Condé Nast Traveler

While neon-lit Tokyo moves ahead at hyperspeed, Kyoto ambles along at a leisurely pace. During its thousand-year reign as Japan’s imperial city, artisans from around the country flocked here to hone their skills in nishijin-ori silk weaving and kyo-yaki pottery. Today, in its traditional machiya town houses, ceramicists and woodworkers still produce the same fine wares as their ances- tors. But a group of younger makers is shaking up the scene, opening next-gen ateliers, teahouses, and concept stores that swap the sometimes-intimidating rules and rituals of traditional crafts with modern designs and easygoing retail spaces. Whatever the approach, one thing is for sure in Kyoto: The handmade reigns supreme.

I pulled into the tiny hamlet of Hirase, in Japan’s Gifu prefecture, at the peak of the day’s heat. I’d just climbed several thousand feet through Hakusan National Park, on a twisting, waterfall-lined road, before eventually descending into the shimmering fantasy landscape of Shirakawa-go, an almost Tolkien-esque small village—and UNESCO heritage site—comprised of centuries-old thatched, peaked-roof farmhouses in the gassho-zukuri style. Replenishing myself with a black-sesame ice cream cone, I made the last push towards my destination. My cycling computer eventually told me “destination reached,” but all I could see was a succession of closed businesses lining a small street. Seeking shade, I flopped against a security gate.

On a still summer morning on Washington State's Orcas Island, I rented a pair of tandem kayaks from a sleepy-eyed, flaxen-haired attendant barely out of her teens, who quickly returned to painting watercolors in the tall grass beside the weather-beaten sales kiosk. A gentle wind went shhh through tall hemlocks as my family paddled, two by two, to a rocky islet at the center of Mountain Lake, on the flank of Mount Constitution. There we clambered ashore, and the kids, Agnes and Rex, immediately began darting among the lodgepole pines, collecting sticks and pine cones to build fairy houses. Aside from the faint smell of a forest fire burning in the Cascades and a smudge of smoke on the eastern sky, it could have been a scene from my own childhood.

I’ll never forget staring into the deep, black waters of Loch Ness. The darkness of the lake beautifully highlighted the fat, white snowflakes falling from puffy, gray skies above. This, I remember thinking, was the untouched natural beauty of Scotland that so many of my travel writer friends had raved about. It was one of the most breathtaking winter scenes I’d experienced in my life—and I would never have found myself there if it weren’t for an organized day tour.

It would be easy to read Evil Does Not Exist as being anti-travel—or, at the very least, anti-glamping. The new film from Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi is set in the tranquil (and fictional) village of Mizubiki some two hours outside of Tokyo. Locals live in deference to the nature that surrounds them, collecting water from the forest’s crystal-clear spring with quiet care. But, when COVID-era economic incentives drive a Tokyo consulting firm to erect a glamping site upstream of the village, without considering the environmental consequences on the community, a high-drama town meeting ensues, wherein villagers poke hole after hole in the hastily-drawn plan. Over the course of the film's two hours, it continues to meditate on topics of man and nature, framing stunning countryside scenery for so long, and with such focus, that you emerge refreshed as though from a cold plunge.

There is no worse feeling at the end of a perfect beach day than having to lug a heavy, sandy, soggy beach towel back to your car. Thankfully, beach towels have come a long way over the years, with features like sand-resistant fabric and roomier dimensions that mean your legs won't be dangling onto the hot sand.

Whether it’s a multigenerational family vacation or a long-planned friends getaway, there’s an inherent coziness about sharing an accommodation with loved ones—versus being scattered between individual hotel rooms—that often makes short-term rental homes the go-to for group travel.

Napa Valley has long been a mecca for wine lovers. Who doesn’t fantasize about sipping wine while overlooking a vineyard? But wine country vacations are getting expensive: tasting room fees have risen sharply since 2019, according to Silicon Valley Bank’s 2023 Direct to Consumer report. With premium tasting experiences often costing an average of $128 per person per winery, a weekend getaway can quickly add up. And long gone are the days of traversing Highway 29 and popping into places on a whim; reservations, a practice that gained traction during the pandemic, remain firmly in place.

“About 25 years ago, I was asked by Marie Claire to visit the Arctic Circle in Canada to build an igloo, as one does, and to write a story about the process. I said yes because my best friend had recently died by suicide and I just wanted to get away. My faith in the universe was shaken and I needed something to happen. We went to Iqaluit, the capital of Nunavut, and my now husband, Chris, came with me. The minute you get there, everything on you freezes. It was so cold that, if you went outside to pee, it'd freeze. We met our Inuit guides, who brought these sled dogs. The dogs are workers. You don't pet them—you feed them and make them mush. So when I got down on the ground with them to say hello, the dogs flipped over, exposed their bellies, howled, and got all up on me. They were thankful and sweet. I don't think they knew they wanted affection. When I left, they snapped right back into work mode. Later, I rode a sled being pulled by a trainee team of dogs. During the run, one of them couldn't keep up. He started yelping, then tripped and fell. The dogs were all tied to each other, so he was flipping around in the ice and snow like a fish out of water. I turned into Marilyn Monroe in The Misfits, screaming and crying, begging the musher to stop. One of the guides got the dog detached, and we flew past him—just left the dog. I was sobbing: ‘We have to go back! We have to go back!’ And they said, ‘The dog didn't make the cut.’ That night, before building the igloo, I saw this big blue glacier reflecting the moonlight. It was immense. This is what [my friend's] depression must have felt like, I thought, so overwhelming, like this glacier that's bigger than the Empire State Building. I started walking toward it, getting really close. I wanted to say a little prayer for my friend. As I moved to touch it, my guide came running and screaming. He stuck his spear into the ice ahead of me to show me it could've shifted, and I would have fallen right into the water and died. Being there made me really appreciate the fragility of life. Oh, and by the way: The dog found his way back.”

