Todd Fong, Author at VOYAPON

Todd Fong

Freelance writer, photographer, and mentor. Japan-based, Oaktown (Oakland, California) born. Freelance writing and photography work includes Lonely Planet, Voyapon, Metropolis Japan, and many regional tourism websites around Japan.

111 articles

Articles by Todd Fong

Discover the Hidden Onsen Villages of Northern Kumamoto

November 6, 2019 Gardens & Parks, Kumamoto, Kyushu, Mountains, Onsen & Sento, Ryokan, Sponsored, Summer

Sponsored by Northern Kumamoto Administrative Headquarters Closing my eyes, I listened only to the summer sounds of the semi (cicadas) chirping loudly in the trees overhead, the lapping of the water at the edge of the bath and my own...

Japanese wooden barrels for sake and beer

Craft Beer, Whisky, Sake, and More at Okayama’s Doppokan

September 22, 2019 Sponsored

"When life gives you lemons... make sake.” I imagine this could have been the mantra of young Kamezo and Motosaburo Miyashita around the end of the 19th century when they were sent to live with relatives after their father died....

The History and Culture of Okayama Through Sushi

September 21, 2019 Culture, First Time in Japan, Okayama, Rice, Sashimi, Sponsored, Sushi

Sponsored by Okayama city, Okayama The tip of his knife sliced through the cucumber, first in a half dozen vertical strokes, then turning the knife on its side, a smooth horizontal stroke, fanning the slices into tiny branches resembling leaves....

Okayama’s Kibitsu Shrine – Get Your Fortune Told by… Rice and Monsters?

September 20, 2019 Culture, Cycling, Historic Sites, Okayama, Sponsored, Temples & Shrines

Sponsored by Okayama city, Okayama The sound was a low but constant hum, startling because it wasn't the sound I was expecting to hear. In my head, I had imagined something high-pitched, like an agonizing scream. After all, legend had...

The Summer Beauty of Korakuen, Okayama’s Premier Japanese Garden

September 19, 2019 Castles, Gardens & Parks, Historic Sites, Okayama, Sponsored, Summer

Sponsored by Okayama city, Okayama I admit it. By the time I had descended from Okayama Castle after viewing the spectacular summer light show, I could feel my heart getting dokidoki in my chest as I crossed to bridge to...

Day or Night, Okayama Castle is One of the Most Beautiful Castles in Japan

September 18, 2019 Castles, Gardens & Parks, Historic Sites, Museums & Galleries, Okayama, Sponsored

Perched on a hill overlooking the Asahi River, Okayama Castle, also known as "Crow Castle" (烏城 U-jō ) once acted as a stronghold for the Toyotomi Clan but now watches over its neighbor on the other side of the river,...

Everything You Need To Know About Tokyo’s Antenna Shops

May 25, 2019 Hokkaido, Hokkaido, Hokkaido, Kyushu, Shinkansen, Souvenirs, Street Food, Takoyaki, Tokyo, Tokyo, Tokyo

Standing outside of Yurakucho Station in central Tokyo, I catch the white flash of a Shinkansen bullet train as it glides past on the tracks overhead in near silence. Every few minutes, like clockwork, another Shinkansen passes through Yurakucho, bearing...

Peaceful Relaxation in Charming Yunohira Onsen

March 3, 2019 Historic Sites, Kyushu, Oita, Onsen & Sento, Ryokan, Sponsored

Sponsored by Tourism Oita As we approached the main street of Yunohira Onsen (湯平温泉), I was a bit surprised. Thirty minutes earlier, I had been in Yufuin, one of the most popular hot springs towns in Oita Prefecture. With its...

Never Disappointed: The Beauty of Nature in Yufu City

March 2, 2019 Hiking, Kyushu, Luxury Accommodation, Mountains, Oita, Onsen & Sento, Ryokan, Sponsored, Volcanoes

Sponsored by Tourism Oita Mick Jagger famously lamented in song, "You can't always get what you want." I wonder if he penned those lyrics with travel photographers in mind. We are constantly constrained by schedules and packed itineraries and when...

