Here I am, taking a holiday in minus-20 Hokkaido instead of plus-20 Okinawa. I’m either losing my marbles or just a normal Canadian pining for a winter wonderland. At this season, for sure, Hokkaido can be Japan’s Siberia, a world of white where everything ...

At this dazzling time of year, it seems that half of Japan’s population turn into photographers journeying to their favorite spots or seeking out new ones around the city as they try to capture the myriad colors of autumn leaves. Doing that, though, is ...

If it was thousands of miles from home, I would wistfully think of this as an exotic and special place. It has almost everything I want in a seaside hangout: Empty beaches backed by pine forests, not condos; surfing waves; fishing piers; hilltop viewpoints; ...

Thinking that Japan is too expensive for them, many budget travelers eschew this archipelago for Southeast Asia. But with a mountain bike and a tent, it’s quite possible to travel in Okinawa on ¥1,000 a day — and enjoy it — especially on Zamami ...

In times past, some Native Americans believed the autumn colors were made when the Great Hunter finally shot the Bear, whose blood spilled across the landscape in the form of red leaves. In my view, as I cycle around Tokyo, the trees appear to ...

There’s something special about places on the outer limits of great nations or continents; a sort of liberated and reflective space, away from it all, yet still connected to it. Think Alaska, Vancouver Island, the Koh Chang islands in Thailand, Xining in far western ...