Author Mark Johnston

Barely did Jan hesitate before adding, "And I'll have the jellyfish I think," in his thick German accent, topping off our large order of food and drinks. Britnee and I had just met Jan the day before when...

When tourists visit the secluded temple town of Koyasan, it's usually for an overnight stay at a temple lodging where one can experience the life of the Shingon Buddhist monks who reside there. Koyasan,...

After burning ourselves out in Tokyo, the peace and quiet we found in the comfortable surroundings of the Sakura Guest House in Takayama was just what we needed. Upon our arrival we made ourselves...

After the rush of Tokyo, our next stop in Japan was the historic mountain town of Takayama. After exploring Higashiyama-teramachi, we took a tour to Shirakawa-go, a historic rural community in a deep valley...

Charging through Tokyo on what felt like an endless train, Britnee and I still had six more stops before transferring to another line and we were both beyond exhausted. Flying SLC to LAX, then LAX to NRT in...

Our first stop in our round-the-world trip was one of the most incredible cities in the world: Tokyo, Japan! Over the course of three days, we barely had time to recover from the jet lag as we celebrated our...

**Update: Read my new packing list about what I wish I would have taken or left at home after traveling for a year.** Here is the list of what I'll haul to the airport on Monday and it's pretty much...

Reading other travel bloggers posts, I noticed many like to list the things they’ll miss while off traveling abroad. Some items were obvious while others were a little more unique: massively long baths,...

"In the United States, the practice of taking a "year off" remains the exception. Taking a year out has recently become slightly more common for Americans, with prevailing reasons as a feeling of being burned...

As I've said before and might say again, I wasn't totally on board with this trip when Britnee first mentioned the idea a few years ago. Traveling around the world in a year—it seemed unrealistic, at least...

Eyewitness Travel Guide: China is a well-illustrated guide to the world's most populated country. Chapters are laid out region by region and cover everything from basic Chinese history and culture to...