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Notes from my Japan.

I'm Kumiko. This is where I share the Japan I plan with: my essential maps, the places I love, and the small, practical tips that make a trip easy — many of them learned by my own guests, on real trips.

Start with the five lessons below. They now go into every itinerary I make.

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Good to know before you go · 旅のヒント

5 things our guests learned in Japan

Every trip teaches something. These five lessons come from two of my guests, at the end of their 15-day trip across Japan — simple things that made their days easier. I now share them with everyone I plan for.

  1. Arrive during the day if you can

    Rather than at night, if at all possible. You are assured of much more help than at night — stations are staffed, people are around, and finding your hotel is simply easier.

  2. Always carry some cash

    In Japan, don't depend on your cards alone. Carry some cash, and carry your physical cards with you.

  3. Carry two or three ways to pay

    General travel advice, everywhere: at least two, probably three methods of payment. If one fails, your day doesn't stop.

  4. Don't be afraid to ask

    If you are stuck, ask. People will help you — this was true for my guests every time.

  5. Travel light, with a small suitcase

    You can wash your clothes as you go along. This was my guests' biggest lesson — they even forwarded their suitcases ahead (Japan's luggage forwarding services make this easy), and vowed to travel light from now on. I plan luggage forwarding into my itineraries for exactly this reason.

Planning a trip to Japan? These details — and many more — are built into every itinerary I make.

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From my maps

A special treat, saved on a map.

I keep collections of the places I love on maps, so I can plan with them. This one is for a quiet, beautiful afternoon in Kyoto — a treat to build into a trip, not an everyday stop.

Sunrise light falling on the path through the Arashiyama bamboo grove in Kyoto

My collection · 特別な時間

Afternoon Tea in Kyoto

From time to time, a trip deserves one special moment — and afternoon tea in Kyoto is one of my favourites. Most days of a trip stay simple and sensible; this is the pause we plan on purpose, inside the budget we agree together.

Three very different places are on my map:

  • Six Senses Kyoto — a calm, beautiful hotel tea
  • The Ritz-Carlton Kyoto — a grand hotel by the Kamo river
  • Ippodo Tea, Kyoto Main Store — a historic tea shop, and a very different pleasure
See my Afternoon Tea in Kyoto collection →

It's always your choice. If you'd like a moment like this in your trip, tell me when you enquire — and if not, we simply don't add one.

Places I love

My Japan, personally visited.

Before it was a business, Bento Kumiko was where our family shared our favourite places in Japan. That hasn't changed — it's the heart of what I plan with. Every place here is somewhere I've been, loved, and would send my own family to.

An old Kyoto lane of wooden townhouses beneath the Yasaka pagoda

Kyoto

Old lanes, temples, tea houses — and the city I plan most carefully, because where you stay changes everything here.

A lantern-lit Osaka back-street alley with small food shops at night

Osaka

Come hungry. Osaka's back-street food shops and warm, funny welcome make it the city my guests talk about most.

Kumamoto Castle and its gardens seen from above on a clear day

Kumamoto

My Kyushu favourite — a great castle town, and a slower, friendlier side of Japan that many visitors miss.

Zenkō-ji temple in Nagano under fresh snow beneath a blue sky

Nagano

Mountains, snow, and Zenkō-ji temple — Nagano is where I send travellers who want Japan beyond the big cities.

Every place personally visited — no paid placements, ever. I only recommend somewhere I know and love.

Browse all my Japan maps →

More maps and tips will be posted here. This page is the living part of the site — as I plan new trips and revisit favourite places, I'll add the maps and lessons worth sharing. The rest of the site stays short, on purpose.

Ready to plan your Japan trip?

Tell me when you're thinking of coming and what you dream of seeing — tips like these are built into every trip I plan. I'll reply personally, with no pressure and no obligation.

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I work in English and French; Japanese is my native language. Price is confirmed for your trip before we start.