Exploring folk crafts in Kanazawa City Japan

After moving from North Carolina to Okinawa in 2022, my family was overwhelmed but fascinated by our surroundings. One familiar monument made us feel right at home: McDonald's two golden arches. 

For about the price of a typical single-family home in Mississippi, ultra-rich adventurers can spend three weeks traversing the world via private jet thanks on an Abercrombie & Kent "air cruise."

I recently dubbed Alaska Airlines’ loyalty program, Mileage Plan, the “Best Mileage Program for Average Travelers.” It’s a hard-won honor, awarded for two principal reasons. First, Alaska has chosen to retain Mileage Plan’s distance-based earning scheme, even as most other airlines have adopted less generous spend-based earning. And second, Alaska has cobbled together a roster of earning and redemption partners that rivals those of the world’s largest airlines.

With its tech-centric entertainment, ancient temples, lightning fast rail system and traditional art forms, Japan offers a fascinating mix of the new and the old. Between rural Hokkaido and the tropical islands of Okinawa, you’re bound to find something to embrace as a curious backpacker. And with the following insider tips, backpacking Japan can be both memorable and affordable.

Have you ever wanted luck and happiness for an entire year? All you have to do is slip on a fundoshi (a traditional Japanese loincloth), get purified with freezing cold water in the middle of February and join 9000 other Japanese men – with their 18,000 bare cheeks – in fighting over one of two lucky shingi sticks. Piece of cake, right?

Kyoto hardly needs an introduction. In a country often associated with logic-defying bullet trains and kaleidoscopic mega cities, Japan’s former imperial capital holds an eternal appeal. It’s traditional Japan distilled – history-steeped tea houses, cherry-blossom-cloaked streets, elaborately sculpted temples – and yet, it’s also a city with a burgeoning modern spirit.

Snow-white beaches, giant coconut-eating crabs and karate-loving grannies: Okinawa is Japan but not as we know it. This alluring chain of sun-kissed, hibiscus-draped islands offers a blend of Southeast Asian heat, unique ‘un-Japanese’ culture and delicious, life-extending food. Andy Turner explores how to make the most of a trip to Japan’s subtropical paradise.

Once one of Japan’s largest cities, in recent decades Kanazawa has languished in the shadow of its better-known rivals. But all that’s changing now, with the west coast city surging on a new wave of optimism boosted by the arrival of the Shinkansen’s high-speed rail links. Kanazawa is well and truly on the up – and with good reason. It’s a city that’s abundant in traditional charm, from its magnificently sculpted Kenroku-en garden – rated among the best in Japan – to its history-steeped geisha and samurai districts. Yet it’s also a city that’s very much still alive and kicking too, with an enviously cutting-edge art scene and a fast-growing cohort of contemporary restaurants.

With its glittering royal palaces, ancient temples and sacred shrines as well as sandy beaches, some of the world’s best skiing and beautiful national parks, Japan is a country you'll want to return to again and again.

None of this choo-choo stuff – Byun! Shu! are the sounds that a Japanese train makes. And while bullet trains – shinkansen – are one of the symbols of modern Japan, the Japanese adore trains in all their forms. Some of the best loved are “sightseeing” Japanese trains, which run along lines with gorgeous landscape views – nowhere else on the planet does them quite like Japan. Some are simple, some come with quips and quirks and others are utterly luxurious (2017 has been a big year for the latter).

Kanazawa City, the capital of Ishikawa Prefecture in Japan, is an attractive centre with a plethora of fantastic cultural attractions. Travellers will be treated to everything from well-preserved historic districts to modern museums and the natural charms of Kenrokuen Garden, among Japan’s most beloved landscaped gardens.

With a Pacific shoreline of outstanding natural beauty, a clutch of fantastic cultural sights, thronging markets and delectable seafood, you can expect a lot from a visit to Hachinohe and still be blown away. Here’s everything you need to know about Hachinohe.