Where Next? Travel with Kristen and Carol
Where Next? Travel with Kristen and Carol
Central Japan - Travel with Miyuki
Journey through central Japan with Miyuki, a licensed Japanese travel guide, who unveils the secrets of this stunning region nestled between Tokyo and Osaka. Discover how Japan's superb public transportation system can whisk you away to hidden gems like Hamamatsu, known for its lush tea fields and vibrant musical instrument manufacturing scene, and Nagoya, a city that stands as a beacon of manufacturing prowess and samurai heritage.
Planning a trip to Japan is no small feat, but fear not—our episode is packed with expert insights to help you every step of the way. From unique accommodation options like cozy ryokans and budget-friendly business hotels to the nuances of Japan's effortless public transport, we've got you covered. Explore the charm of lesser-known spots like Hikone, famed for its original wooden castle and breathtaking gardens, and discover the best times of year to experience their natural beauty.
Whether you're seeking surfing adventures in Kanagawa and Chiba or practical travel tips like using IC cards for convenience, this episode is brimming with valuable information.
If any listeners are interested in visiting Japan and want personalized guidance on travel planning, please connect with Miyuki on Instagram @japan.experts.
You can also find Miyuki at her website Miyuki Seguchi.
Her podcast is Japan Experts with Miyuki Seguchi.
You can also download her free Japan Travel Guide - The 7 Steps to Creating Your Unique Immersive Experience.
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Hosts
Carol Springer: https://www.instagram.com/carol.work.life
Kristen: https://www.instagram.com/team_wake/
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Hi, welcome to our podcast when Next Travel with Kristen and Carol. I am Kristen and I am Carol, and we're two long-term friends with a passion for travel and adventure. Each episode we interview people around the globe to help us decide where to go next. Thanks, miyuki, from Japan, for joining we're Next podcast and I don't think we've had a Japanese person talk about Japan yet. We've had three different Japan episodes One was an expat and two were visitors that were there for extended time. So hopefully get a different perspective and really kind of hoping for some hidden gems. So are you? You said you're a travel are you a travel guide or a host of some sort? Yes, so thank you for having me.
Speaker 2:I'm very excited to be here, first of all, so I am a licensed guide based in central Japan. I do provide travel planning support as well as private tours, so that's what I do.
Speaker 1:Yes, Okay, and so central Japan. What does that consider? Is that Kyoto, or am I getting?
Speaker 2:that right? Yes, very good question. So we we have Tokyo, which is located in the eastern part of Japan, and, as you said, kyoto. The Kyoto is located in the western part of Japan and what's between them is where the central Japan is located, oh, between them, so north of Kyoto, okay, great yeah, so the, the eastern part of Kyoto, basically okay, so the between Tokyo and Kyoto there is a big region, that's okay, and plenty to see there yes, there are a lot to see in this region.
Speaker 1:Yes, okay and so, but when you fly in, do you fly like, say, I was going to visit central, would I go to Kyoto or Tokyo, or depends on which city I want to visit first?
Speaker 2:Yeah, very good question. So currently the gateway to Japan from the people traveling from the west are limited to either the Tokyo or Osaka. There are two airports in Tokyo. One is called Narita Airport, which is located in the Chiba Prefecture outskirts of Tokyo, still part of the greater Tokyo metropolitan area.
Speaker 1:There is another one, that's Narita.
Speaker 2:you said Narita yes, narita, near Tokyo. Okay, yes, and there's another one called Haneda Airport, which is closer to the city center. It's actually in the south of Tokyo and yeah, so there are two airports in Tokyo and there's another airport that you could try, which is located in Osaka, the Kansai International Airport.
Speaker 1:So that airport also has flights price from the USA, and yeah, Okay, so just kind of depending on where you get the best deal. So I guess the big question is mainly transportation. So say we wanted to find these hidden gems, can we go without a car, or should we rent a car? And is it hard to rent a car? Do we need a special license, or very good questions so.
