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DON'T TAKE ME TO OSAKA
Japan doesn’t stop eating when you leave Dotonbori
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Osaka is famous for its appetite: The street food, the neon, the noise. But Japan’s culinary story runs far deeper than one city.
Beyond the takoyaki stands and conveyor-belt sushi, there’s a country that cooks with a sense of place. Each region has its own rhythm, shaped by local ingredients, design, and the people who make both look effortless.
Slurp ramen beside the yatai stalls of Fukuoka, where recipes are guarded like family secrets.
Devour art in Kanazawa, where chefs treat ceramics, architecture, and plating as part of the same conversation.
Watch glass glow and snow fall in Toyama, where seafood and design share the same clarity.
Feel the ground hum in Kagoshima, a volcanic city with a pulse all its own and a love of sweet potato shochu.Japan’s soul isn’t just in its elaborate temples, slick cities, and sacred mountains. Sometimes, it’s in the next bite.
Bite into Yame’s ichigo daifuku
strawberries wrapped in mochi and sweet bean paste, as fresh as the tea fields that surround them
Dine on Yonezawa wagyu after bathing in Ginzan Onsen’s silver mist
where Taishō-era inns glow against the snow and the beef tastes as rich as the town’s history
Taste the 'black diamond of the sea' at Ōma Tuna Auction
tuna landed by hand at dawn and auctioned, then eaten minutes later. Pure umami from sea to knife
Pull up a stool & taste the soul of Kyushu
It's street food, but not as you know it. The home of tonkotsu, served with the easy warmth of strangers
Taste “vegan caviar” on Okinawa’s coral coast
umibudō sea grapes burst like ocean bubbles, a briny reminder that luxury can grow from sea and sun alone
Taste wasabi at its source
wander the dreamlike setting of Kurosawa’s Field of Dreams, where pure mountain meltwater feeds Japan’s spiciest crop
Compete in Wanko Soba
Bowl after bowl of soba noodles, refilled endlessly until you admit defeat! Joyful, communal, pure appetite
Indulge in Hiroshima oysters washed down with sparkling sake
briny, plump, and grown fat in the calm currents of the Seto Inland Sea
Dine like you're the Golden Buddha
From gold-leafed sweets to lacquered trays, Kanazawa elevates eating to art. Expect yuzu, seafood, and aesthetic perfection
Savor Kagoshima’s Kurobuta black pork
The pork equivalent of wagyu — every bit as storied as Kobe beef, but far less cliché. Marbled, tender, and rich, it's best enjoyed with local sweet potato
Dine like a monk on zen cuisine
Before falling asleep in temple lodgings. This vegan cuisine finds luxury in seasonality, not excess. Every dish reflects the mountain and the moment
Sip tea aged like wine in Shizuoka’s misty hills
Matcha is for tourists and monks. Gyokuro is rarely exported, but revered by connoisseurs
If you love Japan’s food as much as its festivals, I can help you taste more than the obvious.
Book a 30-minute consultation and let’s beginDON'T TAKE ME TO OSAKA
Let's party like it's Heisei 11
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Forget the polite parades of Kyoto and Tokyo, where everyone’s holding a camera and pretending to be reverent. The real magic happens in the streets. While cherry blossom season gets the headlines, it’s the festivals that get under your skin. Sure, you'll pay a little extra to be there when it happens, but it will honestly make you richer. Dance along in Tokushima’s Awa Odori, Japan’s wildest street party, or join the locals at Matsumoto’s Bon Bon Festival when the whole town moves as one.
Seek out the ancient fire rituals that light up mountain villages in winter, where there’s no crowd of influencers to ruin your shot. Or go all in: Okayama’s Hadaka Matsuri, the “naked man festival,” where courage (and a loincloth) is the only dress code. The Kanamara fertility festival is weirder still, but Japan does weird with conviction.
Festivals beyond the capital aren’t about watching, they’re about joining in. You dance, you shout, you eat what’s cooking. Yakitori smoke, grilled squid, sweet sake on a summer night. It’s Japan with its hair down.
Balance lanterns on your forehead at Akita’s Kantō Festival
the night fills with swaying towers of light as locals test their strength and rhythm beneath 15-metre bamboo poles hung with glowing paper lanterns
Stand small before giants at Aomori’s Nebuta Matsuri
Warrior floats blaze through the night, each one bright enough to burn into memory
Make an offering to the water god at Yokote’s Kamakura Festival
Step up to a glowing snow dome, share sake and mochi with locals, and feel winter turn warm
Join the madness at Okayama’s Hadaka Matsuri
Tens of thousands of nearly naked men, one sacred talisman, and a temple lit with frenzy. It’s chaotic, freezing, and unforgettable
Warm up at Nozawa’s fire festival, the Dosojin Matsuri
A fierce midwinter ritual of fire and sake, where villagers defend a wooden tower in a spectacular blaze to pray for good fortune.
Dance with the crowd at Matsumoto’s Bon Bon Festival
Every August, the whole town becomes a dance floor surrounded by snacks. Locals, visitors, and kids in yukata move together under the summer lanterns.
Release a wish into the night at Niigata’s Sky Lantern Festival
Watch hundreds of glowing lanterns rise over the snow, carrying prayers and intentions into the quiet dark
Get swept up in the rhythm of Kochi’s Yosakoi Festival
A nationwide dance competition turned street party. All music, colour, and motion, where everyone’s welcome to join
Walk through a sea of light at Yanai’s Goldfish Lantern Festival
Hand-painted lanterns in the shape of goldfish light up this quiet town on the Seto Inland Sea, turning its streets into a dreamscape
Cheer ringside at Fukuoka’s Grand Sumo Basho
Feel the floor shake as giants collide. It’s sumo stripped of Tokyo’s gloss. Close, local, and heavy with ritual
Carve your mark in the snow at Asahikawa’s Winter Festival
See snow and light reshape a city, then warm your hands on sweet amazake as the sculptures glow
Dance through the streets at Tokushima’s Awa Odori
Join thousands moving as one in Japan’s wildest summer festival — where the rhythm takes over and nobody cares who’s watching
If you love Japan’s food as much as its festivals, I can help you taste more than the obvious.
Book a 30-minute consultation and let’s beginSubscribe to our newsletter
It’s for travellers who’ve done the checklist and are ready for the edit
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