B-Side Travels, Japan!

A Writer in Transit Pop-Up Series

Mike Garcia

Welcome!

For the past 4 months I’ve been working on designing my latest long adventure: 6 weeks in Japan, from Kansai to Kyushu. I know Japan has kind of been the hype lately, but I also know that that hype is just scratching the surface of what the country has to offer. So on this second trip to Japan, I decided to go a little deeper.

I wanted the itinerary to touch on most of Japan’s other major aspects, not just the big cities. To also see the parts that are less known and visited.  So I set a few parameters that would guide the places I picked, and the structure and flow of the itinerary. I wanted the trip to include:

1. Big/ Main Cities
2. Small/Mid-sized Cities
3. Countryside
4. An immersion to Japanese Culture/History/Tradition
5. Nature + a Long Walk

With 6 weeks, I wanted to make sure I balance breadth and depth. So I specifically set my boundaries to only include the west (or south) of Japan, focusing on only 3 (out of 8) regions: Kansai, Chugoku, Kyushu. This allows me to concentrate, and not spread out. And avoids the temptation to “See the whole country” that risks being exhausting, too fast-paced. I want it to feel like a leisurely walk, at my own natural pace. Besides, there is already so much to see in just this chunk of Japan alone.

Here’s what I came up with:

A total of 12 places/cities, averaging about 3-4 nights each.

Kansai Region

Beginning in Wakayama city sets the tone of the trip for a B-side feel. It’s a mid-sized coastal city on the Kii peninsula that’s rarely on people’s radar, despite being just an hour south of Osaka. Then I head inland into the countryside, into Asuka—the precursor to Nara—and Sakurai. Here I’ll be biking to get a glimpse of Japan’s humble beginnings: ancient palace sites, the oldest Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, and mysterious stone tombs and megaliths. And I plan to walk the Yamanobe-no-michi, the oldest road mentioned in Japanese records. Finally, a temple stay at Koyasan, up in the mountains of the Kii peninsula. It’s been said that this is the spiritual center of Japan.

Chugoku Region

I’ll be traveling with some friends for a portion of this region. From Koyasan, we surface back up into city, starting off in Matsue: a castle town along the Sea of Japan side, housing one of Japan’s 12 original castles. Then on to one of the two big cities on this itinerary, Hiroshima. Next, Onomichi. A quaint port town where we will bike a portion of the Shimanami Kaido, a (world-) famous cycling route, crossing bridges from island to island across the Seto inland sea. From there, I head further south into Yamaguchi city to pause and rest, before I embark on my long walk: a two-day walk on the Hagi-Okan. An old Edo-era road used by daimyos and samurais, connecting Yamaguchi city, to Sasanami—a small post town where I’ll be staying the night with a local family—and to Hagi—another castle town along the Sea of Japan side to bookend this region.

Kyushu Region

The last leg and region of this trip: Kyushu. Also known as “Land of Fire” or “Onsen Island.” (Active) volcanoes are common here. By this time, I might be meeting spring, too. I start in northern Kyushu, in Fukuoka. The plan here is to just walk around, and eat. And eat (Hakata ramen and Yatai stalls!). As well as visit Akizuki for its cherry blossoms. Then I’ll take the shinkansen to Kagoshima, a city on the southern tip of Kyushu known for having an active, smoking volcano as its neighbor: Sakurajima. And, for its Kurobuta black pork! From here, I head north again. Inland, into the heart of Kyushu…

Mount Aso: a large active volcano right in the center of Kyushu, where I hope to take a peek inside one of its craters (yes, you can do that! Volcano-activity-forecast-permitting, of course). Kurokawa Onsen: this riverside onsen town nestled in a valley just north of Aso is said to be one of the best. This is where I recharge after hiking, and start to slow down as I approach my last days here. Finally, I end this 6-week journey in the tea region of Yame, where I’ll be staying at a tea farmer’s home to just quiet down, let everything settle while I enjoy copious amounts of top-tier (gyokuro!) tea… and try to take everything in.

If Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, (and maybe even Hiroshima & Sapporo), are Japan’s A-side—the most popular, the main tracks of a Japan travel itinerary—then most of these places I’ll be visiting belong to Japan’s B-side. The lesser-known, lesser-visited tracks on the map. And not in any way “less” Japan.

Sometimes, when you listen to the whole album record containing that one or two popular songs that you like, you end up discovering a few other, lesser-known tracks that are just as good, if not more. And that whole process of listening to the whole album, and discovering gems… There’s something personally, quietly special about that. That you discovered those wonderful tracks on your own, because you chose to pay attention to those that receive less attention. I think that’s my intention for this trip.

Long, immersive, slow-paced and B-side. My style of Travel.

Now, on to business. During this trip, I will be writing and publishing as I go, in real-time-ish. This project—B-Side Travels, Japan!—will be a “pop-up” style series: seasonal, running only through the duration of this trip + about 2 weeks post-trip. Posts will be released on a weekly-ish basis (on Wednesdays [US time] + a possible second post at the start/end of the week). It starts on my first week in Japan, with this post (Yes, I’m here now!) and will run for 8 weeks, ending on April 22.

So. Come join me? What do you think? I think it’s a good mix of places. And I think it’ll be fun!

*   *   *