Alighting at one of the JR Yamanote Line's quietest stops, Uguisudani Station, I chat with the stationmaster about its name, which means "Bush-Warbler Valley." Apparently, the area used to have limpid streams and a bucolic setting that attracted the feathered songsters, also known as ...

Passengers flying into Kagoshima Airport in Kyushu pass over verdant mountains and lush agricultural fields just before landing. This rich terrain, fertilized by ash from a nearby active volcano, partially explains one facet of the prefecture's reputation: Kagoshima is famous for healthy cuisine. Centuries-old seaports ...

A diplomat friend and I enjoy lunch at the Akasaka Capital Tokyu Hotel, in the governmental hub of Tokyo. As we part, he tips me off that there's a little-known footpath from the hotel, leading uphill to the Hie Shrine, one of Tokyo's most ...

A gentleman I met at an educational conference invites me to tour the backstreets of Higashi-Gotanda, where he has opened a brand new preschool. Exiting A7 of the JR Yamanote Line's eponymous station in the early hours of a cool spring morning, I strike ...

Early summer, before the rains arrive and the squadrons of mosquitoes hatch, is a blissful time to stroll Tokyo's formal gardens. I launch off in search of one I've heard of in Toshima Ward, near Mejiro Station. The Yamanote Line stop has no connecting trains ...

The one time of year I'm happy to linger in Aoyama Cemetery is when the venerable rows of old cherry trees growing around the gravestones blossom. Before heading there, though, I decide to first get in the mood with a bit of personal spring ...

A combination of rain showers and tax prep in March signal Tokyo's segue into spring. Cherry blossoms are nearly in bud, but cold, damp days of crunching fiscal figures can put people in dour moods. After wandering a wet backstreet, absorbing little more than precipitation, ...

It's a brisk February day, with a neoprene blue and cloudless sky. I alight at Harajuku Station and head northeast, threading narrow alleyways filled with cute guys and kawaii gals browsing boutiques. Full disclosure: I'm in search of the creative marketing agency UltraSuperNew. Its upcoming ...

The Tokyu Setagaya Line, a sweet little tramline, makes stops between Sangenjaya and Shimotakaido stations. A mere 5.1 kilometers long and one of only two trams left in Tokyo (the other being the Toden Arakawa Line), the Setagaya Line boasts a sleek fleet in ...

On a crisp and cloudless winter morning, the streets outside Komagome Station in Tokyo's Toshima Ward scintillate with shards of sunlight cutting between sharp shadows. I bundle up against the cold, and set off to seek out an artisan that I heard tell of ...