Travel photos and journals from across Asia [1997-2025]
Day 11: Asakura to Nanzoin Today, we had to return the van, and the weather remained grim, but there were a couple of sights to see on the way back to Fukuoka. The first stop was Amagi Park at Asakura, which was one of the top spots to view the cherry blossoms. The annual Sakura…
Day 10: Kurokawa Today, I turned 50 (an entire decade since we went here), and to mark the occasion, the weather was cold, wet, and miserable, but I was determined not to let it make a difference. We would stick to the plan for the day, which involved motoring north to the Daikanbō lookout first…
Day 8: Aso With the boat trip over almost as quickly as it began, we were on the road again for the hour’s drive north to the Aso-Kuju National Park, which is home to Japan’s largest volcanic caldera and one of the largest active volcanoes in the world. We checked out the Asobo no Sato…
Day 7: Nishiki to Takachiho Today was a driving day as we had to head around three hours north to get to Takachiho, where we had booked a boat trip for the following day. We decided to avoid the boring toll expressway and take the scenic route through a spectacular river valley on Highway 212….
Day 5: Sakurajima to Ebino Leaving the still-smoldering volcano in the morning, we pointed the van north, driving through the coastal town of Kirishima and toward the Kirishima-Kinkowan National Park, where we would spend a couple of days hiking. Before venturing into the national park – free to enter in Japan – we checked out…
Day 3: Ume to Miyazaki Temperatures dropped below zero again, but there was no snow overnight, just a layer of ice on the front windscreen. When the van and ourselves were suitably warmed after a coffee, we headed south to Nobeoka to fuel up and fix the rear tire, which had picked up a screw….
It was time for a return trip to Japan to celebrate my fiftieth in March. We’d originally thought of going to Sapporo and Hokkaido, but flights were either fully booked or silly prices for that time of year due to the skiing season, so we opted for Fukuoka and Kyushu instead. Kōdō (行動) is the…
Day 7 Today would be our last full day with the van so we had to start heading back towards Tokyo. We woke to a cold ‘pea souper’ which for the non-Brits is a thick fog. A couple of coffees later and it had started to clear so we set off ignoring Google Maps to…
Day 6 Today’s adventure had been meticulously planned by Da who had been watching Thai YouTubers travelling in Japan. The Alpine Route as it is known is a very popular tourist attraction though a little hard to get to. Our first encounter at 06.30 was the car park attendant telling us we couldn’t park the…
Day 5 Today we headed for Matsumoto Castle, touted as one of Japan’s national treasures. Entry fees for attractions in Japan are much cheaper than in Thailand and there is no dual pricing which is a refreshing trait of a first-world country. It cost us 700 yen, or around 175 baht each to get in. …
It was time to hit the road and we had a three-hour drive north to Nagano and our first night at a Japanese road station. Campsites here are expensive as they charge for the vehicle and per person, and for electricity, all on top and all you really get is a parking space and toilet…
Prologue The first thing most people say when you tell them you’re going to Japan is, “wow, its expensive,” and they’re not wrong. Visiting Japan costs a pretty penny in normal times but with rampant inflation and price gouging across the globe, things have been amplified. In addition to that, everyone wants to go there…
The following guide has been compiled after spending a week on the road in Japan in a campervan/motorhome. We started in Tokyo before heading to Mt. Fuji, then north to the Nagano area and Japanese Alps taking in Kamikochi, the Alpine Route, and Matsumoto before heading east to Chichibu and returning to the capital. Toll…