Food and Friendship at Wakabayashi Farm Stay in Yufu City

March 1, 2019 Culture, Hiking, Kyushu, Language, Minshuku, Oita, Onsen & Sento, Ryokan, Sponsored, Tempura

Sponsored by Tourism Oita Using Google Maps to navigate to a destination in Japan is a bit of an adventure in itself. Roads in rural Japan range in width from "narrow" to "is this a bike path?" and Google has...

Looking Back on Taketa, Oita’s City of Secrets

February 28, 2019 Castles, Culture, Historic Sites, Kyushu, Museums & Galleries, Oita, Sponsored

Sponsored by Tourism Oita When arriving in Taketa city for the first time, the best advice I can give you is "Don't forget to look back." This advice can be applied in several ways, but the first and most obvious...

How Oka Castle Became Japan’s Most Beloved Ruins

February 27, 2019 Castles, Cherry Blossoms, Historic Sites, Kyushu, Oita, Sponsored, Spring, Tokyo, Tokyo, Tokyo

Sponsored by Tourism Oita In 1891, a young man stood, perhaps on the very spot I now stood, and surveyed the beauty around him. It was a paradox of sorts, standing in the ruins of what was once a proud...

At Nishinokubo Farm Stay, You Are Like Family

February 26, 2019 Culture, Kyushu, Minshuku, Oita, Onsen & Sento, Ryokan, Sponsored, Tokyo, Tokyo, Tokyo

Sponsored by Tourism Oita February is a bit of an odd time for a farm stay in Oita Prefecture. According to my host, Shiga Kazuhiro, farmers are doing two things in February: soaking in onsen and drinking sake. But this...

Nyuto Onsen – 7 Akita Hot Springs You Can Enjoy In All 4 Seasons

February 13, 2019 Akita, Luxury Accommodation, Mountains, Onsen & Sento, Rail Passes, Ryokan, Sake & Alcohol, Sponsored, Tohoku, Winter 1 Comment

Thankfully, there are several pairs of galoshes (rubber boots) reserved for guests by the door in the rear of Ganiba Onsen 蟹場温泉, a necessity as we crunched 100 meters through the now thickly falling powder snow to the outdoor bath,...

Lake Tazawa, Akita, Tohoku region, Japan.

Exploring the Legends of Tazawako, Japan’s Deepest Lake

February 12, 2019 1 Week, 2 Weeks, Akita, Mountains, National Parks, Shinkansen, Skiing & Snowboarding, Sponsored, Temples & Shrines, Tohoku

To reach Gozanoishi, I scrambled down a low snow-covered embankment, with the grace of a newborn three-legged deer, nearly falling over as I slid down on unsteady legs. It was a performance enjoyed by my three companions, who had a...

The Farm To Table Cuisine of Akita’s Semboku City

February 11, 2019 Affordable Accommodation, Akita, Culture, Hiking, Onsen & Sento, Ramen, Ryokan, Skiing & Snowboarding, Sponsored, Tohoku

This past year, a second ramen shop in Tokyo earned a Michelin star in the latest ratings. Ramen, one of the simplest of Japanese foods, is garnering the highest acclaim of global food critics. Meanwhile, in the less accessed corners...

Samurai Spirit: Alive and Well in Kakunodate

February 10, 2019 Akita, Castles, Cherry Blossoms, Culture, Historic Sites, Sponsored, Tohoku, Winter

Sponsored by Semboku City The weeping cherry trees, renowned for their flowing pink blossom-covered branches in the Spring, hung heavy with pristine white snow. The snowflakes swirled along the street, in sharp contrast to the charcoal-colored fences partially obscuring the...

Riding the Rails on 2 Amazing Trains of Akita Prefecture

February 9, 2019 Akita, Autumn Leaves, First Time in Japan, Mountains, Rail Passes, Shinkansen, Sponsored, Winter

I have a little secret to spill. When my son was a toddler, we bought him a Tomy Plarail toy train set from Japan. He was too young to build it himself, so I designed a track for him and...

Tazawako: The Best Place to Enjoy Japanese Powder Snow That Is Still A Secret

February 8, 2019 Akita, Hiking, Language, Mountains, Onsen & Sento, Rail Passes, Shinkansen, Skiing & Snowboarding, Sponsored, Tohoku

Sponsored by Semboku City With his ski pole, Hiro-san drew a cute little monster face on the meter-sized ball of snow suspended in the branches of a nearby tree. Cute perhaps, but this was a snow monster. This innocuous-looking giant...

