Traveling Japan, Intentionally

Hi there!

I’m Shota, and together with my wife, Cory, we’ve taken nine trips to Japan in the last decade - with many more to come - even after an unexpected three-year pause during the pandemic.

What’s made that possible isn’t unlimited vacation time or extravagant spending. It’s miles and points - a hobby I started a couple of years before we got married in 2015, which slowly evolved into a way for us to travel more deliberately - and more often than we ever expected.

With the growing interest in Japanese culture - and the internet’s infatuation with traveling there in recent years - it’s always bothered me to see friends saving for months, if not years, just to take a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Japan.

With just a few credit cards and some thoughtful planning, our friends have literally saved thousands on their trips, often making it possible for them to return more than once.

Through my passion for writing, traveling, and helping others understand miles and points, I hope to shed light on Japan travel through a unique cultural perspective as a Japanese American, blending cultural appreciation with practical strategy - and hopefully along the way, make you laugh, commiserate, and share in the sentiments behind our many crazy stories.