SoraNews24 —Japan News—

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What’s it like to join Tokyo’s walking-and-talking-with-strangers club for a day?

Casey Baseel
Jun 2, 2026
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We strap on our shoes and head into downtown Tokyo for a philosophical conversation prompt and a walk with a whole bunch of people we’ve never met before.

Japan
(COK • cool • crazy • SNJO • urban exploring • walking • weird)

Hundreds of rose bushes in bloom at Tokyo’s off-the-beaten-path, next-to-the-tracks flower street

Casey Baseel
May 16, 2026

Local road goes from trash dump to treasure.

Japan
(Arakawa Line • COK • flowers • nature • Otsuka • Otsuka Rose Road • Otsuka Rose Street • roses • SNJO • Tokyo Sakura Tram • trains • urban exploring)

Temple with 600-year-old tree near busy Tokyo station is like a tranquil pocket dimension

Casey Baseel
Apr 21, 2026

Who’d have guessed there was a centuries-old snack shop too just a quick stroll away from one of downtown’s busiest rail hubs?

Japan
(beautiful • COK • cool • culture • gingko • gingko trees • history • icho • Ikebukuro • SNJO • temples.shrines • Tokyo • urban exploring • walking courses • Zoshigaya)

Fading Tokyo – Horikiri Station, the Arakawa River, and Kinpachi-sensei[Walking course]

Casey Baseel
Apr 13, 2026

Mr. Sato heads to the neighborhood of a famous TV drama and finds a nostalgic taste of a youth he never had.

Japan
(Adachi • Arakawa • COK • cool • Fading Tokyo • food • Horikiri • Horikiri Station • Kinpachi-sensei • Mr. Sato • restaurants • retro • Showa Era • SNJO • Tokyo • urban exploration • urban exploring • walking • walking course • walking tour)

Fading Tokyo – Searching for signs of the Showa era as local neighborhoods evolve[Photos]

Casey Baseel
Apr 2, 2026

Mr. Sato starts his urban exploration of Tokyo to catch a glimpse of local neighborhoods’ pasts before they’re changed forever.

Japan
(Araiyakushi-mae • cafes • COK • cool • Fading Tokyo • food • Mr. Sato • Nakano • Numabukuro • restaurants • retro • Seibu Shinkuku Line • Showa Era • shrines • SNJO • temples • Tokyo • urban exploration • urban exploring • walking • walking course • walking tour)

Tokyo big walk – Walking from Tokyo Station to the Big Sight convention center on Tokyo Bay【Pics】

Casey Baseel
Oct 14, 2025

A unique way to see some very different Tokyo neighborhoods. Read More

Japan
(COK • cool • SNJO • Tokyo • Tokyo Big Sight • tourism • travel • urban exploring • walking • walking course)

Wrong Exit Exploring – The serene solitude of taking the wrong exit at Tokyo Disneyland’s station

SoraNews24
Sep 9, 2024

Hardly anyone uses the North Exit of Maihama Station, but we did.

Japan
(COK • Maihama • Maihama Station • SNJO • Tokyo Disney Resort • Tokyo Disneyland • tourism • travel • urban exploring)

Reports of the death of Tokyo’s Daikanyama neighborhood have been greatly exaggerated

SoraNews24
Oct 12, 2023

A visit to Shibuya’s low-key, high-class neighbor.

Japan
(COK • Daikanyama • SNJO • Tokyo • travel • urban exploring)

This themed Starbucks in Seoul is hidden away in possibly the coolest location ever

Dale Roll
Aug 4, 2023

Getting there was like traveling through several dimensions–but it was so worth it!

Korea
(coffee • coffee shop • Coffee Shops in Korea • cool places • Go Hatori • Korea • Seoul • sightseeing • Starbucks • starbucks korea • urban exploring)

A visit to T-CAT, Tokyo’s often forgotten City Air Terminal【Photos】

SoraNews24
May 16, 2023

Once a super convenient portal for flying out of Tokyo, a lot of people forget the Tokyo City Air Terminal still exists.

Japan
(COK • cool • Mariko Ohanabatake • SNJO • T-CAT • Tokyo • Tokyo City Air Terminal • travel • urban exploring)

The beautifully lonely building in Shinkai’s Weathering with You? It’s a real place in Tokyo

Casey Baseel
Jul 28, 2019

We’ve visited the real-world location for the pivotal scene in the anime event of the summer, but it’s about to disappear forever.

Japan
(anime • Makoto Shinkai • movies • Tokyo • urban exploring • Weathering with You • Yoyogi)

Undead train station in Yokohama is beautifully nostalgic, poignantly desolate

Master Blaster
Feb 2, 2017

Mr. Sato visits a virtually abandoned station that continues to operate in Yokohama.

Japan
(Kokudo Station • stations • trains • urban exploring • Yokohama)

Abandoned Japanese shopping mall’s onions are now so popular that they’re selling out【Photos】

Casey Baseel
Sep 20, 2016

Customers now outnumbering salespeople by an infinitely large ratio.

Japan
(abandoned • food • funny • malls • supermarkets • urban exploring • weird)

Abandoned Japanese mall has no employees, but still one operating store selling just one item

Casey Baseel
Sep 14, 2016

Hate waiting in line while doing your shopping? This is the place for you!

Japan
(abadoned • food • funny • malls • scary • supermarkets • urban exploring • weird)

We search for the fabled bed and breakfast inside Narita’s runway that’s just 10 bucks a night

Casey Baseel
Dec 10, 2014

While it’s often referred to in travel literature as Tokyo Narita Airport, Japan’s busiest international air hub is actually located in Chiba Prefecture, making it about a one-hour train ride away from downtown Tokyo (and you can tack an extra 30 minutes or so onto that if you’re not willing to shell out the extra cash for the express train). This makes Narita sort of inconvenient if you’ve got an early departure, or if you arrive late and don’t feel like spending two hours in transit before you can collapse in your hotel bed.

So our interest was piqued when we found out about a bed and breakfast built so close to the airport it’s actually inside the runway area, and once we heard the rumors that it costs just 1,000 yen (US $8.50) a night, we decided to go searching for the mysterious hotel ourselves.