Speaker 2:So basically a lot of my clients, or a lot of like international business um visiting japan from the west. They tend to stay here like for from like 10 days to up to like two to three weeks. Some people stay here for up to one month, for example. But it's totally possible to travel by public transport only, meaning just only using the buses and the trains. Okay, and it is true that the more rural you visit, the higher the chance that you will feel more convenient to rent a car. But if you just want to stay in Japan, even for up to 30 days, up to one month, it is totally possible to explore places that are easily accessible by public transport. So, yes, that's how convenient public transport system is in Japan.
Speaker 1:Okay, and then I see Hamamatsu. Is that a touristy town?
Speaker 2:I wouldn't say so. I've never heard of it. That's probably why, okay, yes, I don't know where you found that town, but Hamamatsu is technically it's part of the central region also, but it is yeah, it is not a big tourism state. It is part of the Shizuoka Prefecture, which is famous for Japanese tea and there are lots of tea fields, and also it's famous for some of the you know, the musical instruments, by the way. Musical instruments. Oh, musical instruments yes, yes, there's a company that's based there.
Speaker 2:It is not a place the first time traveler would visit.
Speaker 1:Okay, yes. So what is one of the hidden gems between Tokyo and Osaka?
Speaker 2:Yes, so yeah, that's an excellent question. So I'd like to, of course, talk about my home region of central Japan, but a lot of people like, especially for the first time travelers, what they do. I just want to give you a bit of the like, background and a brief knowledge about how would be the best to approach the Japan travel. So the like I said, like people are trying in either the Tokyo or the Osaka the Osaka is the closest airport to Kyoto, by the way. What happened is that they start with Tokyo and there is a so-called the golden route that is basically following along the high-speed train networks. We call it Shinkansen. So they travel from the east to the west or the vice versa. So, starting with Tokyo or hopping on the Shinkansen, and they visit Kyoto, osaka, and you may have heard of the city name called Hiroshima. That's kind of the route.
Speaker 1:What about this town in between Nagoya? Is that very?
Speaker 2:interesting. Yeah, so Nagoya is actually closest city from where I live and it's right in the center of Japan and it is the biggest city in the central region. Yeah, it is the home of the manufacturing center. We call it the big manufacturing center. Like toyota, the japan's like automaker, is not their, their headquarters is located in this region and, uh, we have, uh, of course, the central region is a home of the, the samurai history and culture. Oh, okay, yeah, it is, yes, and also it is.
Speaker 2:It has a great nature and it is a rural and yet, because of the you know, the centrally located, geographically centrally located, it has an extensive public transport network. So, compared to other regions, like you know, like like, it's much more convenient to travel by public transport only. So that is another reason why I recommend this region. People want to visit that is like major cities like Tokyo and Kyoto, right, and the location is right in the center, so you don't have to travel to like just only, like you know, like, going to like travel like long distance, like it's just like right in the center so you can just like stop off. So the Nagoya itself is a big city, like, like relatively big city, but like, just like you know, like half an hour train ride away, like you can get to access, like great nature or like castles. You know the castle is a big thing, right like for the samurai history. So we have a lot of original castle from 400 years ago and I know, of course, japan, like.
Speaker 1:A lot of times we interview people from countries, we talk about the food and it's like then sometimes I like forget well, there's different regions. You, just because you know you're one country, doesn't mean everyone eats the same. But is there like different, like more fresh fish or more, I don't know, mixed different types of dishes in different areas Of course of course.
Speaker 2:So we have lots of like great natures, right? So, if you like, it's just like very like standard things, but people tend to forget.
Speaker 2:So I want to say this but so if you visit there like closer like beaches, closer to business, like the coastal lines, you will get more seafood and fish based food, and if you visit like mountainous areas, the chances are like you will have more like meat-based food as well, as we have like some of like mountain vegetables yeah, mountain vegetables, like herbs, like this sort of food. But it is true that you get to try different, like regional foods, and we have a lot of them. One of the things that's famous for the Nagoya region, for example, the Nagoya area in the central region, is miso. Have you heard of miso?
