I’ve been a freelance travel writer pretty much my whole adult life, mostly by living frugally and taking joy in experiences and adventure over material things. My writing career spans more than three decades and includes many years living in both Germany and Japan.
I first traveled to Japan in 1983 to write travel articles. I ended up staying and writing a book. As the author of Frommer’s Japan from its first edition in the 1980s through more than 10 subsequent editions, I covered more than 50 cities, towns, villages, and national parks, so I think I can rightly consider myself an expert on Japan. Sadly, the 650-page guidebook is no longer in print, but working on it for more than 35 years set me on a journey I never could have imagined. My latest book is Frommer’s EasyGuide to Tokyo, Kyoto and Western Honshu, the second edition of which came out in December 2018. I also contributed sections on culture to Be More Japan, published in 2019 by DK Eyewitness, including flower arranging, the tea ceremony, calligraphy, bonsai, origami, the Japanese diet and longevity, and historic pilgrimages. Over the years I have trekked through castles, meditated in gardens, been rendered speechless by museum collections ranging from the profane to the profound, slept like a baby in Japanese inns, soaked my travel-weary bones in countless hot springs and inspected more hotel rooms than anyone in their right mind should ever have to see.
Although Japan is my area of expertise, I am passionate about the world and write about pretty much every place I go. I’ve never counted all the countries I’ve been to but reckon it must be close to 55. In my early years as a freelancer, I hitchhiked through Europe, drove my beat-up Datsun as far as it could take me between Canada and the Yucatan, and bummed around Asia for travel articles that appeared in newspapers across the country, including the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Philadelphia Inquirer, Atlanta Constitution, Miami Herald, Chicago Tribune, Detroit News, Minneapolis Tribune, Denver Post, Houston Chronicle, San Diego Union, San Francisco Examiner and many other newspapers that never paid very well. I have been a member of SATW (Society of American Travel Writers) since 1988.
In addition to Frommer’s Japan and Frommer’s EasyGuide, over the years I also wrote Frommer’s Tokyo, Frommer’s Walking Tours Tokyo, Frommer’s Hong Kong, Frommer’s Berlin, Frommer’s Walking Tours Berlin, Frommer’s St. Louis/Kansas City, and A Serious Shopper’s Guide to London. I also contributed to the Frommer’s Europe from $$ a Day series, Frommer’s Europe by Rail, Frommer’s Southeast Asia, Frommer’s China, Frommer’s USA, and America on Wheels—South Central States & Texas. There may be more, but at this point I can’t recall what they might be.
Examples of Published Articles
My work has been published in more than 60 publications and websites, but some of my recent articles include:
10Best.com/USATODAY: Beyond sake: Try awamori, Japan’s oldest distilled spirit made from black koji mold; In honor of Black History Month, we tour two campuses at the heart of school desegregation; Limoncello 101: Where to try it and how to make your own; Intro to Valle de Guadalupe, the Napa Valley of Mexico; 10 reasons why Branson is worth a visit during the holiday season; What you want to know about this year’s summer Olympics in Tokyo; Explore one of the most underrated wine trails in the United States (in Hermann, MO); Everything you want to know about Kentucky bourbon; and 10 things you may not know about Cleveland, Ohio.
CNN.com: Tomonoura: A historic coastal village away from the crowds in Japan; and Fukushima’s Comeback: This Japanese Destination is ready for tourists again.
BBC.com: A Pure Land Inspired by Treachery, about Hiraizumi in Japan.
gonomad.com: Shinshoji Zen Museum and Gardens; The Land of Lorca in Granada, Spain; Colombia’s Fantastic and Wild Amazon; Greenwood Rising: Tulsa’s Black Wall Street Memorial; Kakunodate: Japan’s Most Famous Castle Town; Portugal: The Joys of Obidos, Baracoa–The Other Side of Cuba; Japan’s North After the Tsunami; Karuizawa, Japan: In the Footsteps of John and Yoko; The Oil Legacy: Oklahoma’s Oil History and Wealth; A Detour to the Jaw-Dropping Iguazu Falls in Argentina; and Preserving the City’s Past in Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay.
AAA World: Lucas, Kansas A Work of Art.
Tripadvisor: A Guide to Kyoto’s Top Temples; and Everything to Know about Tokyo’s Cherry Blossom Season.
East-West News Service: Off the Beaten Track in Hinohara, Japan; Herculaneum Then and Now.
Belt Magazine, Frank Lloyd Wright in Japan
Frommers.com: Finding Temples, Hot Springs, and Snow Monsters in Quiet Northern Japan; At Tokyo’s Weird New Poop Museum, Wipe Boredom Away; Japan Finishes Building a Grand, 600-mile Trail of its Coastal Treasures; Iwate Prefecture Wild, White, and Wonderful; and The Undiscovered Delights of Japan’s Ise-Shima National Park.
gardendestinations.com and Triangle Gardener: Abby Aldrich Roosevelt Museum; Sintra’s Quinta da Regaleira Invites Exploration; and Tokyo’s Best Traditional Gardens.
shebuystravel: 15+ Fun Things to Do in Saint Joseph Missouri, Home of the Pony Express.
