International: Japan!

 

Now that we've covered a location within the United States, why not expand and travel internationally?

One very famous and popular international destination would definitely be Japan. Known as a location of aesthetically appealing attractions, delicious food, and more, Japan rests in the top 3 travel destinations in the hearts of many travelers, including mine! 

My first travel experience in Japan was four years ago, before the pandemic happened and prior to Japan's borders closing to halt the spread of the illness. Back then, traveling was much simpler and easier than it is today, with Japan currently not permitting tourists due to COVID-19 restrictions.

However, with that said, I can hopefully still provide some very helpful information about traveling to Japan even with the current global situation happening. 

Who knows, maybe Japan will ease up its restrictions this summer for those of us travelers who are only able to travel during the summer months.

That reminds me, I traveled to Japan back in the summer of 2018, and traveling there during the summer months was no joke. Sound familiar? I think we can see an overall trend here of traveling during the peak summer months, with crowds and scorching hot temperatures exploding around the world. It's a well known tip in the travel community to avoid summer travel for a reason, though I wouldn't say you should avoid it at all costs. 

Although summer crowds are unavoidable if you're traveling at this time of year, with this sort of weather, one item I can most certainly recommend bringing again is sunscreen. However, make sure you don't carry too much of it (particularly in aerosol form) as TSA airport security will likely confiscate it if brought in large enough quantities.

I can personally emphasize how scorching hot the summers are in Japan. Like most of Japan's population, we walked for most of our travels, and in the summer heat it was very uncomfortable. It was common for us to constantly be on the lookout for shade and vending machines just because of how warm it was there. 

However, with traveling longer distances we commonly took the train as there were train stations all throughout Tokyo. Definitely expect to use the train systems commonly in Japan, as it is the most convenient way to travel longer distances.

Now that we've cleared traveling there, now's the time to find places to stay. Whether or not you're looking to stay in hotels or AirBnB hosts, finding places to stay in Japan shouldn't be too difficult. I personally stayed in an AirBnB in the Taito area of Tokyo, as it was right next to the buzzing Akihabara shopping hub. Typically, AirBnB hosts in this area typically charge between 20-40 USD a night, so it isn't as bad as other locations.

Once you've found a place to stay, now's the time to map out what you want to do in this beautiful country! There are so many things to do, from going to Tokyo Tower, Mount Fuji, the Meiji Shrine, or to just shopping and playing arcade games. You can never really find yourself short of things to do here, which is one of the reasons why I love traveling to Japan so much!

Meiji Shrine

While you're out experiencing the wonders that Japan has to offer along with its excellent cuisine, I would 100% recommend going to a hot spring spa if you haven't been able to experience it yet. After a very familiar exhausting day of traveling, resting and relaxing in the warm water of a hot spring is one of the best feelings in the world. And even if you aren't a very big fan of hot springs, many Japanese spas offer other things from delicious street food cooked right on the premises to peaceful outdoor areas to relax in.

The hot springs spa that my family and I went to offered a whole street food cafeteria, an arcade, and a whole peaceful outdoor area to relax in other than the hot springs. It was a perfect place for us to relax in as we had traveled to Mt. Fuji earlier in the day, and resting here in the warm water was one of my favorite parts of my time in Japan.

Some footage we took at a spa in Tokyo!

Although it isn't exactly possible to travel to Japan at the moment, I do hope that their borders open again soon so you all can experience the beauty of this wonderful travel destination!