In my travel tips series, I try to give you the inside scoop on what makes our experiences spectacular. And I'd be remiss if I didn't clue you in about my favorite way to travel: couchsurfing.

And I'm not just talking about "couch surfing" as a general concept; I'm talking about the hospitality network called Couchsurfing.org (CS for short).

I first heard about CS from a friend who traveled Europe for five months with her husband. She only stayed in hostels a handful of times. The majority of nights were spent with strangers - people she met via the CS website. Her blog told of incredible connections and experiences that would have been impossible without her CS hosts. I was intrigued.

And when Andrew and I decided to travel to Japan in 2012, we also decided to give CS a whirl.

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