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, miso soup, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yes, so miso is like the soybean product and also like made from the soybeans. But it is not only that. You know, like miso soup, like very traditional Japanese food, but it's not only used in the miso soup. We have a lot of like miso paste, for example, like udon noodles, right, like we have like miso nikomi udon. Or we have a miso katsu, you know the like pork cutlet with a miso paste. All these sort of like different flavors added, added to the japanese food, and that's, I think, like regionality of the food. Oh, that makes sense.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, for sure, and so I see by shiga, like west in nagoya, before you get to kyoto, there's a really big body of water, lake biwa, is that?
Speaker 2:how you pronounce it?
Speaker 1:yes, that is that like people recreate there, or is it more like just for boats or more for reservoir?
Speaker 2:Very good question. So the, the, the lake you just mentioned, is called Lake Biwa and that is Japan's biggest lake. It is also close enough from where I live and the one spot I wanted to introduce today is actually by the lake Beaver. So just to quickly to answer your question, it is true that you can get to do some like, for example, like canoeing or, like you know, the kayaking and this sort of like recreation, like you know, the water kind of related activities. It is possible to do that. But it depends because it is a big lake. You know the people visit there like it's too big that you sometimes forget that it is a lake.
Speaker 1:Oh right, you can barely see the other side. So yeah, it's like a great lake.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so it is, you know, like, depending on where you go, like like, sometimes you can swim also, but it depends on, like, which side of the lake is. So basically, yeah, you can access a lake from the Kyoto side and you can access a lake from the, you know, the eastern side. So it depends on which, which part of the lake you go.
Speaker 1:But yes, is there.
Speaker 2:So there's some towns and cities around the lake, looks like of course, of course, and there are a few islands, even the people living.
Speaker 1:So oh, people live on the islands. Yes, very nice. And is there is that pretty much then sea level, then the lake, so it can be pretty warm in the summer, or is it kind of more like mountainous lake?
Speaker 2:Oh, you mean the? You know the depths of the lake.
Speaker 1:No, no, like the area just the area around the lake oh area To go visit oh okay, okay, so in the northern part of the lake it is cold.
Speaker 2:It has a lot of snow. There is actually a big mountain nearby called Mount Ibuki, and it is famous for the snowy area. But in the south it's warmer. The area is closer to Kyoto, for example. It's warmer than the north. I'd say yes, it's. It's warmer down the North. I'd say yes.
Speaker 1:Okay. I'm just wondering where Kyoto is. Like compared latitudes, it's kind of like the same as California. So the weather does it snow in Kyoto, or is it? It does, it does, oh, it does. Okay, all right. And so it's like for the train. So say, if you were going to take a public transportation like when I planned a trip in Europe, they wanted to take the fast train from England to France, and if you booked in advance it was very inexpensive, like $40 each way. But if you waited to the end, it fluctuates and it could have been $200 each way, and so is it better to reserve the train before you go or can you just go there and it's always the same price.
Speaker 2:Good question. So I'd usually recommend it depends on the season, but it'll be probably easier for the business to make the reservation in advance. I recommend this but it's not because of the price. Prices won't be so different or like probably the same, like very similar. You you wouldn't get like a lot of discount, uh only because you make a advanced booking. But it is also. If it's like quiet time period, it's okay, just like you can just like go to the ticket county or ticket machine on the day and make the purchase of the ticket, and that's what many locals do actually. But if you are really like maybe, like if you're traveling in a big group, or if you want to be really traveling during the busy travel seasons, or if you don't, if you want to, you know like you want to sit to casa, like it's it's good idea to make a booking oh, okay, got it all right and tell us about the kind of trips that you put together or how do you help people yes, thank you for asking.
Speaker 2:So I do have a few different services. So my signature program, like one one uniquely japan experience, is an eight-week program. It includes like two calls, like two one one consultation calls and during that time, like we worked as it to create a personalized itinerary based on their interests and needs. So, basically, what happens is that I start with a set of questions and there are the, you know, like that identifies, like what kind of activities they are interested in and based on that, I will make the first draft of their personalized itinerary and over the next like eight week period, we try to, you know, the narrow down their choices and then, like come up with uh itinerary and and like they have like eight week period of like unlimited chat support. So while they make the bookings, like if they have any questions, like regarding to the japan travel planning, like they can ask me and I will provide the best input and okay.
