Hitchhiking never crossed my mind as a way to travel in the UK. Too dangerous, I told myself. Too much chance of meeting a pub bore who would pick you up only in order to secure a captive audience for his fascinating stories about the anomalies of...

If you?re only planning one trip within Japan and spending the rest of your time in and around Tokyo or another large city, it may be cheaper to buy a budget plane ticket than a Japan Rail Pass or equivalent train ticket. Deregulation of the...

Accommodation in Japan is about the same price as in most Western countries, so it?s not quite as reasonable as prices for eating out and there aren?t quite so many ways to save money. But, it?s still possible to make your yen go a little bit...

There?s an old joke about American beer, but it applies equally in Japan. Q: Why is Japanese beer like having sex in a canoe" A: They?re both fucking close to water. This tells you what you need to know about most Japanese beers. The industry is...

Lake Biwa is Japan?s largest lake, named after the biwa or Japanese lute whose shape it is said to resemble. The lake?s surrounds were hotly contested by warlords such as Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu, and they left numerous...

Hokuriku (??), literally ?Northern landmass?, is the name given to the three prefectures of Fukui, Ishikawa and Toyama than encompass the central section of the Japan Sea coast. Historically cut off from the centres of power by the mountains, things...

This itinerary takes in a number of major sites with connections to the events of World War Two; Tokyo, which was the site of the heaviest firebombing, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, victims of the only atomic bombs ever used in war, and on to Okinawa, the...

To check train times and routes in Japan, use the excellent Hyperdia website, which makes getting around Japan’s rail network simple. Japan Rail Pass – best for foreign visitors Regional Rail Passes – best for travelling in a single...

I am still surprised often by quite how reasonable eating out can be in Tokyo. Of course, if you want to go for 30,000 yen ($278, £175) sushi at a restaurant that has featured in its own film and that you can only book several months in advance, you...

These are ten of my favourite breweries in Japan. Craft beer here has some interesting characteristic, and the one that recurs over and over again is innovation. In Europe it sometimes feels like brewing is hamstrung by tradition, no more so than in...