I plan trips the same way I run campaigns — with a spreadsheet (or Notion!), a lot of research, and at least one bold idea that probably shouldn't work but does. Here's where I've been, what I've learned, and where I'm going next.
Katie Frank’s Travels
Where Next?
🇵🇹 Portugal — Spring 2027
🇩🇪 Germany — TBD 2027
🇯🇵 Japan — TBD 2028
🏴🇫🇷🇮🇹 England, France, and Italy — my first international trip in high school. Fun fact: I started my school's international travel club.
🎒 Studied abroad and backpacked through Europe in college: England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the Netherlands, France, Spain, Switzerland, Italy, the Czech Republic, and Germany.
🇯🇲 Jamaica
🇧🇸 The Bahamas
🇩🇴 Dominican Republic
🏴🇫🇷 England and France again.
🇳🇱 The Netherlands again.
🏴 England again — London, Bath, Brighton, and Cambridge. First international trip with my mom.
🇯🇵 Japan — Three trips to Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Kinosaki Onsen, and Sapporo.
🏴 England again — Portsmouth, Brighton, and London.
Past Adventures
The Japan Guide I Wish I'd Had
I've spent hundreds (thousands?) of hours researching, planning, and figuring out what actually works for trips to Japan. My guide isn't a generic listicle. It's the guide I wish I'd had before my first trip.
You’ll get the practical stuff nobody tells you, booking tips that'll save you real stress, and honest highlights from all three itineraries — including what's worth waking up at 6am for and what you can skip.
Additionally, you'll also get my personal Google Maps for every city, links to every experience I've actually booked, and a full cost breakdown from my first trip so you can budget realistically.
The Notion guide includes a custom AI skill for Claude. Drop it in, and it'll answer your Japan planning questions and build you a personalized itinerary based on everything in the guide.
And you get lifetime access. Every time I go back, the guide gets updated.