I visited these 7 places in Japan both virtually and in real life. Here's how the virtual tours compare to the real thing.

The author at Tokyo Tower.Matthew Wilson/Business Insider

• In 2016, I visited Japan for two weeks. During the coronavirus pandemic, I decided to revisit some of these places virtually.
• Visiting Tokyo Station virtually was much less stressful than it was to visit in real life.
• Some locations like the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park have to be experienced in real life to be appreciated fully.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

With the coronavirus pandemic keeping many of us stuck in our homes, virtual tours are one of the only ways for us to combat wanderlust. I decided to give some a try, while also taking a walk down memory lane. In 2016, I was one of nine collegiate journalists to visit Japan for two weeks as part of the Roy W. Howard National Collegiate Reporting Competition. It was my first time out of the country, and first time experiencing another culture.

To do these tours, I used a combination of virtual destinations on Japan rail travel company JR Pass' website and others I found on Google Earth.

How did these memories compare with revisiting these Japanese landmarks virtually? It was a little like opening a yearbook. I was hit with a wave of nostalgia that reminded me why Japan is one of my favorite countries in the world.

Here's how the virtual tours compared to the real deal.