Back to Japan: My March 2025 Travel Guide (on a Budget, With Friends, and a Little Gay Chaos)
✈️ Why Japan (Again)? I’d been itching to go back to Japan since the moment I left in fall 2019 — pre-pandemic, pre-chaos, pre-global shutdown. My original plan was to return in 2022 with my then-boyfriend, but Japan had other ideas. They extended their tourist restrictions, so we pivoted and went to Spain instead. The relationship didn’t survive the trip (I mean... Granada was cute, but some journeys just aren’t meant to be round-trip). Fast forward to 2025: Japan’s borders are open, the sakura are blooming, and I’ve got an amazing group of friends ready for the ride. This trip felt like a do-over in the best way — new energy, new memories, and way fewer emotional breakdowns in foreign Airbnbs (growth!). I wrote a bit more about the headspace I was in and how this trip came together over here , but long story short: this wasn’t just a vacation — it was a personal reset. And Japan delivered.