Speaker 1:So at first I thought it was an eight-week trip. I was like wow, that's a long trip, so eight-week. Oh so you're a travel consultant. It is. Oh yeah, I have a friend that does that in Africa and she said they're super customizable, but they actually take the people on the trip.
Speaker 2:Do you host them while they're there or are you more just like no, no, here's where you want to go if you love hiking or biking or whatever so I do provide private tours in central japan, especially because, like central japan is famous for samurai history and ecology, or traditional crafts so like the pottery, rockware, like swords or like washi, like handcrafted paper made um umbrellas or lanterns, these sort of things I will help the my guests, uh, connect with local specialists, the artisans, so they can get to speak to them and they can learn the learn the skills they have cultivated, like local specialists have cultivated, like for over, like multiple, like generations or like several decades. So, yeah, that's that type of the experience I help create for my guests.
Speaker 1:I'm a baseball mom so baseball is big and we my son actually plays with the. I wonder if you know him. There's like semi-famous player that came from Japan on his team in California and I'll find his name, but one of our dreams is to go watch baseball in Japan. Is there specific cities that have baseball teams or is it everywhere, like America, most of the?
Speaker 2:cities do yes. So, for example, nagoya, likeoshima, like Osaka, Tokyo yeah, a lot of the cities we've talked about today has a baseball team.
Speaker 1:Yes, oh, okay, they all have professional baseball. Okay, yeah, awesome. And then where is the Disney World? That's also things. Is that near Tokyo?
Speaker 2:um, so we have a Disney Sea and land and they are both located in the, in the, the greater tokyo area, the space. More specifically, they are located in the chiba prefecture, not too far from the narita airport.
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah, I mentioned yeah, there's a new pass apparently in disney world like to get you even more in front of the line, and some people say it's actually cheaper just to fly to Japan and go to Disney world and go to Orlando here. It's just so expensive oh my gosh. So in when you're helping people plan, do you like book, like help book the hotels and or like homestays, or what kind kind of or? Do you do both? Do some people do like vrbo or airbnb or like.
Speaker 2:How it works is my clients will make bookings by themselves. But there are different types of accommodation, very like different types of traditional inns in japan. So we have a ryokan, for example. That is a little bit more high-end traditional Japanese inn, like with some onsen, like hot spring facility. We have like more affordable choice like the um, the minshuku. It's like more of the whole. You know like it's this kind of like facilities are run by the family, so's more like family operated in type of place. And of course, we have like international like brand hotels and much more like affordable one. We have the so-called business hotels, so it's much more affordable, um, but it's like more city based hotel. I'd say so a lot of yeah, a lot of different um inns. But of course, we have, uh, airbnb and these are like hostile, like this type of places. So some of my clients choose to stay at this type of um accommodation too.
Speaker 1:Yes, oh, that makes sense. Yeah, we just talked to a lady from Belgium and she said she was staying for like months at a time but nothing. You'd find an Airbnb like you just kind of meet the local people and stay at maybe someone's like cottage or you know, an extra bedroom or something, and so as a someone from so far away, it's hard to know those inside scoops, so that's super helpful.
Speaker 2:Sure, sure yes.
Speaker 1:And then what about renting a car? How hard is that for an American?
Speaker 2:It is possible if you have an international driving license. So, yes, some of my guests have done so while they are in Japan. So it is possible. But if you are visiting just only you know the famous spots or like cities we have discussed today, it is actually not actually not necessary to really rent a car because the public transport system is so widely developed that you didn't really need to. You don't really see the need for this yeah, okay, and then you have to learn.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you maybe can't read the signs. I would assume all the signs are in japanese. Do they have english subtitles?
Speaker 2:of course, like the public transport systems and the stations and bus stops. You'd you'd find the english um okay translation. So it's not that, it's not that hard okay funny.
Speaker 1:My mom showed me something once from japan with the trains. She just like was crying, laughing so hard trying to tell me the story that she saw this video where people it's rush hour, probably in tokyo, where they had like this big, like massive, like broom or mop pushing the people into the train cars. Is that just in like the biggest cities or like are they ever that jam-packed?
