Why I wanted to travel to Japan

I wanted a trip that felt dense, precise, and alive: early trains, small counters, temples before the crowds, and cities where the best parts reveal themselves one block at a time.

Japan has always felt like the place where craft and daily life sit closest together. Food, design, gardens, transit, hospitality, convenience stores, old streets, new towers — all of it seemed worth studying up close instead of consuming as a checklist.

This site is the planning record: the route I built, the places I am weighing, and the recommendations friends helped rank before I went.