hanging out on the Sea of Japan side (while Tokyo is over on the Pacific like, “Hi from the other beach!”). It rains here A LOT… like 250 days a year. They even have a saying: “You can forget your lunch, but never...
