For those of you living in Japan, you may be considering getting a driving license so that you can go on that long awaited dream road trip to Hokkaido cruising along gorgeous lilac lavender fields? I know I did!

I decided to write this article because in order to convert my Singapore driving license to a Japanese one, I had gone through days and days of worries and uncertainties, so I hope that this complete guide will ease some of your anxiety for this rather complex procedure. Note that for some of you lucky b***ards here from a list of certain countries (such as part of USA, UK, some European countries, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand, etc), you are exempted from both the knowledge test and driving test and can have your license converted pretty easily. *jelly* :’) However many of us from ASEAN countries including Singapore and Malaysia are required to go through the entire process. read more

It’s been a while since I last wrote. Looking at how the world is still constantly being flipped upside down by the mischief of Rona-chan, while most of us are itching to get on that next flight out of the country for some long-awaited vacay fun, it does look like international traveling is thrown off the window indefinitely for now.

I am sure even people who live in this heaven on earth called Japan (maybe except me aha) are looking forward to explore places outside of the island, as I have been hearing how some of my fellow friends in Japan miss visiting Hawaii, or New York, or Paris… read more

This spring, I ventured off to Kagawa prefecture for more new discoveries. I have been to Kagawa in the past twice, in winter and summer. This time around I am back to witness this smallest prefecture of Japan dressed in all spring colors.

Read my previous articles on Kagawa here!

Things have been slowly looking better for Japan and I have spent the first two months of the year busy exploring new places around Japan – virtually or not. The allure of Japan is simply endless. Today, I will be introducing a new itinerary to explore the Central Japan region.

We will be looking at 4 main prefectures: Gifu, Toyama, Ishikawa and Fukui, with Nagoya city as the base for this travel itinerary. The Central Japan Region is a year-round destination that offers an abundance of nature and delicious food every season. My favorite is still winter, though, given the inland of Central Japan gets plenty of snowfall in the colder months, making it a magical wonderland especially for tropical creatures like me! read more

Read my previous posts:

MIE PREFECTURE

GIFU PREFECTURE

NAGOYA CITY

AICHI PREFECTURE

SHIZUOKA PREFECTURE

This is a special post dedicated to Hamamatsu City of Shizuoka prefecture, and also the final post of my Tokai journey. This most populated city of Shizuoka prefecture may be unbeknownst to many travelers who are too eager to make a beeline for the magnificent Mt Fuji, but if you scratch the surface just a little deeper, you will find Hamamatsu itself full of allures with plenty to offer, from the niche legacy for avid musicians to fun resorts for the entire family of all ages. Think avant garde vocaloid keyboard, fresh mandarin-orange-picking, and delicious eels. read more

Read my previous posts:

MIE PREFECTURE

GIFU PREFECTURE

NAGOYA CITY

AICHI PREFECTURE

Today we are exploring the prefecture sitting right between Nagoya and Tokyo – Shizuoka.

Easily accessible from both Nagoya and Tokyo on the Shinkansen (about an hour from Tokyo, and 1.5 hour from Nagoya to arrive at Mishima Station on Hikari Shinkansen), Shizuoka is often my choice of a weekend getaway, with Izu Peninsula being my top pick for its abundance of healing onsen resorts in famous Atami, Ito and Shimoda area.

Shizuoka is also home to Mt Fuji, although its neighbour Yamanashi Prefecture shares half the privilege as the magnificent mountain straddles right between both prefectures. read more

Read my previous posts:

MIE PREFECTURE

GIFU PREFECTURE

NAGOYA CITY

Nagoya has proved itself a charming city that has won a place in my heart, as you have read in my previous article. To think that Nagoya is just one of the many allures Aichi prefecture has to offer, I truly wonder how many lives I will need to eventually see enough of Japan till I tire… (which is never).

I was ashamed how little I know of Aichi before the trip, given how this region holds some of the most significant historic events during the Warring Period in Japan, and is the birth place of the three greatest war heroes ever known in Japan – Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu. People in Aichi are not shy to proudly boasts about their home prefecture, and they rightly should! read more

Read my previous posts:

MIE PREFECTURE

GIFU PREFECTURE

Today, we are exploring the third largest city of Japan, Nagoya. Nagoya is so widely known worldwide that many has mistaken it as a prefecture itself, just like Tokyo and Osaka. Nagoya is but a city of Aichi Prefecture, but this charming city has so many allures in itself that I am dedicating an exclusive post to it.

We will be looking at other attractions in other regions of Aichi prefecture in a separate post later on.

First of all, if I must be completely honest, Nagoya was never on my list of sightseeing priorities given how much of urban vibe I already get in Tokyo daily. Nagoya to me, was but a station seen out of the windows of Nozomi shinkansen whizzes through from Tokyo to the west of Japan. It never occurred to me to actually spend a couple of days traversing this metropolitan region between the east and west of Japan. read more

Previous Tokai post: MIE PREFECTURE

I hope you enjoyed revisiting Mie prefecture virtually with me. And now, we are venturing into the deep mountains of Gifu prefecture.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, chances are high that you’ve already heard of the hamlet known as Shirakawago located in Gifu prefecture. Outside of this now well known attraction of though, overseas visitors to Japan often don’t know much else about Gifu (or much else of Central Japan for that matter). Given that there’s a huge array of allures strewn about the prefecture, this is a real shame. From the ever-charming Hida Takayama area to the rustic hot spring town of Gero Onsen, you’re spoiled for choice in Gifu. read more

I didn’t expect to be back to Mie and writing about Mie again so soon! (To think that my very post below is exactly Mie… either the prefecture loves me too much or I am obsessed with it, or both, at this rate I’d like to think it’s deep mutual affection.)

Although many of the destinations I feature in this post are repeated attractions I have visited several times in Mie prefecture before, it is always a pleasure to be back again, meeting the same people at a different time, feeling a different vibe in a different season, experiencing a brand new journey altogether. It’s something I don’t mind doing over and over again. read more

Mie Prefecture’s tagline is “Once in your lifetime“. I thought one’s experience with Mie couldn’t be more aptly described and summarized in that one very line.

As you already know, Ise Jingu is Japan’s most sacred shrine since ancient time and it was every Japanese’s wish to make a pilgrimage to at least once in their life time. Before I visited Mie Prefecture, all I knew about Mie was Ise Jingu and Matsusaka beef. In fact that was exactly what I went for the first time I stepped foot on this beautiful land tucked in between Osaka and Nagoya. And the first time left me hooked forever. These two attractions alone are enough to justify a once-in-your-lifetime visit to Mie. read more

Dear Blog,

Today you turn 16 years old. Happy 16th birthday.