Speaker 2:So I think, like these days still, you may have witnessed these scenes, but I doubt it like it's not that crazy. I don't think it would be that crazy have depending on the line, but it's, it's not the you know, the everyday, like everyday station, right, like you get to the station. Okay, again, no, because I've been to London and I've been to york and I found, like their public transport systems, uh, as crowded as tokyo is.
Speaker 1:So yeah, so those are probably just some extreme pictures, yeah yeah, yeah oh, my goodness. Okay, so we talked a little bit about so we can fly into osaka or a couple places in Tokyo, and then so is there anything, any small towns or any places that you must, we must go to in Nagoya or near that area or near the lake yeah, so the one place I wanted to introduce today is a city called Hikone have you? Okay, it starts with an H.
Speaker 2:Yes, h-i-k-o-n-e.
Speaker 1:Hikone H-I-K-O-N-E. I see it, hikone. It looks like Haikone in like phonetically, american spelled Haikone. Okay, that's near the lake, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so it's by the lake, so Hikone is a smaller city, but what's really and it is also like about a half an hour bread train ride away from Kyoto, so it's pretty convenient and it's a day trip distance. But what's really famous for Hikone is the original wooden structure castle from 400 years ago and there are only 12 original castles in japan and five national treasure castles and hikone is one of them.
Speaker 2:Oh okay, there are so many castles in japan, but most of them are like concrete building okay, this is actually pretty okay yeah but this is like one of the original castles and it is still not as widely recognized as despite the fact it, despite the significant, like the historical and cultural significance that Kone Castle has. But, yeah, so that's one place I highly recommend. It has a beautiful garden. It has a great museum where you can get to learn all about the samurai history and culture, like armies, swords, traditional non-theatrical performance-related items and tea ceremony-related items. It's a beautiful, beautiful castle and, yes, of course you see.
Speaker 1:See the pictures. It's pretty big view. Yeah, when's the best time of year to go to Iconi?
Speaker 2:I actually like um recommend like any time of the year to visit, but particularly around. The most popular time of the year is definitely the spring, because it is also a very famous cherry blossom spot.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's what I was wondering. I've always heard of cherry blossoms.
Speaker 2:So it has a few different modes and around the mode, like the cherry blossom trees are surrounded, so it is very beautiful and, yeah, but it's also like the garden itself has a great autumn leaf spot, so it it does provide a very charming, like seasonal landscapes okay, and how does that town compare to pricing of these towns?
Speaker 1:we've talked to that.
Speaker 2:You know less expensive or more expensive to visit um yeah, I'd say, for example, like in terms of the accommodation cost, I'd say it's definitely like more affordable, um, when you try to find accommodation in rural areas or in lesser known places, compared to cities like kyoto where everyone wants to stay right.
Speaker 1:So right is there like a nice town not too far from Kyoto. That's a little bit more affordable.
Speaker 2:That's easy to get to by train yeah, so the Hikone is definitely one option, but there are so many other places that you could visit and explore, uh, for, for example, like um, so you mean like the accommodation in terms of accommodation, where you should find accommodation yeah.
Speaker 1:So maybe, like I see there's a town called otsu on the lake does it looks kind of close to kyoto. But you know, maybe it's because it's a little farther away.
Speaker 2:It's has something special, I don't know um, so I usually recommend is that I think it's okay to find accommodation in kyoto for a few days because you want to explore the what's, the what's the you know, the kyoto hustle offer. But the thing is that a lot of people trying to stay in Kyoto for too long, right, like what they do is they book the accommodation for one week and just trying to figure out what they do.
Speaker 2:So, instead of that, what I recommend is to book accommodation in Kyoto for a few days and book the rest of the week or for, for, uh like, additional, like a few days in central japan in a totally like rural area, not really like the trying to stay in one location for too long so I see yeah that's what I recommend instead, because you, for example, like, if you want to stay in the traditional in like the ryokan, minsh, minshuku, you wouldn't have, like, a large amount of choices in cities like Kyoto, but if you are in the, you know the rural areas, you are closer to hot spring, the source of the hot spring, and you will have a lot more choices for the onsen or the ryokan. So that's how you want to balance your experiences and that's what. That's exactly what I recommend where are the hot springs?
