Having said that, you have to do both planning and researching, which implies relying on side opinions as well. Luckily, Japan has many different transportation options available and is very easy to commute cross-country. So I just want to share some of my experiences on traveling in Japan. Of course, everything is circumstantial and will depend on the individual(s).

You might have never heard of Kunitachi. It’s a small district in Tokyo, but despite its size, this town is full of charms. So much that it inspired the anime film Wolf Children, which won the New York International Children’s Film Festival’s Audience Award in 2013. It has many cute little shops, spectacular nature, and a whole street of cherry blossom trees.

Owakudani, written as 大涌谷, in Japanese means “Great Boiling Valley”. It is both poetic and a bit mysterious. The valley was created in the result of a Mt. Hakone eruption around 3000 years ago, and still experiences volcanic activity. It is mostly safe, nevertheless. The Tourist Center was closed between 2015 and 2016, but now it is available again, as well as the Hakone ropeway.

The cake is not always cut in this triangle shape, but always features the same ingredients: yokan and castella.

The Japanese name of the museum is Kitte no Hakubutsukan 切手の博物館, as a postage stamp is called “kitte” (切手) in Japanese. The museum is also the office of the Japan Philatelic Society (established in 1946) and its affiliated organizations.

At most, when it comes to vintage shopping, it all comes to deciding on two precious resources: time and money.

Originally, Ikebukuro was called Sugamo, and hosted various artists and foreign workers. Now, Ikebukuro is the one of the busiest train stations in Tokyo, and the world.

Especially if you are vegetarian, Indian and Nepalese curry shops in Japan are something you must try. They are all over the country!

Bowling in Japanese is boringu (ボウリング), which can be easily confused with “boring”（ボーリング). I had never bowled before, but many people like spending their evenings bowling, so it must not be that boring. I had to try it out!

The famous coffee chain Starbucks was found in 1971. As of June 2015, the company has 22,519 shops around the world. 1165 of those shops are in Japan (data from December 2015). Starbucks arrived to Japan in 1995, but has already gained a great amount of popularity due to Japanese people’s obsession with the magic bean drink. People call it shortly スタバ (sutaba) and make it the country’s largest coffee chain, due to the combination of energizing coffee, variety, and excellent market skills.

It is true that we tend to accumulate stuff in our houses. And knowing how tiny houses are in Japan, this can become a problem. That is when disposing of unneeded items takes place.

If there is one thing Japan is often associated with abroad, it must be a cat. But not just any cat: the little waving cat called maneki neko. Usually, at a shop’s entrance there are figures of cat with a raised paw, which is said to attract good fortune. Some cat figures are automatic lifting and lowering the paws non-stop.