Travel highlights 2025
2025 was another busy year here at Japan Guide with lots of exciting projects and fresh challenges, not least taking my first baby steps into the snappier world of stories and reels on social media. While this took away somewhat from the time we might otherwise have spent on smaller and more personal stories, still I was lucky enough to fit in some truly first-rate experiences and meaningful firsts that made it very much a year to remember.
#7 Early dismissal by a sumo wrestler
My first highlight of the year came just a few weeks ago when reporting for an upcoming article in Tokyo. At a seriously fun Sumo-themed experience, I was given the chance to "spar" with a former sumo wrestler who made short work of me with a perfectly executed leg sweep - one for the photo album!
#6 An amazing barbecue experience on the Boso Peninsula
As any of my closest friends will tell you, I would probably subsist entirely off of smoked or flame-cooked meat if such a thing were possible. Reporting for Japan Guide may bring with it a whole host of excellent meals, but for me the outstanding one this year came during my trip to the Boso Peninsula. At a beautiful old thatched-roof farmhouse called Yamana House, I was treated to plates of freshly caught wild boar and venison that I don't think I'll ever forget.
#5 The Osaka Expo
Love it or hate it, the biggest event of 2025 in Japan was assuredly the Osaka Expo - an incredibly vast undertaking that ultimately drew well over 25 million visits over the course of its six-month opening period. The food may have been overpriced and appeals to internationalism rang just a little hollow when set against so many dire events on the world stage, but as an architectural showcase there was a great deal to enjoy.
With time limited and some pretty monstrous queues to contend with, there was just no way to fit in everything, but among my personal favorites were the Qatari and United Arab Emirates pavilions, both by noted architects, and the beautifully made Garden of Tranquility at the center.
#4 My first visit to the Setouchi Triennale
A major international art festival held every three years spanning 17 different islands and coastal areas in and around Japan's Seto Inland Sea, the Setouchi Triennale had been languishing on my to-do list for many years. This summer, I finally got the opportunity to check it out with visits to the islands of Naoshima, Ogijima and Megijima.
Especially exciting was the then newly opened Naoshima New Museum of Art, set in a striking, brutalist building created by Ando Tadao, and featuring some genuinely inspired pieces.
#3 An underseen historic district in Uchiko
One of my favorite lesser-known destinations this year was the town of Uchiko in Shikoku, the smallest of Japan's main islands and, at least for many visitors, a significant step off of the beaten track. Over two busy days of reporting for an upcoming video, Aimee and I toured beautifully preserved merchant residences, learned about the town's industrial past and got to know some of the charming locals - a real treat.
#2 Himeji Castle in full bloom
Cherry blossom season is always a hectic time here at JG, but every year it also compensates with at least a handful of magic scenes. This time around, I ticked off another major item on my travel to-do list by catching the magnificent Himeji Castle just as its many cherry blossom trees hit their peak - a dream come true.
#1 My first sight of Mount Aso
This year brought only a handful of hiking opportunities, but out of those one was truly spectacular. Located deep in rural Kumamoto Prefecture, Mount Aso comprises one of the world's largest active volcano systems, and a whole landscape of buttes, rocky peaks and sweeping grasslands, all of it enclosed within a vast caldera extending 25 kilometers from end to end.
In the course of my brief two-day trip, I was able to fit in two excellent hikes, a visit to the main, central crater of Nakadake and a whole series of breathtaking views.
