Monthly letters from Japan
I am Burcu (more on that below). Thank you for your interest in my newsletter.
Letters from Japan, the newsletter extension of my website, is published monthly on Substack and delivered directly to all subscribers via email. Living in Tokyo, I primarily write about my travels around Japan, with occasional posts from trips overseas when the opportunity arises.
This is one of the recent editions, Reading Japan: From Hokkaido to Okinawa, offering a literary journey through Japan, from north to south, and presenting a selection of books to accompany your trip. In another recent edition - Okinawa, the Reluctant Paradise - I wrote about the Kerama Islands of Okinawa, my favorite small islands with dreamy waters and intriguing history.
These monthly Letters from Japan are available to all subscribers regardless of your subscription plan.
Paid subscription options
Monthly subscription
There is also a paid subscription plan that gives you access to additional content, including Travel Diaries and the Japan Trip Planning Q&A Series. This link outlines the monthly, annual, and founding subscriber options. The most recent ones in this category are a one-day trip itinerary covering Kanazawa, titled “One Fine Day in Kanazawa,“ and “Blue Forests of Japan: Autumn Trip to Aomori,” sharing my annual fall foliage trip itinerary to Tohoku`s northernmost prefecture. Another series of posts with a similar approach is “One Fine Autumn Day in Kyoto” and “One Fine Autumn Day in Tokyo,” which explore the cities’ fall foliage-viewing spots in diary-style posts.
I also recently posted my (definitely) non-gourmet guide to Tokyo’s eateries, listing some of my favorites, and a five-day itinerary from a recent trip to Tohoku, during which I stayed in four different hot spring inns - Tohoku Onsen Hopping.
There is also a dedicated page on my website for paid subscribers where all paid-subscriber-only posts are organized by category (including the five-part Kyoto Trail series): Letters from Japan: Resource Page. The idea behind this page is to make it easier to review the content, especially if you’re planning your Japan trip, while giving me more flexibility over the design and layout. For example, on Substack, I have to publish the travel diaries as separate posts for each day, which means you need to click through several posts to read the full series. On my website, however, you can find them as single, complete posts with a table of contents. The page is public, but the posts are password-protected. Paid subscribers receive the password automatically upon sign-up or plan conversion.
Annual subscription
If you choose the annual subscription plan, you also have the option to schedule a Zoom meeting for personalized assistance with your Japan trip planning, if you think I can be of any help. To make the best of our meeting time, you can email me with specific questions or your rough itinerary. Please get in touch via email if you become an annual subscriber and would love to schedule a Zoom meeting. If you prefer, we can also discuss your questions via e-mail.
Print Club
If you decide to upgrade to the Print Club, you can, in addition to all of the above, select one photo to be printed on A3-size Hahnemühle fine art paper per year and have it mailed to your house. You get to choose your print from a pool of more than thirty photos. Here is the link to the print gallery. You also get a 25% discount on all other prints.
The website
This is the newsletter extension of my website, where I have been regularly posting travel articles and photos since 2013.
As I am based in Japan, my website frequently features travel destinations within Japan. But I also often write about nature destinations from all over the world. I recently visited Australia to hike the wonderful Great Ocean Walk trail.
I am Burcu
I am Burcu (a name that’s quite difficult for non-Turkish speakers to pronounce, so don’t worry about it), originally from Istanbul, Turkey—the love of my life and my biggest heartbreak. While the ongoing political situation is painful for many of us, I am forever grateful for the perspectives that being from a country and a city located at the crossroads of Asia and Europe, and surrounded by eight neighbors (Greece, Bulgaria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Georgia), has afforded me. In a region where various political ideologies, racial and ethnic groups, and religions coexist, try to coexist, or fail to do so, you inevitably grow up aware of realities beyond your own. Now, living in a relatively isolated island nation, that perspective feels even more crucial to me. In this post, I wrote more about the differences between my two homes: From an Isolated Island-Nation to That Place Where the Continents Meet.
Traveling has been the greatest joy of my life since I took my first solo trip abroad at the age of 20 (I am now 45). In addition to Japan, I am drawn to the regions with dramatic landscape scenery, like Scandinavia and New Zealand. As for the cities, I am not ashamed of my undying love for Paris, which I, to this date, still find to be the most spectacular city in the world. My current permanent base is Tokyo, Japan—a city and country that I believe offers an almost impossibly perfect blend of tradition and modernity.
Over the past decade, and particularly since relocating to Japan in 2019, I’ve had the opportunity to work on paid travel writing and photography assignments, mainly partnering with Japan-based travel content agencies and tourism offices. But I am originally a lawyer. After working at a law firm in Istanbul for 13 years, I took a break, during which I only did contract-based remote work, allowing me to travel for longer periods, and eventually moved to Japan. I currently work full-time at a research institute in Tokyo, which isn’t directly related to legal services but still ties into my previous experience as a lawyer. We are working primarily with Asian governments and development banks to develop legal frameworks that encourage a larger pool of investors to finance social infrastructure projects. I also get to teach one law-related class at a graduate school on Saturday mornings. Fortunately, I get plenty of time off, allowing me to travel and keep my website and newsletter active. I also get to travel for work quite frequently.
I am happiest when I’m walking and saddest when I reflect on how my country has changed over the past two decades.
Whether or not you choose to become a paid subscriber, I’m always happy to help with any Japan-related travel questions. So, please feel free to leave a comment, send me an email, or drop a message in the Substack chat.
Once again, thank you for being here. It truly means a lot.
Burcu
