About Hakobi
A Japan travel guide by a local who has been almost everywhere.
Hi, I'm Hyde. I'm Japanese — born and raised here, based in the Kansai region — and over the years I've traveled to 44 of Japan's 47 prefectures — from the fox villages of Tohoku to the olive groves of Shodoshima. (The missing three: Saga, Nagasaki, and Okinawa. When I've been, I'll write about them — not before.)
Most Japan travel content in English is written by people who visited for two weeks and photographed the same ten places. Hakobi is different: every guide here is based on trips I actually took — the prices I paid, the crowds I stood in, and the small places between the famous ones that made the trip.
"Hakobi" comes from the Japanese phrase ashi wo hakobu (足を運ぶ) — literally "to carry one's feet somewhere," meaning to make the trip in person. That's the rule for this site: if my feet haven't carried me there, I don't write about it as if they had.
What you'll find here
Region guides and itineraries built from real visits, cost breakdowns in yen, seasonal notes (when the crowds come and when they don't), and honest opinions about what's worth your limited days in Japan — including the famous places that aren't.
How this site makes money
Some links on this site are affiliate links to booking services I use myself. They cost you nothing extra and keep the site running. Details are on the affiliate disclosure page.
Questions or corrections? Get in touch.