Konnichiwa! Welcome to Uncover Japan, where I love to share the tips and tidbits from my time in Japan. I admittedly spend the bulk of my time leading tours rather than blogging these days, but the archives here are filled with some favorite finds from my long-term explorations of Japan.
Who’s the woman behind the blog? I’m a 12+ year resident of Japan and unapologetic Japanophile. I spent my formative years in the United States and Europe and thought my professional life would involve teaching French. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Arriving in the land of bullet trains and bento boxes, I fell head over heels in fascination with my new home. This blog and my work as a tour guide here in Tokyo are merely my way of sharing some of the amazing discoveries I’ve made in this country with others.
I hope you enjoy these snippets of Japan. Thanks for reading!
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Want to get in touch? Feel free to drop me a line at uncoverjapan1@gmail.com.
Uncover Japan 
Good Blog! Japan is on my travel list, once i save up enough. If you ever want an itenary for India travels, I can help 😀
Thansk, thoughts2design. I’ve never been to India but it’s on the list for sure!
because I enjoy your blog: http://wp.me/p2BXYh-aN
always wanted to know more about japan.. and here i am:):)
Glad to have you following along, happygoluckygal!
my pleasure 🙂
Love browsing your blog. Lots of good information and potential travel info. 🙂
Thanks Courtney! I hope you find some useful posts here. If you have any questions, just let me know!
Tons of great information about Kansai!! If I am back down in that area again I will definitely being using your page!
Thanks for the comment and for checking out the blog! The Kansai area has totally grown on me these past two years, even though I was originally a die-hard “Tokyo girl”. If you want something beautiful but really not that well-traveled, come down here to Kumamoto and rent a car. This prefecture has some truly magical places (and some great horsemeat. 😛 )
Hey Mandy,
Thanks for leaving a comment in my blog. I will follow you from now on. 😉
I’m glad I met a fellow female traveller in Japan. ^___^
Have you travelled to all regions of Japan yet or is there anything you still want to explore? 🙂
Hey zoomingjapan! Thanks for stopping by. I still haven’t seen most of the Tohoku region and I’ve never set foot on Shikoku either but I hope to remedy that soon! I love that there is always something new to see. I’ve had a great time following your adventures as well.
I totally agree. There’s always something new to explore.
I’ve been to all 47 prefectures and over 100 castles, so some people think I’ve seen everything.
However, my bucket list is still very long and I keep finding new things all the time. *g*
I hope you get to go to Shikoku and Tohoku at some point. Both regions have a lot of great things to offer. ^__^
Hello Mandy! We really enjoy reading about your adventures in Japan (we both LOVE Japan) and have nominated you for the Liebster Award. You can read more about it here! http://tozanita.wordpress.com/2014/05/25/liebster-award/
We look forward to your new post!
– Toza and Anita
Thank you, Toza and Anita! I’m honored to be nominated but I generally don’t do blogger awards here on my business blog. Still, I very much appreciate the sentiment and hope to see you in Japan someday. Happy travels!
Hi, I love reading your blog and nominated you for the Liebster award! bit.ly/1HaLyI1
Hello Mandy, We just took our 3 year old son to Anpanman Museum in Kami and found your blog entry useful before setting off. We’ve been in Kamiyama on Shikoku for 2 months now, with 1 more to go, and also spent 3 months here (and around Kyoto and Osaka) in 2013. We also have a long standing love affair with Japan and have probably traveled more extensively here than even the US (where I’m from)! Just wanted to say hello and have enjoyed your blog. (I also keep a blog of our time in Japan, but it’s mostly personal for family and friends to stay in the loop.) And that I totally get the Japan-fascination! ^_^
Hello Andrea, Thank you so much for your message! I love writing this blog but I don’t always get to hear about people using the entries in a practical sense. (I keep a separate family one as well – and have since we first moved here – but hardly anyone gets to see in person the things I post about there!) If you’re in Kami again, don’t miss Cafe Kohanyu, a few miles west and across the river from the Anpanman Museum. The food was delicious and they were very welcoming to my 4-year-old. How lucky to get to live in Shikoku for three months. Is it back to the US after this? Still, you can see a lot with even one month left to go. I am trying to figure out how much I can conceivably squeeze into June here in Kyushu with a kid, a few work commitments and a move to Tokyo at the beginning of July! It makes me sad to ponder leaving but at least I get one more year in one of the most amazing cities on earth.
Hi Mandy. Cool Blog. I am not exactly a Japanophile, but I did live in Chiba for about 24 years (1978-2002)… married a local boy… got stuck. Right now I am back in Texas and working as a international concierge. There has been a HUGE UPSURGE of interest in going to Japan this year and, as the resident Japan-expert, all requests come to me… I will check your travel site, I may be able to swing some business your way one of these days. Keep up the great work.. OH Check out the girl-duo FEMM on YouTube.. “RiRi”, the one of the left, is my daughter!
Hi Libby,
I think living in Chiba for nearly three decades definitely earns you some serious Japan “street cred”! 🙂
Glad to hear there’s such an interest in Japan lately. I tend to talk the ear off of anyone who will listen about some of the amazing sights and experiences here, so feel free to send any requests my way!
I checked out FEMM and as soon as I am not stuck in a hotel room with a sleeping 4-year-old, I can watch the videos with sound. 😉 What a talented daughter you have!
Thanks for your comment and thanks for reading!
Hi Mandy, I have been following your blog for a while. Like many, I have fallen for Japan and have now visited 8 times in 7 years, always short holidays.
Good on you for doing this blog and expressing a refreshing philosophy of sharing ideas and experiences. I recently had the pleasure of shaping a friends itinerary for a short trip to Japan, a trip made in the circumstance of him being in the later stages of a battle with terminal cancer.
And not all the places he and his partner went were on my advice, others can from the wider fraternity of Japan bloggers!
Thank you so much for your kind words, Tony. It’s wonderful to hear that you’ve enjoyed the blog, and I hope that your friend enjoyed a memorable trip to Japan. How heartbreaking that, in his circumstances, it may be his only opportunity to visit, but how fortunate to at least have had that chance and have had you helping to guide the way.
Hello,
Just to let you know that I have nominated you for the Blogger’s Recognition Award. I am pleased to have come across your blog and have enjoyed reading your posts. Have a look at my recent post for the rules/conditions regarding this award.
https://japaninsidersite.wordpress.com/2017/03/25/bloggers-recognition-award
I hope you accept the nomination and I look forward to seeing who you nominate. Congratulations!
Yoshida-san
Thanks, Yoshida-san! Sorry I didn’t have the time to reply before. I’m honored by your nomination but am not sure if I will be able to accept at the moment due to limited blogging time. Still, I appreciate the nomination and am grateful to have you as a reader!