From the Japanese stock market to a rural town in the remote prefecture of Kochi, many things have changed in Violet Pacileo's life since last year - she is currently building a CrossFit retreat with her family and trying to revitalise her mother's hometown! We had a chat about Violet's big move and why we all need to add Shikoku to our travel plans.

Living in many different corners of Japan gave Connie an opportunity to get under the skin of the country. We had a chat about her career, best places to visit that not many people know about, and car camping!

Studying for an incredibly difficult exam to become a licensed guide in Japan made Miyuki appreciate Japanese culture in a new way. Inspired by this she started 'Japan Experts' - a podcast which explores Japanese culture from both local and global points of views. We talked about her journey of re-discovering her own culture and why you need to add Gifu to your Japan-itinerary!

In 2012 Yukiyo and her family moved to Kamakura where exploring the area and meeting the locals made her realise that there is much more to the area than 'big temples and a big buddha'. It inspired her to creat 'Kamakura Mind', a place to convey the charm of Japanse culture to visitors in accessible ways. Read on for Yukiyo's favourite undiscovered destinations in Kamakura and her top picks for eating out.

Emma Bassett grew up in Kent but she currently teaches environmental science in Japan while documenting her adventures in the country on her beautiful Instagram feed. Read on to find out about her favourite places to unwind on weekends and discover the dish she wasn't expecting to like but now she can't stop ordering at Japanese izakaya pubs!