InsideJapan Tours

12/10/2026

29/09/2026

Around 80% of travellers visit just 10% of the world’s tourism destinations. So while Tokyo and Kyoto get busier, huge parts of Japan remain barely touched by international tourism. Our 2025 impact report has just launched. But what does that mean to you, and why on earth should you read it?

Impact reports are everywhere right now. Lower emissions. Carbon reduction. Charity donations. Important stuff, yes. But if you’re flying to Asia, you’re flying to Asia. There’s only so much we can do about the carbon involved in getting you there.

So we decided to focus hard on something we can change: where people go once they arrive.

Tokyo and Kyoto are extraordinary, we'd never say "don't go" - they are also heaving. In 2025, they saw more than 571 million visits between them. And, after 25 years working in Japan, we’d be doing a pretty poor job if all we did was keep sending everyone to the same places.

So we went looking elsewhere.

We worked with local communities to open up five under-visited destinations in Japan, places you probably haven’t heard of, and that’s rather the point. Not just pinning them on a map and calling them “hidden gems”, but spending time with the people who live there, building relationships, creating experiences and making sure tourism could actually work for them. With regular check-ins that reassured us that what we were doing was in fact having a positive impact in these communities.

And then even more something brilliant happened: you guys, our travellers, loved them. That’s why we made the report. Not to pat ourselves on the back, but to show you what happens behind the scenes of a trip - and why choosing where you go can make the experience better for everyone.

Read it here: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0yHGqz0

25/09/2026

Japan, according to someone who keeps going back 🇯🇵

We asked our Japan expert Tyler a simple question: after 26 years of exploring the country, which 10 places can’t you stop returning to - and why?

His answers take us well beyond the usual highlights. There’s the Nagasaki neighbourhood he heads to for a night out with locals, a tiny corner of Nagoya that rewards a little wandering, the mountain escape that shows a completely different side of Japan, and the onsen town he returns to again and again for the perfect ryokan stay.

Some are cities. Some are landscapes. One is an art museum. All have that hard-to-define quality that keeps pulling him back…
 
Which one would you add to your Japan itinerary?
 


“Where I first set foot in Japan and am still discovering 26 years later. Along with a turbulent but fascinating history, there’s almost nowhere that I’d rather spend an evening.”

“Glimpsing the Tateyama mountain range between buildings or from the tram is an impressive site.“

“Any effort to get here is rewarded with what might be the most perfect city in Japan. A true goldilocks town that is neither too big nor too small and retains charm everywhere you go.“

“For non-vegetarians, make sure to try the local specialty of bara-yaki when in town.”

“Visiting Nagoya for work has allowed me to see past it’s surface level “big city” nature and realise that there is a world to discover in its backstreets.”

“Most tourists don’t get to see Japan’s nature at its best and they are missing out. Make sure to do some of the loop walks and visit Myojin Shrine.”

“When wanting the perfect ryokan experience, I go back to Yamanaka Onsen again and again.”

“The short hike to the top of Mount Haguro is my quintessential Japanese experience. And, if you visit in summer, leave time to enjoy the nearby sandy beaches.“

17/09/2026

💡 To get here, take the train to Tsuwano Station. From the station, it’s around a 15-minute walk to the base, followed by roughly 10 minutes uphill through the torii gates.

Or, if you don’t want to climb, you can take a taxi from the station to the shrine in around six minutes 🚕

But we’d definitely recommend the walk up — because the torii-lined path is the best part 👀

11/09/2026

Japan and South Korea are two of the world's great food destinations. Picking a winner? That's where things get difficult. So we have a better idea - don't.

Mingle in a Tokyo izakaya bar. Dine kaiseki style at a traditional ryokan inn. Stack sharing plates high in the backstreet bars of Seoul. Follow your Insider through the fish markets of Busan. We know the places – you decide what you’re hungry for.

Our 15-day Taste of Japan & South Korea trip takes you from Tokyo's fish markets to a traditional ryokan in the Japanese Alps, through Osaka's street-food scene and on to Busan, Andong and Seoul.

Two countries. Eight stops. A frankly unreasonable amount of good food. And, like all our tailor-made trips, it's just a starting point - we'll shape the whole journey around you.

09/09/2026

No one wants to be that tourist...

Japan’s geiko and maiko are working artists, maintaining a living tradition built around dance, music, conversation, hospitality and years of training.

And the neighbourhoods they work in? Also real. People live there. People go to work there. The lantern-lit alley you’re photographing is not, despite appearances, a movie set.The good news is that there are plenty of ways to experience this world properly.

Walk Gion with someone who actually knows its history. See a traditional dance performance. Visit a museum. Book an audience where conversation, performance and photography are welcomed. Sit down for dinner in a teahouse and let a good guide explain what you’re seeing.

You’ll learn more. You’ll probably enjoy it more. And nobody has to be chased down an alley for your Instagram feed.

04/09/2026

Kyoto camera roll 📸

02/09/2026

No itinerary. No rushing to the next sight. No need to be doing anything at all.
 
Just sitting, in Furukawa, watching life move quietly around you.
 
Sometimes the best moments in Japan are the ones where nothing really happens, so we always leave a little space in your itinerary to simply ‘be’.

28/08/2026

In the Iwase district of Toyama City, one man refused to let his children inherit a struggling business in a declining area. As the fifth-generation owner of Masuda Sake Brewery, Ryuichiro Masuda took action – purchasing abandoned buildings and inviting top chefs to open restaurants in them 🍽

The result? Kaiseki, sushi, soba noodles, open-fire cooking, French, and Italian restaurants now all inhabit the once empty spaces. All are Michelin listed, and all serve his sake 🍶

People across Toyama aren’t merely preserving tradition – they’re actively shaping the future 🤝

Read more on our blog https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0xSztK0🔗