Japan
13 stories
Living Like a Local: Jessica Traina's Five-Week Immersion in Osaka, Japan
Travel advisor Jessica Traina didn't just visit Japan, she moved in, and what she discovered over five weeks in Osaka is reshaping the way she sends her clients to one of the world's most beloved destinations.
Misti Garcia Was Never an "Asia Person." A Norwegian Cruise Through Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea Changed Everything.
A food-loving Canadian travel advisor and her husband boarded a 12-stop Norwegian Cruise Line voyage through Asia expecting culture shock, and came home with something far more powerful: a complete change of heart.
David Petlin Went to Japan So His Clients Don't Have to Figure It Out Alone
A February 2025 fam trip to Japan with Celebrity Cruises and JNTO transformed travel advisor David Petlin from a hesitant outsider into one of the destination's most enthusiastic and well-equipped sellers.
Flordeliza Laudi Went to Japan to Rest. She Left Carrying Her Mother's Legacy.
What began as a caregiving break transformed into one of the most profound journeys of Flordeliza Laudi's life, a pilgrimage through snowfall and tea ceremonies in the footsteps of a mother she would never travel with again.
Sam Wallbridge Has Spent Six Weeks in Japan and Says She's Barely Scratched the Surface
From an impulsive one-way ticket to a second trip timed perfectly for cherry blossom season, travel advisor Sam Wallbridge has fallen into a relationship with Japan that shows no signs of ending.
Sam Wallbridge Returns to Japan for Cherry Blossoms, Childhood Reunions, and a Thomas the Tank Engine Museum
Travel advisor Sam Wallbridge traded the predictable for the unforgettable on a custom trip through Japan and South Korea, and came home with stories that no guidebook could have written for her.
Sam Wallbridge's Journey Across Morocco, Europe, and Japan Proves the Best Trips Are the Ones That Surprise You
From a spontaneous Moroccan fam trip that spiralled into a river cruise through tulip season to a quiet night in rural Japan with a four-year-old and a Google Translate app, Departures Travel advisor Sam Wallbridge has built her expertise one unexpected detour at a time.
Henry Nicholson Went to Okinawa to Train with Martial Arts Masters — Here's What the Island Taught Him Instead
Travel advisor Henry Nicholson arrived in Okinawa with a gi, a group of thirty, and a lifelong passion for martial arts — and left with something the dojos never taught him.
Cleofe Cornelio Thought Two Countries in One Trip Would Feel Rushed. An 11-Day Norwegian Cruise Through Japan and South Korea Proved Her Wrong.
Travel advisor Cleofe Cornelio set sail through Japan and South Korea with her family expecting the pace of multi-country travel to overwhelm the experience, and came home with a story that has quietly changed the way she advises every client who walks through her door.
What Japan Taught Marcia White That No Guidebook Could
Travel advisor Marcia White sailed into Japan during cherry blossom season and came home forever changed, not just as a traveler, but as the kind of advisor who truly knows the difference between booking a trip and building one.
Duncan Greenfield-Turk Goes Beyond the Golden Route to Discover the Real Japan
Travel advisor Duncan Greenfield-Turk returned from a deep-dive research trip through Japan with a renewed conviction that the country's greatest rewards lie well beyond the path most travelers take.
Craig White's Japan Discovery: From Travel Skeptic to Passionate Advocate
A 12-day cruise around Japan transformed travel advisor Craig White from someone who 'probably wouldn't know to recommend it at all' into a passionate advocate for the destination.