Instant Ramen Museum: A Shrine to Cheap Eats
|credit| The Man Behind the Ramen Momofuku Ando is worthy of god status. The late Taiwanese-Japanese inventor of instant ramen changed the shape of food for the Japanese and poor students around the...
View ArticleHiroshima Peace Memorial Park and Museum
A city known for its darkest moment, Hiroshima’s memorials provide an educational and emotional look at the events on August 6th, 1945. A-Bomb Dome A flourishing city, Hiroshima’s past is an ever...
View ArticleFree Bus Tours in Nara!
In a move that makes us wonder whether Nara has a bit of a chip on its shoulder about its more popular neighbour Kyoto, the Nara Prefectural Government is bringing back its free bus tours for a limited...
View ArticleCheap Temple-Hopping in Kyoto? Go Shrine-Hopping Instead
Kyoto is known for its hundreds of temples and shrines dotting the city. Quite a few are UNESCO World Heritage listed, and even those that aren’t offer beauty and charm in their art, gardens, or...
View ArticlePretty Cheap Whisky at the Suntory Yamazaki Distillery
It bring us at Japan Cheapo much sadness and wallet-ache to announce that one of the best free tours in Japan is no longer free. The Suntory Yamazaki Distillery has reopened after extensive...
View ArticleAll the Way to Koshien!
Summer in Japan has many traditions. One of the most popular traditions is to watch the Japanese High School Baseball Championship, or Koshien, as it is more commonly known. |credit| The Summer Koshien...
View ArticleCelebrating the REAL Tanabata in Kyoto
Tanabata: A Love Story You may think that Tanabata only occurs on the memorable date of 7/7 (July 7th). But the Tanabata festival was traditionally based on the lunar calendar, meaning that August is...
View ArticleHow to Spend Little to No Money at the Gion Matsuri in Kyoto
It’s just ticked over to July. That means two things: the heat has suddenly gone way up, and the Gion Matsuri—or Gion Festival—has kicked off. |credit| Gion Matsuri is perhaps the biggest event in...
View ArticleA Magical Kyoto Hanatouro Night: Spotlight on Higashiyama
Update: Higashiyama Hanatoro ended indefinitely on its 20th anniversary in 2022. One of the most magical and ethereal sights in Kyoto returns for another year. Hanatouro (literally “flower light...
View Article5 Fun Ideas for a Rainy Day in Kyoto
June marks the start of the rainy season throughout much of Japan. But unlike the sprawling metropolises of Tokyo and Osaka, Kyoto isn’t crowded with skyscrapers and shopping malls. Rather, it’s filled...
View ArticleThe Cheapest Way to Get from Kansai International Airport to Kyoto
There is a saying that visitors only go to Osaka because there’s no airport in Kyoto, and — no shade to Osaka — in some ways this is true. Indeed, Kansai International Airport is the main airport for...
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