Iiyama City Local Cuisine at Traditional Ryokan on Shin-etsu Trail, Nagano Prefecture

Enjoying Iiyama City’s Locally Sourced Cuisine in Nagano Prefecture

December 3, 2018 Autumn Leaves, Hiking, Nagano, Nagano, Onsen & Sento, Ryokan, Sashimi, Sponsored

Sponsored by Shinshu-Iiyama Tourism Bureau It seemed like a simple question: where could I go to catch Shinshu Salmon? As one who occasionally enjoys casting a line into a lazy river, I was interested in where they could be caught as...

Among the Ancients: Exploring the Sacred Places of Iiyama and Kosuge, Nagano

November 27, 2018 Culture, Hiking, Historic Sites, Mountains, Nagano, Sponsored, Temples & Shrines

Sponsored by Shinshu-Iiyama Tourism Bureau Ascent to Kosuge Shrine The cedar trees were impossibly straight, like huge iron pipes driven into the ground by unseen hands and left for centuries to gather moss and dust. Standing at the base of one...

Taking a hike on the Shin-etsu trail in Nagano, Japan.

Bathed in Fall Colors on The Shin-etsu Trail

November 23, 2018 1 Week, 2 Weeks, Autumn Leaves, Hiking, Kanazawa, Mountains, Nagano, National Parks, Niigata, Shinkansen, Sponsored, Tokyo, Tokyo, Tokyo

Standing under the yellow canopy of beech trees on the Shin-etsu Trail as I lifted my camera to my eye, I laughed out loud for no apparent reason. Perhaps it was a side-effect of shinrin-yoku, the phenomenon of "forest bathing,"...

Nakano Fudoson - An 800-year-old Temple Hidden In Fukushima, Tohoku, Japan.

Discover Nakano Fudoson, An 800-year-old Temple Hidden In Fukushima

November 18, 2018 Culture, Fukushima, Historic Sites, Sponsored, Temples & Shrines, Tohoku

Sponsored by Fukushima City Tourism and Convention Association. I peered into the darkness beyond the corridor faintly lit by an array of candles, straining to see what lay beyond. To my dread, I could see nothing but the encroaching darkness....

Fukushima local specialities, in Fukushima city, Tohoku region in Japan.

Discovering the Cuisine of Fukushima City

November 16, 2018 Culture, Fukushima, Kaiseki, Ryokan, Sashimi, Sponsored, Summer Festivals, Tohoku

Sponsored by Fukushima City Tourism and Convention Association. While staying in Fukushima City to attend the Iizaka Kenka Matsuri, I had the opportunity to try some of the cuisine that makes Fukushima such an amazing place to visit. Of course,...

Experiencing The Hospitality of Japanese Ryokan in Iizaka Onsen, Fukushima

Experience the Hospitality of Japanese Ryokan in Iizaka Onsen

November 14, 2018 Culture, Etiquette, Fukushima, Kaiseki, Ryokan, Sponsored, Summer Festivals

Compared to the generic experience of modern chain hotels, the Japanese ryokan experience offers travelers the opportunity to enjoy a unique lodging experience almost anywhere in Japan. Some tourists are put off by the idea of sleeping on the floor,...

Exploring The Natural and Historic Beauty of Fukushima City’s Parks

November 11, 2018 Autumn, Autumn Leaves, Fukushima, Gardens & Parks, Historic Sites, Sponsored, Tohoku

Sponsored by Fukushima City Tourism and Convention Association. Fukushima Prefecture boasts a diverse geography which includes soaring mountain ranges, plains filled with fruit trees and rice paddies, and a rugged Pacific coast. With so much beauty to preserve for future...

Iizaka Kenka Matsuri – A Rare Fighting Festival in Fukushima

November 9, 2018 Culture, Fukushima, Ryokan, Sponsored, Summer Festivals, Temples & Shrines

Sponsored by Fukushima City Tourism and Convention Association. As the huge float swung our way with a dozen men carried in its momentum, my guide, Mr. Takahashi, tugged on my sleeve and pulled me to safety. This was the Iizaka...

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