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Osaka is a fantastic destination, especially for foodies and shopaholics. Whether you’re craving Japanese cuisine or international flavours, Osaka has something for everyone. With its vibrant food culture, rich history, and welcoming atmosphere, Osaka is indeed a great place to visit.

Too many tourists often fail to respect the culture and are obnoxiously loud for no apparent reason. It's my favourite city in the world, but the overtourism at this moment in time is a big problem.

Kobe is a great city to visit. A vibrant, buzzing and cosmopolitan city with memorable features such as the ropeway to the herb garden at the JR Shin Kobe Station at Sannomiya (an absolute must for visitors), the Maya cable car and ropeway and the Akashi bridge to Awaji Island.

I didn’t check closing times of temples and it was hard to determine the last buses back from further out locations. I did end up having a nice evening walk along a riverside to find a train station to come back into town.

We only stayed one night when we arrived as we needed a place to recharge and freshen up before we head to Kyoto. The hotel is very nice with complete amenities in the room. The room we occupied has the view of the airport runway but we never heard any noise coming from the airplanes arriving and taking off. A bit expensive but it was worth it. Breakfast buffet was very good too.

After staying in Kyoto, it was refreshing to stay in a smaller, quieter city for a couple of days. Himeji, had ample malls and restaurants to satisfy the needs of all tourists and yet has a nice small city feel. We saw the castle in the afternoon, and didn't encounter large crowds. The Koko-en Garden was relatively quiet when we saw it in the morning.

The scenic mountains near the city offers stunning sunset views. The Sakura were in full bloom. There are several parks around the city, and the impressive Wakayama castle. The hotel (Candeo Hotels Nankai) is great value - fantastic river views, rooftop onsen that you can enjoy the sunset. And right at the Wakayama Station. Good dining options around the hotel too.

One of Japan's six ancient kiln towns. If you are into ceramics it's a brilliant place to visit. If you're not, it's a lovely, relaxed town with nice walks and good places to eat. Very close to Nagoya airport. There is a free shuttle bus into Tokoname or use the station. Home of the lucky waving cat - Maneki Neko!

We are Americans so we had really little knowledge of Shirahama as a resort city. It was at the tail end of a 3 week tour of Japan and was very restful. Fortunately, we were there after Golden Week and before the main tourist season, so it was quiet and relaxing. We had fun over two nights at a local Turkish restaurant, Blue Bar. We'd recommend it. Also, the beach seemed quite nice although we had one day or rain so we didn't hang out there. While this wouldn't be a regular stop for Americans, I think it is worthwhile and an easy train ride to the airport in Osaka.

We loved our trip here. Little did I know, I seem to enjoy travelling in a pretty laid-back city and Ise was just perfect for that. If you're craving for a small city experience, out from the other international travelers, I'd recommend Ise for sure.