Crafted in Tohoku: meet the makers of Japan's most prized talismans and artisan treasures

Travel, the movement of people from one place to another, has always existed. But long before we thought to travel for pleasure, we traveled for purpose: for commerce, and for faith.

Through a variety of fundraising efforts including mileage donations and collection boxes from customers and employees in Japan and throughout the U.S. including Hawaii and the mainland, Japan Airlines raised over $132,000 to support relief and recovery efforts for communities affected by the devastating Maui wildfires that occurred in August 2023. The airline held a check presentation ceremony to the Hawaii Community Foundation on November 2 at the Governor’s Ceremony Room at the Hawaii State Capitol building.

A lone boatman watches Thailand's so-called "floating train" pass as selfie-seeking passengers soak up the water views, disembarking from carriages stopped on a narrow bridge.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in the vacation rental hemisphere. As travelers prepare for the busy holiday travel season, Airbnb released its annual winter travel trends, destinations, and unique stays that travelers are searching for and booking this upcoming season.

As winter approaches, skiers and snowboarders eagerly head to the snow-clad mountains of Tohoku, exclaiming, “This is what we’ve been waiting for!” In recent years, snow enthusiasts from around the world have gathered in Tohoku in pursuit of JAPOW.

Eneko Atxa thrives on innovation. As well as running the three-Michelin-star restaurant Azurmendi, the Spanish chef also runs a number of exciting fine dining restaurants, including NKO in Bilbao and Eneko Basque in Seville. While Eneko Basque serves flavours, textures, and aesthetics rooted in classic Basque cuisine, the offering at NKO is distinctly different. Basque and Japanese flavours are combined to create an innovative menu — including the likes of oxtail bao, Bilbao-style sardine nigiris and hake tempura — that gives travellers a new perspective on classic Spanish cuisine and demonstrates the power of food to connect cultures.

So much of travel marketing focuses on the transactional, with tons of airtime and budget given to selling hotels and other classic travel products. Yet a mammoth survey of 18,000 travelers underscores how experiences are rising in importance.

United Airlines is tweaking its long-haul network with two notable changes.

If you’re a whisky lover, destinations like Scotland, Japan, and Kentucky are all probably high on your list of places to imbibe in between distillery tours. But you might want to add Singapore to the short list of great whisky destinations. That’s because The Grande Whisky Museum in Suntec City, Singapore is the keeper of not just the world’s most valuable bottle of whiskey, but it also boasts the most valuable whiskey collection, according to the Guinness World Records.

For more than 25 years, Alberto Avila has been making careteros, or paper maché masks, perpetuating a tradition of Indigenous communities in Ecuador. Typically worn by tribal leaders, the masks are used widely in local festivities. As Avila explains, each mask is intended to reflect “what’s inside” its creator—his first took the form of a devil, a character he identified with at the time, but he’s tranquil, nowadays, and has made more playful versions lately.

In subtropical Taiwan, hiking is practically a national sport. For a place less than half the size of Scotland, this little island packs in a big topography – more than 260 peaks over 3000m (9843ft) high.

The World's 50 Best Bars have just been announced—and you can consider this your official bucket list of exceptional drinking dens around the world.