Why Travelers Who Visit More Than One Japanese Family Never Regret It

Paul from the UK did not stop at one. By the end of his trip through Japan, he had sat at seven different dining tables, in seven different homes, across seven different parts of the country. And when asked to compare them, he found he simply couldn't.

"Everyone is different. Every single visit has been different in every way," he said. "So if you want to experience more, you gotta do more."

In Kyoto, his host put him at ease almost immediately. They started joking around early, which set the tone for the whole evening. When her friend joined them later, the relaxed atmosphere carried right through. In Hiroshima, his host invited a neighbor over: an art teacher who turned out to be a fascinating conversationalist, and who gave Paul a book of her work before the evening was over.

Then there was Takamatsu. A mother, two daughters, laughter from the moment he walked in, origami, paper cranes, and a piano. One of the daughters had learned the entire UK national anthem — and eventually got Paul to sing it. "I can't believe she learned the whole national anthem just like that," he said. "That was cool."

"I can't say one was definitely better than any other. They have all been absolutely brilliant."

— Paul, traveler from the United Kingdom

One of Paul's most unexpected observations had nothing to do with people. It was about the food. "The biggest surprise for me was no two meals were the same. Miso soup was a popular thing, but even then it was different in every place. They would put different things in it." Seven bowls of miso soup. Seven different versions. That detail, more than anything, captures what it means to visit more than one host.

Both were visiting Japan for the first time. Both booked two Borderless Visits. And both came away wishing they had booked more.

The guest from the Netherlands had heard that getting into a Japanese home wasn't easy for travelers. Finding Borderless Visit felt like a solution to that. He booked two visits in two different cities, and by the time his trip was over, the thing he regretted most was not booking a third.

"It were two very, very nice hosts. They were real different from each other. That makes my experiences so much completer, richer. Three or more would have made it even more complete for me."

— Guest from the Netherlands

The guest from Hong Kong was traveling solo, and he approached his two bookings deliberately. He chose one host near Shinjuku, right in the center of Tokyo, and a second host in a quieter, non-tourist part of the city. Same city, completely different experience.

"I met host just living near Shinjuku. I see the life in the very center of Tokyo, the food, the house, the lifestyle of modern Japanese people," he said. His second visit brought him to a family home in the suburbs: quieter, more settled, with homemade sashimi and a couple genuinely curious about his life in Hong Kong.

"I met people in different ages, from different backgrounds, living in different parts of the city. The more you visit, the more you know about Japan."

— Guest from Hong Kong

The pattern holds across guests from different countries, different travel styles, and different numbers of visits.
Here is what two more guests had to say.