Japan

Introducing Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei.

Use this T+L guide to choose your own adventures this year.

Looking for inspo of where to go in 2022? We asked some of the most influential people in Asia’s travel industry for their this-year bucket list.

We head to Miyazaki, shochu mecca, for a distillery tour or three and a bit of casual drunken archery.

From the white sands of the Seychelles to the peaks of Pakistan.

Travel is getting more inclusive.

Don’t expect cheap rent and affordable gas prices in these metros.

Can you guess which country has the most bars on the 50 Best list in 2021? Hint: Cocktail culture is roaring back in this Asian capital.

Chefs must apply for a specialized license to prepare fugu fish.

Counting down this festive season’s most luxurious food and drink gifts.

This design-forward, boutique-feeling new hotel is an immersive Japanese luxury experience.

Peach Aviation is all over this quintessential part of Japanese culture.

Chef Akira Back of Seoul’s Michelin-starred Dosa has a slew of modern Japanese restaurants around the world.

This is our ulti-mutt guide to petcations in Asia Pacific, the cute kitty corners at Kimpton Maa-Lai Bangkok just one pawsome example.

From Japan, two-Michelin-starred chef Yoshihiro Narisawa teaches us to make onigiri, and explains why this is a recipe of love and comfort.

These TV shows helped sate our wanderlust during lockdowns, and are inspiring us to travel once more.

It’s white-truffle season! Here are some of the best places to indulge in Asia.

Submarine, scuba dive and sail perilous waters in honor of the newest 007 film.

Noma’s second iteration takes the crown and Asia claims 8 slots.

The land of Japan’s most famous powder also has an insanely tasty culinary culture.

Japan has more than 3,000 onsen. These 10 stand out among them, including the best onsen towns, outdoor onsen and onsen for couples.

The top 100 Best Hotels Overall in 2021 as voted by our readers in the World’s Best Awards.

When it comes to air hubs, Asia and the Middle East do it best. These are the top 10 international airports in 2021.

For every frenetic and high-speed thoroughfare, there’s a narrow, hidden bylane.

What are you looking for in the top cities in the world? A distinctive sense of place, history, culture and crave-worthy food.

Park Hyatt and Aman continue to capture readers’ imaginations. Who else was named in the top Tokyo hotels 2021?

Wagyu beef must be a specific breed and have traceable ancestry to be classified as the world’s most luxurious steak.

With all the news in Tokyo, maybe you missed this luxe opening. Traditional meets modern in its style, spa and superb restaurants.

Over the last five decades, T+L has chronicled the great hotels of each era. Get these styles to travel back in time.

Secret bars, tiny restaurants, cultural gems — there’s nothing like roaming Tokyo with a local.

Come for the Michelin-starred chef’s innovative menu; stay for the rare champagne trolley.

Villa-management firms elevate private residences to six-star stays.

At 88 years old, Adrian Zecha shows no sign of stepping back from his role as a hotel innovator. We chat with him about the new Azumi.

Finally — a good use for all our Bitcoins!

Get off the tourist track and delve a little deeper into Japan.

Here are the dishes, drinks, cultural attractions and stays that have us dreaming of booking a plane ticket.

Because let’s face it: everyone is going to need to recharge on the other side of all this.

One of the original next-gen boutique-hotel brands has opened its first outpost in Asia, and Ace Hotel Kyoto is just as hip as you’d expect.

The statue is meant to symbolize the town’s local cuisine, where squid is considered a delicacy.

We’re obsessed with these über-stylish accommodations.

Two iconic designers join forces for a new, skyscraping, garden-draped luxury hotel that has you practically sitting atop Tokyo Tower.

Presenting the Travel + Leisure It List 2021

Here you’ll find the intersection of Shintoism and Buddhism, and a host of neighbors you’d love to call your own.

All meals are served with endless glasses of wine or champagne.

Feel the flow at this newly revamped store in Tokyo’s most dynamic district.

This conclusion will further contribute to ensure safe and secure Games for all participants and the Japanese public.

From handmade locally to organic vegan, these green hotel toiletries come in recyclable or repurposed packages that’ll look great in your Dopp kit. Stealing has never felt so good.

Cherry blossoms are expected to bloom as early as March 15 in Tokyo.

With rigorous safety measures in place, the Shinkansen and Local train is a dreamy way to explore the sights of a snowy Tohoku Region.

Bring your camera and prepare to take lots and lots of photos.

Whether it’s when the irises open, the tomatoes are hung, the manatees migrate or the lobsters lose their shells — to everything there is a season. Japan might be the most poetic, but Adam H. Graham finds microseasons enrich your travels everywhere.

The T+L 500 are the world’s best hotels in 2021, as voted by T+L’s discerning readers.

