Osaka has everything one could ask for: octopuses and ceramics! A city of many highlights, with maybe its only problem being that it’s perhaps too attractive.~

Fukuoka is a coastal city in the very west of Japan and will mostly stay in my memories because of its very impressive mall (with Kirby inside!), but it also a lot more to offer than just that.~

A most marvelous display of Japan’s beautiful islands (okay, technically everything in Japan is an island (and technically I wouldn’t be the right person to make grand claims about the entirety of Japan’s islands, but feel free to throw the first stone if you have never declared yourself an expert of Japan’s islands!… that’s right!))…

Hiroshima is a lovely little city to visit, and it has quite a few things to offer; it is of course most known for its devastating history, but there are many reasons to visit it still today!

In Nara, you will find deer and the deer will find you. It’s very easy to underestimate how many there are, how freely they are roaming the area, and how persistent they can be on asking for snacks! There is of course more to see in Nara (of which I have not seen most, admittedly,…

Uji was a clear highlight in Japan; maybe because it was way calmer than most other locations, its more subtle beauty, and of course because of the great matcha one can find there! It is a genuinely nice place to spend time at without feeling overcrowded, although it’s clearly not exactly a hidden gem anymore.…

Naturally, Kyoto is a great place to visit and there is a good reason it’s so popular; it’s many-faceted and beautiful in so many different ways! The spaces between the main attractions felt even more enjoyable and just as nice, since there was more time and peace to enjoy them.~