I’ve been travelling to Japan for over ten years. Eight trips, fifteen-plus mountain summits, more ramen bowls than I can account for. I’m not a travel journalist or a professional blogger — I work a day job and I come here because I can’t stop coming back.

Most Japan travel content online covers the same forty-eight hours in Tokyo and calls it a guide. Beyond Tokyo Guide exists because there’s so much more to the country than that — and because the really useful information tends to be buried, outdated, or written for an audience that isn’t you.

This site is for foreign visitors who want to travel Japan properly. Not just the highlights reel — the practical stuff, the regional destinations, the cultural context that stops you accidentally causing offence, and the kind of honest advice you’d get from a friend who’s done it repeatedly rather than once for a sponsored post.

I’m British, I’m direct, and I don’t do clickbait. If something’s overrated I’ll say so. If something’s genuinely brilliant I’ll tell you exactly why and how to get there.