These 5 renowned wellness brands are working out our kinks, imbuing Zen and keeping us fit, all from afar.

Boutiques, cafes and a sense of creative community percolate through the meandering alleyways of Nakazakicho in Osaka.

These 3 new hotels in Osaka befit every budget.

We love our hotels, but #villalife is really something special. Get inspired for your next group trip with this round-up of killer villas across the region.

We know travel restrictions mean you probably can’t avail of any of these offers. But here’s a bit of Valentine’s voyeurism into some of Asia’s most extravagant romantic experiences.

If home is where the heart is, these restaurants around our region really set ours aflutter. Here are 7 of our favorite fine-dining spots that deliver Valentine’s Day to your door.

With dazzling sights to see and scenic roadways connecting the seven prefectures, this culturally rich region is the perfect place to go for a drive.

Could it get any more Japanese than driving around to a bunch of delicious noodle joints with a big bowl of fake noodles on your roof?

Here’s your chance to see the magic before the park opens next month.

Over the past few months, staycations and domestic travel have pushed round-the-world journeys off our agendas. Check out these deals that make it easier—and cheaper—to travel in your home country.

Natural splendor, cultural attractions galore, and plenty of fun for the whole family—there’s something for travelers of all ages in this vibrant region.

With rigorous safety measures in place, the Shinkansen and Local train is a dreamy way to explore the sights of a snowy Tohoku Region.

“I’m gonna brag about it to my parents.”

This is the second time a Japanese space capsule has captured asteroid material.

From mile-high dating games to temple flybys, airlines are pooh-poohing Covid border closures with plane tickets that go roundtrip in a single flight.

You could say the City of Blades was forged in the fire. Follow us to Gifu Prefecture to handcraft the home cook’s deadliest weapon.

Three cities are tied in the number one spot. Can you guess what they are?

Want to cultivate life skills and still retire to your fluffy four-poster at night? Try the experiences at these luxury hotels.

If knowledge is power, then self-reliance is the new luxury. As the routines of our lives are upended, more of us are seeking to travel in ways that prepare us for whatever the world throws at us next. Here’s how to prep for the survivalist-tourism trend.

Only in Japan would a rustic country farmstay include a disco greenhouse. A quick hop from Tokyo takes you straight into this organic wonderland. Strawberries and sweet potato heaven.

Starting October 1, Japan is reopening its borders to all foreign nationals with long-term permits to stay or those visiting for shorter-term business trips.

These days, more travelers are gazing at the skies than taking to them in airplanes. Dark Sky Parks, telescope meetups and bioluminescent zones herald the dawn of Asia’s astrotourism.

Osaka is a place to find nourishment and healing in mind and body. Hotel Elcient is your home in this gateway.

When in doubt, donut it out.

Enter your next Tokyo trip as an in-the-know local.

A whirlwind trip to Kyoto ponders the ancient, the new and the impermanent.

Here’s when and where you might be able to travel again in Asia.

This new central Kyoto hotel is the embodiment of timeless Japanese harmony.

The emergency decree is ending and coronavirus cases in Japan are waning, so naturally we’ve started to plan our next trip.

Apart, but somehow not alone. Here’s what lockdown looks like for 10 people across the globe.

Mix things up on your next family trip with activities that get the imagination—and the adrenaline— flowing.

Family stays can be stylish too—these new and refurbished hotels, resorts and villas let you go glam with the fam.

Japanese viticulture might seem new and strange, but Koshu grape-cultivation has been around for centuries. We take a tasting tour of a wine country you’ve probably never considered.

We may all be stuck indoors, but, thanks to Google Earth, we can still experience the dreamy pink trees from our couches.

A cheat sheet to the newest hotels and restaurants in the imperial city.

Happier days are ahead! For now, virtually escape to these 10 cheerful places.

Quarantining has the T+L staff daydreaming of many things (social interaction?) but especially these dishes.

An alternative to mainstream hotels, serviced apartments offer more space, in-room facilities and privacy.

The best way to gear up for the Tokyo Olympics? Three days of intensive training in sport and culture. Just keep your gloves on.

New to Tokyo’s buzzing hotel scene, TRUNK(HOUSE) is a modern-day “salon”—an exclusive, residential-style hub for sophisticated travelers who appreciate culture and luxury.

Portom International Hokkaido is about to open up, and it’s the perfect, most luxurious base to explore Japan’s northern-most island.

You probably know JR Kyushu for their trains, but the group’s new hotel brand THE BLOSSOM is going to make waves in Japan’s hospitality industry.

Don’t get us started on the zen of Japan’s ancient capital: from the towering trees to the handcrafted everything, the sense of tradition here slows the heart rate. Culinary-focused Park Hyatt Kyoto brings a new retreat— and sundry feasts— for all the senses.

