I've always traveled with my 2 kids, but now that they are teens it's so much more fun

I realized I was obsessed with the best Madewell tote ever made when I spent an August in Italy with friends a few years ago. A friend and I rented a villa for a month and hosted rotating groups of our besties in the Florentine suburbs, in the town of Marcialla, population: 300. With that as our home base, we drove to see the Palio di Siena, dined at Michelin-starred Linfa in San Gimignano, posed with the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and many other activities that, as I think about it now, make me dearly miss the rolling hills of Tuscany and those cypress trees that pierced the pale blue sky. But there’s one thing I remember most clearly about that trip, mainly because it was featured in almost every single photo my friends took of me: a bulging yet fabulous leather satchel attached to my right hip: The Madewell Zip-Top Transport Tote.

Seabourn will have two ships sailing in Asia in late 2024 and 2025.

Japan appears on track to welcome its first casino by 2030. Osaka IR, the operator of Japan’s long-awaited first casino resort, has forfeited its right to withdraw from the project within the next two years, as per reports.

The newest iPhones will come with an easy way to ask generative AI about real-life visuals. For travelers, that means easier ways of navigating new cities. 

The latest data from Viator, an online travel agency for travel experiences, offers a window into evolving travel habits.

If you’ve experienced enough of cosmopolitan Tokyo and need a change of pace from serene Kyoto, then you’ll need a list of the best things to do in Osaka, the spirited heart of the western Kansai region. Osaka is known as “the kitchen of Japan,” best known for signature Japanese delicacies like takoyaki, ball-shaped snacks often made with octopus meat; and okonomiyaki, savory pancakes made on teppan (Japanese metal grill plates). The city’s massive food scene features all types of dining spots, ranging from street vendors to Michelin-starred restaurants. Osaka is also an entertainment capital where you can meet Mario and Luigi at Super Nintendo World, part of Universal Studios Japan, or catch a baseball game at the Osaka Dome with over 36,000 fans from all over the world.

Japan is widely considered to be a polite, rule-following country, but knowing its reputation didn't fully prepare me for my recent trip.

Japan has been known for its easy entry policy for travelers from 71 visa-exempt countries, including the U.S., U.K., Australia, Canada, Singapore, and France. But that’s about to change.

Erin Hynes felt sick to her stomach.

Sun-seekers, meet Star Seeker. One of the cruise industry's most anticipated new high-end ships is set to debut at the end of next year, and you'll only have one chance to catch it in the Caribbean.

Koji, the mold that transforms soy beans and wheat into soy sauce and rice into sake, is so beloved in Japan that it has its own holiday. And lately, chefs have been finding new uses for the fungus, which has a fruity aroma and an ability to make “anything it touches better,” says Jeremy Umansky, 41, the owner of Larder deli in Cleveland. He uses koji for almost everything: to cure pastrami; to ferment Chinese-style black beans, which are ground and swirled into chocolate babka to embolden the chocolate; and to sprinkle over salads and fries in the form of what the restaurant calls Special K, a seasoning of dried ground koji. “It’s a harmonizer,” he says. Bartenders, too, are taking note. At Nancy’s Hustle in Houston, the bar manager, Zach Hornberger, 32, adds it to the nonalcoholic Silver Brining cocktail, a sweet-sour-salty mix of pickle brine, grapefruit and lime juices, koji and tonic. “It brings this umami background to beverages, and it plays well with citrus, taming the high acid notes and rounding the drink as a whole,” he says. At the restaurant Fête in Honolulu, the bar manager, Fabrice McCarthy, 41, infuses rum with shio koji (a slurry of koji, water and salt) and shakes it into a mai tai to add salinity — the effect, he says, is similar to how salted peanuts make you want to drink more beer. Ryan Chetiyawardana, 40, the owner of the bar Lyaness in London, experiments with koji in multiple forms — for one cocktail, he ferments parsnips with koji, which he says unlocks the sweetness and delivers “a huge tropical brightness.” While koji often plays a supporting role, at Paradiso in Barcelona, it wraps around the entire lip of the glass used for the Fleming, named for Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of penicillin, another influential mold. For this fungus-inspired cocktail, which includes grapefruit, tequila and miso, the manager of Paradiso’s research lab, Matteo Ciarpaglini, 30, one-upped a classic salt rim with a fluffy cloud of koji, its floral fragrance accompanying every taste. —

Passengers looking to embark on a 3 ½ year-round-the-world voyage on Villa Vie Residences' Odyssey cruise ship have been left hanging for the past three months.