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Chasing Japan Vibes

ホーム
日本
Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Chasing Japan Vibes

I'm Lauren, a lover of Japan from LA.
✈️ Travel Content Creator
🇯🇵 Japan beyond the tourists spots
🌸 Hidden gems, foodie eats, & boutique stays

27/08/2026

Some of the best meals I’ve had in Japan weren’t at the trendy restaurants everyone is posting about. They were in tiny family-run shops, local cafés, and restaurants with barely a tourist in sight.

On Yakushima, I found a small local shop serving flying fish, a regional specialty that was completely different from the typical Japanese dishes I expected.

In Ozu, I had the best homemade matcha dessert I’ve ever tasted rich, delicate, and nothing like the overly sweet matcha desserts you find at trendy spots in Kyoto.

And then there was the unagi in Ozu, served at a restaurant that has been passed down through generations. The kind shop owner was so glad we came to visit.

Some other favorites; a restaurant on a boat in Hiroshima and had an incredible bowl of soba in Aso, surrounded by the beautiful landscapes of Kyushu.

These are the places I keep chasing, ones that have you slow down and savor the moment.

This is Episode 02 of my series: making the Japan most tourists miss look cinematic until I reach 10K. 🎥🇯🇵

Follow along for hidden Japan, local food, underrated destinations, and the experiences that make me fall in love with Japan over and over again.

💬 What Japanese food would you travel across Japan to try?

Japan travel | best restaurants in Japan | hidden gems Japan

05/08/2026

Skip Osaka on your first trip to Japan. 🇯🇵

Osaka is an incredible city, but for a first trip, we think it’s worth skipping. Osaka is a lovely city, but Tokyo and Osaka are both large, dense, fast-paced metros, and back-to-back on a first trip means two stops that feel the same.

If your goal on a first trip is to have a variety of experiences, that time is better spent in environments that don’t feel repetitive.

What I recommend instead:

1. Start in Tokyo.
It’s still the best entry point for a first trip! You’ll enjoy the convenience, the energy, and the first real taste of the city’s density and pace. This is your “big city” stop, and one is enough for a first trip.

2. Add a smaller, lesser-known town or city.
After Tokyo, head somewhere with a genuinely different pace. This could be a mid-sized city or small town most first-time travelers skip entirely. This is where the contrast starts to show: quieter streets, local life, a slower rhythm than the capital.

3. End with a ryokan stay in a nature-based onsen town.
This is the stop that changes how people remember their trip. A traditional inn, hot spring bathing, a town built around slowness instead of sightseeing. It’s the part most itineraries leave out entirely, and it’s usually the part people talk about most afterward.

How to structure the days: If you have 10 days or less, stay within one region. Three stops is already enough movement for a shorter trip. Adding a second region or 4th stop means more time in transit and less time exploring each place.
 If you have 14 days or more, you could add a second region (or 4th stop) without sacrificing depth in the first. This could provide more contrast, without turning the trip into a checklist.

This is the exact kind of tradeoff my husband and I help first-time travelers think through; Tokyo, Osaka, or something else entirely.

💬Comment below if you’d love help.

I’m Lauren, sharing off-the-beaten-path Japan travel tips so you can experience the magic beyond the tourist crowds. ✨

First trip to Japan

04/08/2026

This towel means more to us this week…

On the towel is Kumamon, the beloved bear mascot of Kumamoto Prefecture. We picked this up wandering through Kurokawa Onsen last year. I needed a towel after trying the foot soak.

On this trip, we explored the Aso region and ended the day with soba in the highlands. We had no idea how much we’d be thinking about this place differently this week.

On July 28, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Kumamoto Prefecture. At least 38 people lost their lives. Rescue teams are still working. Kumamoto has real communities that we fell in love with and they deserve to be seen.

We just wanted to say: we see you, Kumamoto. Sending our love to the victims.

If you want to help right now, please only donate through verified organizations. Japanese Red Cross and Peace Boat Disaster Relief are both on the ground.

And when it’s safe to visit, we’ll be the first ones telling you to go explore the Kumamoto, Kyushu region.

📸 sayaka | 大分カメラマン | 七五三 | ウエディング

住所

Shibuya-ku, Tokyo