With the famed ‘Niseko Express’ refreshing plentiful powder daily, Japan’s winter capital is on every downhiller’s list. Park Hyatt Niseko Hanazono brings serene sophistication, exceptional dining experiences and their signature service to this resort town—which has plenty of summer draws, too.

Twenty places to visit this year, including the majestic Hunza Valley, Bangkok for those with an appetite, and a new-look Kyoto.

If it’s authenticity you seek in Japan’s ancient capital, a low-rise beauty wrapped around Kyoyamato, a kaiseki restaurant run by the same family since 1877, is where you want to lay your head.

Matching traditional tatami floors, a genkan-style entryway and a hinoki-wood bathtub with Charles Eames furnishings and Noguchi lights, this one-room boutique stay is a designer’s daydream.

Spain meets Sichuan in Tokyo’s central business district, where chef Hirofumi Saito opened Textura earlier this year.

The first Tokyo outpost of Hokkaido’s Michelin three-starred Sushi Miyakawa has touched down in the Mandarin Oriental Tokyo.

After a three-year, 110-billion-yen renovation, Tokyo’s grandest of dames is back looking as elegant as ever before—intentionally.

Fine dining with flair, preservationist luxury hotels and a Muji mega-store.

How can you not love a city where they revere their culinary traditions high and low as much as they warmly welcome visitors from near and far? Stephanie Zubiri makes a whirlwind gustatory visit to Osaka that takes in a temple to world-famous Japanese beef and a bar themed on cannel mackerel.

Set in old forest amid history-laden north Kyoto, a new Aman wants you to do little more than wander, contemplate and explore both its own vast grounds and the neighborhood it calls home.

Squeezed into whisky or steeped in a bath— Japanese citrus works its magic on us.

Off the west coast of Japan, we visit Sado Island seeking an immersion in the nation’s golden age, and discovers a shingle-roofed, pine-ridged, Midcentury time capsule.

Craft beer isn’t the sole domain of men anymore. Across Asia, trailblazing female brewers are transforming the industry.

Fashion designer Tomo Koizumi pauses from his breakout year to share some of his favorite places to shop in the Japanese capital, stops that inspire him every day.

T+L’s monthly selection of trip-worthy places, experiences and events.

Co-founder Livesey and company take a traditional German gose (a salty/sour beer) and mix in sake ingredients and local peach to create a distinctly Japanese beer rooted in German traditions.

Asia’s craft suds scene keeps getting better. We check in with six exciting breweries using local flavors and ingredients to push beer boundaries.

Japan’s most northerly island isn’t just for thrill-seekers. Julian Ryall bypasses the ski slopes for three distinct tastes of the prefecture’s best booze.

On the way to Nagano and far from the metropolis that is Tokyo, there’s a new address that’s meant to stir your creative juices. At the very least, it will calm your day.

From the owners of Setouchi Seaplanes and luxury cruise ship Guntû, this superbly located resort overlooking the Seto Sea regales its guests with the wonders of the great outdoors.

Marriott hits a millennial home run with this new 155-room Moxy property, which opened last year. The hotel occupies a former 11-story undergarment warehouse in Osaka’s shabby-chic Honmachi district, minutes away from the station and chock-a-block with izakaya and kushikatsu joints.

Opened last autumn, this elegant 32-room newcomer overlooks Lake Kawaguchi in Yamanashi Prefecture, just two hours from Tokyo.

Low-budget, high-design, next-gen hotels have begun to sweep Asia, an on-trend fit for digital nomads, flashpackers and aesthetes alike.

It takes an expert to find some of Tokyo’s finest restaurants, which is why we asked photographer Shinsuke Matsukawa to take us on a visual tour of covert izakayas and tempura speakeasies.

From a former royal guesthouse to a room with sweeping Mount Fuji views, these intimate, extravagant and picturesque resorts are just the spots to celebrate those once-in-a-lifetime moments.

A night in a ryokan is already a singular experience, but a new, unconventional accommodation concept in Kyoto provides a stay that’s truly immersive.

With designer digs and creative spaces, a new crop of hotels is making it easier than ever to ditch the nine-to-five and embrace the digital nomad lifestyle.

Whether they’re served in a bar, a humble street restaurant or a Michelin-worthy gastronomic temple, some specialties are worth seeking out no matter where in the world they may be.

The surrounding Chinzanso Garden has 20 varieties of sakura trees and a 1,000-year-old pagoda.

For more than a century, Imperial Hotel, Tokyo has been a meeting place for the world’s glamorous and powerful.

Located in the stylish Shinjuku neighborhood, Hyatt Regency Tokyo is a short walk from the serene Meiji Shrine, as well as the more earthly delights of the fashion-forward Shibuya area.