Hi, I'm Donny 👋🏻

As you might have gathered by now, I'm a travel writer and digital marketer who blogs about the sides of Japan that you rarely see in mainstream media, with the aim of combating overtourism. Since the spring of 2016, I've been writing here and putting out helpful content on social media. Both on this blog and beyond, my objective is to bridge the awareness gap between places in Japan that people would love—if only they knew they existed.

Originally, I started this Japan travel blog as a bit of an experiment. After launching many multinationals like Spotify, Tinder, and Calm into the Japanese market, I wanted to create something of my own that would serve as an external portfolio. My thinking was that I could "show" my marketing prowess rather than "tell" people about it—and in doing so, better convince prospects to work with me.

Over the years, I've focused on using what I know about SEO on Google and across various social media platforms to bring more attention to off-the-beaten-path locales like Kyoto's Mt. Oe or Hiroshima's port town of Onomichi—places that might otherwise never get their time in the limelight. As a result, I've helped countless souls escape the usual, often overcrowded tourist traps and connect more deeply with Japan and its culture.

Through promoting Japan to international travelers, I've since fallen irrevocably in love with helping people get off the beaten path. What began as a one-off experiment in 2016 by an exhausted full-time employee at a listed communications agency has since evolved into my very sense of meaning and purpose. While I still do a lot of work as a freelance digital marketer and fractional CMO, it's my role as a storyteller that truly gets me out of bed in the morning.

At the end of the day, everything on social media and this blog is simply a passion project. Creating content isn't something I'm looking to monetize. While I'll happily accept donations from folks who get value out of my AI-powered trip planner (and throw those funds right back into promoting Japan and helping local craftsmen with digital transformation), I'm not really looking to profit from what I do.

So unlike almost anywhere else on the internet, I've really got nothing to sell you—only Japan itself to share. My sincere hope is that you'll check out some of the many area guides, travel tips and trip anchors that I've written over the years and find a destination that resonates with you. That way, you can have a more authentic experience of this country that I could spend lifetimes exploring.

If all of this sounds interesting, I highly suggest subscribing to my weekly newsletter. With the rise of social media algorithms and now generative AI, it's becoming increasingly hard to connect with readers who want to see my work. So you don't miss out, sign up today and get my articles delivered straight to your inbox—along with a handful of insider travel tips!

Until next time travelers...