About me
IT consultant by trade, traveller by obsession. Japan came into my life by chance and never left. 28 trips later, my to-do list is still longer than when I started.
The story
I gave it to myself as a graduation present. It was 2009, the yen was still strong β a thousand yen was more than ten euros β and I really had no idea what to expect. To me, Japan was just βthat distant, high-tech country that speaks an impossible language.β I left with a group of Italians and a guide, Sawako, for what only later I would learn to call βthe classic loopβ: Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara, Hiroshima.
I fell in love before I even reached Tokyo. At Narita, while we waited for the train, a stationmaster noticed us and walked over to our guide, bowing. I asked Sawako what had happened.
From then on I never stopped. I went back to study: a whole month in Tokyo learning Japanese β school in the morning, homework in the afternoon, and in the evening logged in to work for my employer at the time. Then I convinced my manager to send me to Tokyo for a specialisation course: another two unforgettable weeks. Any excuse to go back was a good one.
Because Japan is a calling. A fixed thought, a steady heartbeat that pulls you in β and until you go, it's impossible to explain. I've visited plenty of countries: the United States, Canada, all of Europe. And yet Japan is the one that has amazed me the most, every single time. And that kindness never changes: even on my last trip, in 2026, a restaurant owner insisted on refunding the gyoza I had ordered because they had split slightly while cooking β to him, that simply wasn't good enough.
The most beautiful thing, though, I learned from others. Over the years I've brought along friends, acquaintances, all kinds of people. And at the end of every trip I always asked the same question: βWhat did you like most?β The answer was always the same, from everyone, after every trip: the people.
For years I shared advice by word of mouth, on WhatsApp, in Facebook groups. Friends, friends of friends, strangers asking me "where do I sleep in Kyoto?", "is the JR Pass worth it?", "where can I eat good sushi in the morning?".
At some point I realised the answers were always the same, and that they could probably help other people too. That's how Giappone che Passione was born β website, YouTube channel and Instagram profile. Not a travel blog, not a tourist guide: an archive of field-tested experiences, with the perspective of someone who has gone back too many times to pretend otherwise.
Itineraries I have actually walked, with real timings and mistakes included. Practical guides on the JR Pass, eSIM, currency, ryokan β the things you need before you leave. Pages on the cities I love most, with my favourite sights (including the ones where people ask "why on earth are you going there?"). Food, with my ten must-eat dishes and where to find them. And a travel diary with the stories that don't fit in the guides.
All available in several languages, because Japan fascinates people all over the world. And because I believe certain cultural nuances deserve to be told well.