Uncharted Japan

Exploring places most visitors never see

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Why Uncharted Japan

I’m John Haynes and my wife, Josephine is the fourth generation in her family to have been born in Japan with her great, great-grandparents having arrived in September 1861 from New York only a few years after Japan opened to the west. Her ancestors served as missionaries there when Ronin (former Samurai) still roamed the countryside.  It was very much unlike today’s Japan.  Therefore her family has a very long history retaining many contacts and the family still keeps the family home there north of Nagano.  No one of whom I’m aware in the Japan travel community online or on Youtube has such a background.  We both love Japan and enjoy sharing our experience with others.  Read on to learn more.

From The Blog

Godzilla Or Hello Kitty!

We enjoyed a day trip to Awaji Island also known by many as "Godzilla Island" because Awaji Island is where the legend of Godzilla was born in 1954.  Its here where the giant lizard arose from the depths to terrorize Japan and the world ever since. The "Godzilla...

A Fast Tour of Seven Amazing Places!

Uploaded a short, fast paced video yesterday featuring seven of our favorite cities with things to do in them.  Most of them are little known places in these areas, while a couple are very popular spots.  Nice thing about most of these is that they are not overrun...

A walk through a Japanese Post Town

After several months, I've uploaded another video.  This time I'm documenting our visit to the historic post town of Ouchijuku.   A "post town" in Japan refers to a town that during the Edo Period from the mid 1600's to the late 1800's served as a stopping point along...
We’ve Been Recognized!

We’ve Been Recognized!

While waiting to board our flight home last week from Tokyo, a lady stepped up to me and said "We love your videos.  We've watched all of them."   I was floored!  I had been recognized in the middle of Tokyo's Haneda Airport!  Talk about a surprise! Anna and her...

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Visiting An Authentic Japanese Post Town

Visiting An Authentic Japanese Post Town

Many years ago, there were numerous villages along the route from Kyoto to what was then called Edo, today being Tokyo.  They were called “Post Towns”, and were generally used as stopping points for travelers to rest and resupply.  They were also checkpoints whereby...

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We Stayed In A 300 Year Old Samurai Village

We Stayed In A 300 Year Old Samurai Village

Check out our latest video from Maruyama Village, absolutely the most amazing experience we've had in Japan.  Maruyama Village was built to manage the water supply to the nearby Sasayama Castle and town of Tamba-Sasayama.  Situated at the end of a lush valley adorned...

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