Speaker 2:um almost everywhere in japan, but really yeah, but not in city like usually not in cities right, so you need to like travel far to enjoy the best onsen experience I see. So, usually, you know, a couple of hours away from cities like Kyoto. What happens is that they try to. A lot of people try to pack all sorts of different experiences while they are in cities, which is not possible, because if you want to enjoy the onsen, you need to be closer to the source of the hot spring, not staying in city, right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, okay, got it. Oh, I see there's a Lego land also in Nagoya.
Speaker 2:It is, it is yes.
Speaker 1:That's good. We like Legos here, all right, very cool. There's a town called Toyota. That's funny.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so that's exactly where the headquarters of the Toyota is.
Speaker 1:Ah makes sense, Some of our rapid fire questions are what's a popular breakfast that you would have there?
Speaker 2:Okay, great question. So I usually eat a slice of bread and I feel that the more Japanese people eat bread than rice nowadays. Of course, the staple food for the Japanese people is rice, boiled rice, but the very typical breakfast, the typical Japanese breakfast, is rice miso soup, small plate of food including like seaweed, egg and fish. You can get this type of like like meal at the traditional in such as ryokan and mishuku.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay, yeah, we had one guest on our podcast that she said she ate fish breakfast, lunch and dinner. And she said she came home and her hair was so soft and her skin was so soft and I said probably was all that fish probably make your skin very nice. All right, and what is one of your favorite meals? If you had a guest coming to town and you had to take them out for one traditional dinner, what kind of food would you, what kind of meal would you treat them to?
Speaker 2:okay, great question. I personally love udon noodles, yes, so a lot of people think ramen is, you know, the best Japanese food.
Speaker 1:What's the difference between ramen and udon?
Speaker 2:Just the thicker udon, just the thicker. So the udon is the wheat based um noodles and it is more of the traditional japanese noodles. Ramen originate from the you know, the china, like you know. Okay, so it's. But now it's like branded in the japanese culture and of course it is part of the Japanese cuisine, japanese food, and we have a lot of regional udon noodles too, so it's interesting to try different versions of it. But it comes with a really good dashi broth soup and it depends on um, your preference.
Speaker 2:You would find you know the, um, the seaweed and the fish based soup and you can also have a, like meat based soup. And it also depends on the, the, you know the restaurant's preference, restaurant choice and how the chefs cooks, uh, the food. But yeah, there are a lot of different. It comes are a lot of different. It comes with a lot of different toppings, so it's not only the noodle itself, right, okay?
Speaker 1:got it. Yeah, I just discovered not like I discovered it, but just started having pho from the Vietnamese soup. Kind of the same idea with the noodles. It was amazing. I'm like what this is outstanding. Speaking of cooking and meals, do you ever help people find like places to learn to cook Japanese, like as part of a package?
Speaker 2:Yeah, that would be really exciting. Yeah, so the learning how to make sushi or learning how to make a Japanese food is a very popular activity for a lot of my guests and clients. So I do yeah, I do help people find these experiences too.
Speaker 1:Yes, oh, that's awesome, alrighty. And then is there what's the popular holiday? Tradition is a certain time of year that you know if you'd like to celebrate party. You know that is pretty big in Japan.
Speaker 2:So we have a few different holidays in Japan and one is like, of course, the new year's period. The first three days of the every year is a big, big tradition in Japan. We eat a special meal called the osechi yori. You know the? You know the traditionally comes with a three-layered of the lacquerware box and all sort of different food are inside. All of them have association with like, auspicious association um to it. So that's one. And we also eat the like mochi. Do you know the?
Speaker 1:mochi. Oh yeah, we have mochi cookies and mochi ice cream. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Okay, like we eat the food called ozoni. Basically it's a mochi in soup and, again, it has a large regional variety. So it comes with. You know, depending on the region the soup is like either the miso, or like soy sauce, or like the toppings are different and all sorts of different things. But yeah, basically that we eat mochi and on the new year's eve we eat, like longevity, soba noodles. The soba is a backflip noodle, yes, and it basically um to have a longer life, to to live longer, we eat the buckwheat noodles, lots of different noodles, okay, interesting, okay, awesome.
