APT Blog

There has never been a better time to explore a side of Japan you won’t see with the big tour companies, with a guided package tour from Artisan Pacific Travel.   Tokyo is quirky, eclectic, [...]

In another post, we talked about traditional religions of Japan, and gave a basic overview of Shintoism and Buddhism. Now we delve a bit more deeply into Shintoism: specifically, into Shinto [...]

Last week was a glorious full bloom of Sakura (Cherry Blossoms) and almost everyone was out enjoying nature’s show at Hanami parties. “Hanami” literally means flower viewing and that, when done [...]

The Takayama Autumn Festival is a spectacular float festival that has been held for over 350 years, in both the spring and autumn. It features eleven tall floats that weigh several tons and [...]

With spring ski season almost upon us, we want to highlight one of our all time favorite ski areas in a Skiing in Japan series – Hakuba. Hakuba is located in the Japanese Alps of Nagano and with [...]

The annual festival boasting gaudy, incredibly large, intricate and simply amazing ice sculptures took place earlier this month in Sapporo in the north of Japan. The focus of the week-long [...]

Tips and Hints You Need So you’re going to visit Japan for the first time. It’s exciting! And also just a little terrifying. It’s half a world away, and everything is very different from what [...]

Ski Season is upon us, so it’s time for an overview of the fantastic skiing in Japan.   The snow season in Japan is long and in some places begins as early as November and lasts into May, with [...]

Traveling the Japan Alpine Route: The Kurobe Dam  A torrent of falling water evokes Niagara Falls, only man made. “Kurobe Dam“, Japan’s largest dam and indeed one of the largest [...]

One of the truly great things about the Japanese is their love of festivals, known as Matsuri.  Festivals in Japan abound for all reasons, seasons and occasions. These festivals are steeped in [...]