Book nowCrab kaiseki on the Sea of Japan from 6 November, Kinosaki to Awara.
Photo: さかおり / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped and resized
From 1 OctFour onsen ryokans for the 2027 Sapporo Snow Festival, 4 to 11 February: two in Jozankei Onsen with free shuttles from Odori and two in Noboribetsu Onsen, with travel times from Sapporo, when to book, and Otaru and Asahikawa in the same week.
Photo: T DMY / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0, cropped and resized
From 16 NovYear-end kaiseki and osechi breakfasts, 31 December to 3 January.
Photo: Ocdp / Wikimedia Commons, CC0, cropped and resized
From 1 JanShirakawa-go on four January evenings, Ginzan's gas lamps and the Yunishigawa kamakura.
Photo: Yoshiyuki Ito / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped and resized
From 21 JanAtami Baien to 7 March 2027, then Yugawara and Shuzenji in February.
Photo: Big Ben in Japan / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped and resized
From 8 FebOutdoor baths in the snow, from Ginzan and Zao to Kusatsu and Nyuto.
Photo: Asteiner / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0, cropped and resized
From 16 FebWinter fugu kaiseki in Hagi, on Miyajima and in Beppu, into March.
Photo: Qwert1234 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped and resized
From 1 MarLate March to mid-April, in Kyoto, Hakone, Yoshino and the castle towns.
Photo: 白士 李 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0, cropped and resized
From 1 AprThe Kamogawa yuka open on 1 May. Three old inns five minutes away.
Photo: 663highland / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.5, cropped and resized
From 21 AprLate May and early June in Yugawara, Atami and Shuzenji.
Photo: 椿七十郎 / Wikimedia Commons, CC0, cropped and resized
From 11 MayHakone's hydrangea railway, mid-June at Yumoto to mid-July at Sounzan.
Photo: 京浜にけ (Japanese Wikipedia) / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped and resized
From 1 JunAtami Bay, Lake Kawaguchi on 5 August and Lake Suwa on 15 August.
Photo: Kropsoq / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped and resized
From 16 JulHigher inns in Nagano, Nikko and the Alps for the hot months.
Photo: 663highland / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.5, cropped and resized
From 1 SepThe colour moves south from the mountains from mid-September.
Photo: 663highland / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.5, cropped and resized
Hakone, Kanto
A 15-room inn on the Sukumo River in Hakone-Yumoto where every room has its own onsen bath, minutes from the…
From ¥24,692 pp with dinnerSee prices on Agoda
Kyoto, Kansai
Twenty-three machiya townhouses along one Kyoto alley, each turned into a guest room with its own semi…
See prices on Agoda
Hakone, Kanto
A 20-room ryokan at the top of the Gora cable car, where every room has its own open-air onsen bath fed…
From ¥43,000 pp with dinnerSee prices on Agoda
Yufu, Kyushu
Detached rooms in the woods outside Yufuin, each with its own open-air bath, ten minutes from the station.
See prices on Agoda
Izu, Chubu
Mizunomichi Kazenomichi Yugashima Tatsuta is a five-room riverside inn at Yugashima Onsen in Izu, Shizuoka…
See prices on Agoda
Toyooka, Kansai
A 20-room Kinosaki Onsen ryokan a lane off the bathhouse street, with three private open-air baths free for…
See prices on Agoda260 inns in 47 prefectures · 224 checked against the inn's own site · How we make money
Food
The station bento worth seeking out, from Mori's squid stuffed with rice to the Toge no Kamameshi pot and Toyama's trout sushi, where to buy them at Tokyo, Shinjuku, Sendai and Toyama, train-eating etiquette, and how to survive the big stations: food halls, coin lockers, IC cards, exits and signs.
12 min read · Oct 24, 2026
Planning
A practical guide to Japan's bullet trains: the lines and train names, how to buy tickets online, at a machine or a counter, reserved and non-reserved seats, Green Car, Gran Class and the new Supreme Class, the oversized-baggage rule, which seat faces Mount Fuji, on-board manners and sending your suitcase ahead.
12 min read · Oct 24, 2026
Food
How Japan drinks coffee, from the old kissaten of Ginza and Kyoto to Tokyo's light-roast specialty bars, the canned coffee in every vending machine, the konbini cup and the morning set that comes with free toast. Where to go, what to order and how it fits around a ryokan stay.
11 min read · Oct 24, 2026
Planning
A practical guide to Japan with a baby under one: lap seat or own seat, bassinets and infant passports, stroller or carrier, where to nurse and change, buying nappies and formula, and what ryokan charge and allow for infants, with seven inns whose baby policies we checked.
10 min read · Oct 24, 2026
Food
What to buy in a Japanese bakery, from anpan and melonpan to curry bread, shokupan and sando, how the tray-and-tongs system works, the old bakeries worth a detour in Tokyo, Yokohama, Kyoto, Kobe and Hiroshima, depachika bread counters and the seasonal specials.
11 min read · Oct 24, 2026
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