Speaker 1:And then what's the money? And how is that? Is it best to use credit card or exchange the money? It's again I've known that. I think that helps. Good question.
Speaker 2:So, yes, good question. So, yes, good question. So a lot of places accept a credit card, but still um, japan is a very much cash oriented society, so it's always a good idea to bring some cash, but nowadays we have, uh, the so-called the IC card.
Speaker 2:Probably like I heard some of your guests talked about this, but we have the card that can like connect it to your credit card. So, basically, if you top up, like you will be able to use it to buy something at the shop, or like you can even use it to, um, get on the get on the buses or like get the catch the trains, and so it's very convenient and, uh, I recommend getting one if you're coming to Japan okay, and is there a lot of street markets or street food where you use cash?
Speaker 2:then yes, so, for example, if you um go on to visit the, so, for example, if you go and visit the festivals, for example, there are lots of food stores. These places only accept cash.
Speaker 1:Okay, very good, all right, and the last question I would like to ask is where's the closest place to surf for their surfing listeners?
Speaker 2:Okay, great question. So it's actually not the closest place to me, but a couple of places that came to my mind are the Shonan in Kanagawa Prefecture, which is located southwest of Tokyo, so this is a big surfing destination for locals and people living in the greater Tokyo area. And another place I've been is Tsurigasaki surfing beach in Chiba prefecture, the eastern part of Tokyo, so this was a surfing venue for the Tokyo Olympic Games. Um, okay, yeah, seems like this place has been attracting like both professionals and amateur, and and how do you spell that?
Speaker 2:Along the globe. So T-S-U-R-I-G-A-S-A-K-I.
Speaker 1:Okay, tsurugasaki, tsurugasaki. Let's see if I can find it on the map. But okay, I'll take a look. Okay, thank you, all right, well, that's it. And where can people find you if we have some listeners needing to plan? You're on Instagram. Obviously, that's where we connected. Do you have a website and what's your handle on Instagram?
Speaker 2:Yes, perfect, thank you for asking me that. So I learned the podcast called Japan Experts Podcast.
Speaker 1:Oh okay, japan Experts Podcast.
Speaker 2:Yes, so it helps like-minded travelers to learn more about Japan and better plan their trip around Japan. So I also have Instagram, the same handle like at japanexperts Japanexperts.
Speaker 1:Japanexperts. Okay, I'll put these all in the show notes, of course.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that would be wonderful. I do have a website which is basically my name Miyuki Seguchi M-I-Y-U-K-I-S-E-G-U-C-H-I.
Speaker 1:Okay so this is your own business, then it is oh good for you. Yeah, it is oh good for you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I do provide a free Japan travel guide, so if anyone's interested in visiting Japan, please do sign up for it. It is totally free.
Speaker 1:So okay, is it electronic?
Speaker 2:I would assume You're not going to ship something, so it's a Japan travel guide the seven steps to creating a unique, immersive experience Sounds very good Because I've heard for Americans our dollar is more valuable right now in Japan.
Speaker 1:So just need to find the time that's always, you know, with children, even though they're almost grown and can take care of themselves, there's still like so many activities but a couple more years. Want to take a nice long trip? Yeah, Japan is definitely on my hot list, Awesome.
Speaker 2:Great, all right. Well, thanks Miyuki, so much and um.
Speaker 1:we will be in touch and um, unless there's anything else you want to share with us. Um, I'm good.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, fantastic, all right yeah, I really enjoyed uh talking to you and thank you so much for having the having me on your podcast and a great opportunity to connect with your wonderful audience.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much, yes, okay, all right, have a great week. Okay, see you soon.
Speaker 2:Thanks, thank you.
Speaker 1:Bye-bye.
Speaker 2:Bye.
Speaker 1:Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed the podcast, can you please take a second and do a quick follow of the show and rate us in your podcast app, and if you have a minute, we would really appreciate a review. Following and rating is the best way to support us. If you're on Instagram, let's connect. We're at where next podcast. Thanks again, thank you.