Finding the best graduation gift can be tough. You want to celebrate this important milestone with a thoughtful gift that both acknowledges the graduate’s accomplishment and is practical and useful for the next chapter in their lives. While some may be shopping for a graduate they don’t know very well, others are searching for the right gift for a person they know inside and out—either way, we have you covered. Whether they're stepping into the professional world, furthering their education, or pursuing their passions, our curated list of 37 unique gifts ensures that every graduate receives something truly special to mark this achievement. This selection includes the latest tech gadgets, luggage for the jet-setting grad, and travel accessories that will help make their next trip smooth and comfortable.

Thwack! My knee slams into the boxing pad my coach, Win, is holding up. “Power!” Win yells.  “More power!”  Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! My kneecap feels like it’s about to explode. Sweat dribbles off my nose and onto the mat, little raindrops of exertion. “Harder!” he says. “Stronger! You can do it!”

More than 15 million visitors are expected to travel to Paris during the 2024 Summer Olympics, which will take place from July 26 to August 11. But as the world's attention turns to the City of Light, even non-Olympic related trips to France may feel the ripple effects of the games over the next few months.

If noise-canceling headphones don’t help you doze off, you may need to consider a more heavy-duty fix: sleeping pills for flights. Certainly, some flights don’t warrant sleeping aids—such as when you’re taking a short trip or traveling west against a time difference, says Aneesa Das, M.D., a sleep medicine specialist at the Ohio State University (at that point you may as well stay awake). But if you’ll be on a plane overnight and waking up in a vastly different time zone, logging some shuteye on the plane is crucial to arriving refreshed—or close enough to it.

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It sounds like a dream: working on a laptop at a charming café, sipping some of the best coffee in the world while staring out over the sparkling waters of the Mediterranean or Aegean seas. Now, remote workers can make that lifestyle a reality thanks to Turkey's just-launched digital nomad visa.

You may have missed the chance to spend the night in Barbie's Malibu DreamHouse or Shrek's Swamp, but don't fret, because Airbnb just took its once-in-a-lifetime stays and experiences up a notch. On May 1, Airbnb announced its latest category, Icons, a new vertical for “extraordinary experiences hosted by the greatest names in music, film, television, art, sports, and more.” Airbnb's goal is to bring some of travelers' wildest dreams to life—from witnessing the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games along the River Seine in Paris (on a terrace in the Musée d’Orsay designed by Mathieu Lehanneur, the designer of the torch and cauldron for the Paris 2024 Games), to spending the night in the Ferrari Museum in Italy (and taking a lap with Scuderia Ferrari ambassador driver Marc Gené while you're there). With overnight stays in jaw-dropping locations and experiences you won't soon forget, these listings certainly live up to their name.

Trying my best not to make a mess, I devoured the chocolate-drizzled, walnut-topped qatayef and instantly felt better about the wet, wintery day. In Jordan and throughout the Middle East, these palm-sized semolina pancakes are typically only popular during the holy month of Ramadan—As-Salt, a city on three hills about an hour north of the Jordanian capital of Amman, is “the only place where one can find qatayef year-round,” my As-Salti guide Sewar Alfauori explained between bites.

Throughout April, we're honoring the ancient Arab tradition of hakawatis, or storytellers, highlighting the writers, performers, and poets who are driving the conversation around what it means to be Arab American today—and celebrating the rich culture and histories of the diaspora.

Cowboys are so often depicted like John Wayne—meaning, as a white man on a horse. For a long time, this representation has overshadowed the existence, and importance, of Black cowboys, but in the 19th century, an estimated one in four cowboys was Black. They were often barred from competing against white riders, and went on to form their own rodeos—yet to this day, Black rodeos continue to thrive.

Despite having met as college students in Los Angeles and currently living in New York City, Mitali Gupta and Nick Ruzicka have always known they’d get married in India. Mitali grew up in Delhi, and always assumed she’d return to her native country for her wedding one day. For Nick, who is half-Indian and grew up in the Bay Area, it was a bit more complicated: his mother left the country at age 17 and his exposure to the culture was limited to less frequent visits to his grandfather.

If you've been invited to a beach wedding, you're in for a treat. A cool sea breeze, romantic sunset, and ceremony on the sand—it's the perfect excuse to take a tropical vacation. But despite the picturesque setting, it can be difficult for wedding guests to know just what to wear to a destination wedding like this. Beach weddings present a number of obstacles when it comes to appropriate attire—you need shoes that can be worn on sand, and a dress that's lightweight enough to keep you cool and easy to pack without wrinkling or taking up too much real estate in your suitcase.