Getting on Travel (which has sadly stopped publication, but I’ve provided PDFs): Shopping for Colombian Crafts in Bogota; The Amalfi Coast: Made for Romance…and Movies; Sister’s Trip to Valle de Guadalupe Baja California; A Charleston Girlfriend Getaway; Branson During the Holidays, Something for Everyone; George Washington Slept Here: From Barbados to Mount Vernon; The Henry Ford: A Lesson in American History and Ingenuity; Porto: A Grand European City with a Rich History; Life wthout Travel: Postcard from Lawrence, Kansas; Fukushima Prefecture: Go for the Sake, Stay for the Hot Springs and Samurai History; Columbus Food and Drink: Come Sip and Savor; Love Bourbon? You’ll love the Kentucky Bourbon Trail; Discover Argentina’s Mendoza Wine Region; A Subjective Guide to Havana’s Best Experiences; Wacky Wanko Soba and and other Culinary Oddities of Japan’s Iwate Prefecture; Time Traveling with Horses on Mackinac Island; Seattle Space Needle Receives a Makeover; Kicking Back in Cozumel: What to See and Do; A Multi-generational Reunion in Key West Offers Much to Love; and What is the Significance of the Japanese Tea Ceremony?
Global Traveler: Japanese tea ceremony; Stanley, Hong Kong; Discover the Hip Business Ambience of Modern Osaka; Tokyo Focuses On A Successful Future; Macau Rocks From Dusk ‘Til Dawn; Omotesando, Tokyo; Experience Macau’s Dual Heritage; Hong Kong Makes Doing Business a Pleasure, and hotel reviews on Hanakanzashi Ryokan in Fukushima Prefecture and Cerulean Tower Tokyo Hotel.
Appearing in smartertravel.com are my tips for Getting Around Austria and Where to Stay in Austria, plus a trio of articles about Japan in Japan Travel Guide: What to Do in Japan; Where to Stay in Japan: Lodging Tips; and Getting Around Japan. I have also written about my neck of the woods, including It wasn’t called Bleeding Kansas for nothing for unmistakablylawrence.com.
In the more distant past, a series of walking tours in Macau focused on Penha Peninsula and around the ruins of St. Paul appeared in travel2next.com, as did Coloane Macau–Old-World Charm (if you want to see this one, you have to scroll down to the end of the page). I also wrote Tokyo Story and Kobe’s Slice of China for Skyward (Japan Airlines’ domestic magazine); Queer Tokyo, Lost in Translation, about Tokyo’s Ni-Chome gay district for Element magazine, published in Singapore; Why I’ll be Studying Spanish Forever and How Travel Taught me to Live More Fully and Simply for nextavenue.org, and an article called “Hakone–A Soothing and Stunning Getaway” for the 2013 edition of Destination Hyatt that was placed in Hyatt international hotels throughout the year. Over the years my work has also appeared in print and online in USA Today, Forbes Travel Guide, National Geographic Traveler, Orbitz, Discovery (Cathay Pacific’s in-flight magazine), Hilton Resorts, Kansas Business News, International Living, Kaleidoscope, ACCJ Journal (American Chamber of Commerce in Japan), Off Duty (in both Europe and Pacific editions), publications for Rotary International, and even Pillow Talk, among others.
Trip Itineraries
Over the years I have also crafted travel itineraries, including itineraries for bindutrips.com and apps for Sutro Media (both now defunct). I wrote five itineraries on Branson, including Branson for Families and Branson Outdoors. My five itineraries on Hong Kong offered a wide variety for experiencing this fascinating destination, including Hong Kong Off the Beaten Track in the New Territories and Hong Kong Shopping. I also wrote recommendations for how to spend time in Tokyo, such as my Tokyo in 2 Days for First-Timers itinerary, as well as in Kyoto, and Macau.
Other Areas of Expertise
In addition to writing articles, apps and guide books, I have also reviewed hotels in Japan, Hong Kong and Missouri for Star Service and updated destination reports on Tokyo, Osaka, Branson, Kansas City and Kansas for Weissmann Reports (both now branded under Northstar Travel Media’s travel42). I have also written advertorials about travel in Japan, including those that have appeared in National Geographic Traveler, Los Angeles Times, Conde Nast Traveler and The New Yorker.
As a travel expert on Japan, I have been interviewed on radio and CNN and by the Japan National Tourism Organization and have been a guest speaker at various events, including a media event about Kyushu held Nov 14, 2013, in NYC. Since 2009 I have been a VISIT JAPAN Ambassador, an honorary title awarded by the Japanese government for my contributions in drawing foreign visitors to Japan (the only US resident awarded the title). To my chagrin, I am also the longest-reigning author of a guide book to Japan.
In 2011 I received the Langston Hughes Creative Writing Award for fiction; my submission for the contest was the first chapter of a novel I hope to someday complete, set in 1980s Tokyo and called Rife with the Tokyo Brews. In 2015 I received an honorable mention for a short story submitted to the Kansas Voices writing competition. In 2013, an app I wrote called Hong Kong Explorations received second place in the Best Travel App category and in 2018 one of my travel pieces won second place in the Best Travel Article in a Digital Medium, both from the Central States Chapter of the Society of American Travel Writers.
When not on the road I enjoy reading, writing fiction, cooking, camping, hanging out with friends and family, getting my hands dirty in my garden and keeping up with my stinker of a rescue dog, cat and menopausal chickens. Everyone always asks what’s the favorite place I’ve been to, to which I always reply, “The place I haven’t been to yet.”
