In Japan, eating ramen is a near goddamn religious experience.

Video: The impulse behind ecotourism is a good one, in theory — who wouldn’t want to visit a beautiful place, bask in the wonders of nature, and come back home with an enhanced appreciation for delicate ecosystems around the globe (and the dire risks they face from climate change)?

Travelling on your own is an incredibly rewarding experience, but it has its dangers. The number of women travelling alone has been on the rise in recent years, and the tactics for staying safe while on the road have gotten increasingly sophisticated — and important.

There’s nothing more sobering than travelling with a friend for the first time. You very quickly learn their travel “quirks” like they hate walking too much or their teeth grind when they sleep (I’m not saying I know someone who does this, but I’m also not not saying that).

Back in September a story emerged about a couple that was travelling in Bali and ended up in a scooter accident on their way back to their hotel. Their phone with a local SIM had died, and their only way to call for help was to post on Facebook using a phone tied to an American SIM — a Facebook post that helped them find help and ultimately survive.

It pays to know where you can travel and how long you can stay with your passport. And answers to those questions vary depending on where your passport is from. For instance, what I can do with my passport is a little different than what my friend Tim can do with his German one.

Seeing the world is an enlightening experience, but it can also be a dangerous one if you're allergic to things like nuts, gluten, soy, lactose, shellfish, and others foods. That doesn't have to hold you back, though. Here are a few tips to help you travel and eat safely.

If you’re considering relocating to a different country for work, some destinations are better than others. HSBC recently conducted its annual Expat Explorer survey, a global survey that looks at 22,318 expats across 163 different countries.

When comparing countries based on economics, experience, and family life, the big winner of the group was Singapore, where 47% of respondents said they made more money and found both their health and wellbeing and their families improved in the country.

The best part of a textbook is the little cartoons they sprinkle throughout, to show that learning is fun: The silly illustrations in a primary school textbook, the New Yorker-style gags in a more adult text, or the angels and mammoths that play around in The Way Things Work. Malachi Ray Rempen’s Itchy Feet, a webcomic about travel, is like the cartoons-only version of those books.

Saving on travel is all about flexibility, says the anonymous editor-in-chief of the luxury travel site Andrew Harper. He told Lifehacker about a few reliable ways to watch for discounts on luxury travel, one of which will make you feel like a complete master of the universe, which you already know because we spoiled it in the headline.

The first weekend I lived in San Francisco I found a local used bookstore in my neighbourhood, where I promptly bought half a dozen books that were set in San Francisco. That wasn’t my intention when I walked in the store, but it was a great decision.

When you travel to a different time zone, jet lag can sometimes be a difficult beast to handle. Long flights can be difficult on your body from a sheer “sitting for a long time in a small seat” perspective. When you add in a huge time change, the journey can take an even harder toll on your body.

I recently spent a week in Scotland, a journey that started for me at 5AM Tuesday and thanks to weather on the US east coast ended in me not arriving in Edinburgh until 9AM on Thursday.

The issue came when my flight from San Francisco to JFK wasn’t allowed to land because of approaching weather, a problem that forced the plane to divert to Philadelphia and sit for three hours, the three hours that just happened to be when my flight to Edinburgh took off. The best news? The next flight wasn’t until 7PM the next day.

One of my favourite parts of travelling is meeting new people and exploring new cultures where I am. When you don’t know where to go to meet those people or have those unique cultural experiences, then things can get a little difficult.

It isn't a good time for Airbnb hosts or renters in Japan right now: The private residence renting service was recently forced to cancel thousands of already booked and paid reservations in Japan, all thanks to a new set of Japanese laws that went into effect on June 15. Here's what's going on over there, and what you can do if you were planning on renting with Airbnb in Japan in the near future.

Traveller, let me give you my most useful tip for visiting Japan: The "konbini" is life. It's a one-stop shop for literally anything a wide-eyed tourist such as yourself may need while you explore the brightly lit corridors of Tokyo, or get swallowed by the serene silence of temples and shrines in Kyoto.

Planning trips with friends can be a tremendous and painful undertaking. Depending on your group, you'll either end up with a bunch of people who just want you to figure everything out on your own (so they can complain about it when you do), or a group of highly-opinionated friends who all have their own ideas on what the "perfect" destination and hotel might be, to a point that no one can agree on anything.

"Melbourne is more like San Francisco, while Sydney is more like L.A." That's according to Lifehacker's US readers, who were recently asked to share their tips on visiting Sydney. Here's some of the best - and weirdest - advice about "the town that Britain's convicts built."

Everything is a little different when you're driving in a foreign country, from laws and etiquette to where and how you pump your fuel. This handy guide gives you the lowdown on getting gas in 30 different countries throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, the Middle East and North America.