Travel & Culture
A New Life for Japan's Tsunami-hit Coast - BBC Travel
"After two days hiking along Japan's rugged north-eastern coast, my son and I had just enough energy left to run down to Aketo Beach, rip off our shoes and socks and go wading in the chilly Pacific.
Standing in the sea, the light just beginning to fade, we heard nothing except the gentle lapping of shin-high waves. A few seagulls aside, the beach was all ours. But back across the grey stretch of sand was a reminder that nature wasn't always this calm: a mangled chunk of seawall with a written dedication remained as a memorial to the horrors that unfolded here just 10 years earlier.
On the afternoon of 11 March 2011, a 9.0-magnitude earthquake struck deep beneath the ocean 130km to the east. The fourth-largest quake in the world since seismic recording began in 1900, the blast was so powerful that it shifted the Earth's axis and redistributed its mass. It rattled Japan's north-eastern Tohoku region violently for nearly six minutes and even brought Tokyo, 400km to the south, to a sudden, panicked stop..."
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Winner of a Bronze Prize (destination travel) at the 2022 North American Travel Journalists Association Awards.
Follow in the Footsteps of Samurai on this Ancient Trail - National Geographic
A look at the old Tokaido road, which connected Kyoto to Edo (Tokyo) in Edo era (1603-1868) and left behind cultural legacies ranging from woodblock prints to the earliest guidebooks. Winner of a Gold Prize (cultural travel) at the 2022 North American Travel Journalists Association Awards.
The Wild West Outpost of Japan's Isolationist Era - Narratively / Smithsonian
"The ragged procession made its way west from Kyoto and Osaka. At its center were 26 men and boys, harangued and humiliated as they were marched 400 miles through snow and rain, before arriving at the port of Nagasaki after a grueling month. There, on February 5, 1597, all 26 of them were taken to a hill overlooking the bay and crucified.
Reports paint a horrifying scene: a row of crosses on which the 20 Japanese, four Spaniards, one Portuguese and one Mexican — all Catholics — slowly bled out as they were jabbed with spears. One was a bow maker who died alongside his 14-year-old son. Nearby, the mother of another teen wept on the ground as her son’s body went limp on the cross. The youngest, a 12-year-old boy who would later be canonized as Saint Louis Ibaraki, sang while torturers cut off one of his ears."
Unlocking the Mystery of Japan's Perfect Paper - National Geographic
"Every summer, giant warriors roam the Japanese city of Aomori. Lit from within by lanterns, these formidable paper floats are the centerpiece of the Nebuta Matsuri, a weeklong evening festival in August and one of Japan’s biggest seasonal events..."
Accompanied by taiko drummers and dancers, the floats depict scenes from kabuki and Japanese mythology. Each takes months to design and make, says float maker Hiroo Takenami, and for much of the Nebuta Matsuri’s 300-year history they were covered only in washi, a type of paper handmade from the paper mulberry plant.
This island unlocked the secret to long life - Nationalgeographic.com
"In the village of Ogimi, located in the rural north of Okinawa’s main island, there’s a small stone marker with a few sentences written in Japanese. Roughly translated, they read: “At 80, you are merely a youth. At 90, if your ancestors invite you into heaven, ask them to wait until you are 100—then, you might consider it.”
That’s not bluster. At the latest count, 15 of Ogimi’s 3,000 villagers are centenarians. One hundred and seventy-one are in their 90s."
How Rugby is Re-energizing Iwate, Eight Years After the Tsunami - The Independent
"A gentle breeze ruffles the surface of Yamada Bay as our fishing boat idles among a flotilla of scallop beds. Around us, patches of water glint like signalling mirrors. Sat on deck in the mid-morning sun, only the occasional chug of a passing boat breaking the tranquillity, it’s difficult to imagine the devastation wrought here eight years earlier.
Back then, on the afternoon of 11 March 2011, the tsunami hit. Not a foaming mega-wave like you see in movies, but an unrelenting dark mass of water that chewed and churned everything in its path. When it had finished, close to 20,000 people in Japan’s northern Tohoku region had lost their lives.
The Sumo Bulls of the Oki Islands - Roads & Kingdoms
"It’s 10 a.m. and the sake glasses are full. Hiroho Kadowaki—the head of the family—is at one end of the low dining table, trying to reel in a grandson crawling across the tatami in pursuit of a toy car. He keeps the toast brief. 'Let’s have fun. Let’s be safe.' With a kampai, or cheers, Kadowaki-san and the dozen other men sitting around the table—brothers, uncles, sons—raise glasses. Dogo Island’s autumn bull sumo tournament is about to get underway..."
Japan Trip Planner - Wanderlust
"About halfway up the 2,446 stone steps to the shrine atop Mount Haguro, I was closing in on peak grumpiness. It was bad enough, I remember chuntering to myself, that I was essentially hiking in fancy dress; even worse that passers-by kept taking photos of me..."
Food & Drink
Cup Sake - Tonic
"...Although sake is Japan’s best-known tipple, outside the country the humble cup sake is a largely unknown way of drinking it. That’s not really a surprise - overseas coverage of Japan tends not to dwell on the everyday. In the worst cases, it fetishizes and exoticizes Japanese culture to extremes, creating a world where with every breath the Japanese ponder their ikigai (reason for being) and every sip and pour of sake is heavily choreographed by tradition. There’s none of that with cup sake."
The Last Days of Tsukiji - DestinAsian
"Tsukiji Market just after 5 am. Outside, a rainy season downpour briefly cuts through the humidity. Inside, there’s an air-conditioned chill as an army of wholesalers move between the rows of tuna lining the auction floor, trying to evaluate the day’s catch.
They do it with barely a touch; a hook in the gills to gently tilt the tuna so they can shine a torch into the ice-packed slit in its belly; a study of the exposed flesh where the tail has been removed; a scan of the yellow and orange paper tags on the skin that indicate the tuna’s weight, lot number and where it was caught.
At 5:30 am sharp, hand bells start ringing, drawing the wholesalers into clusters around auctioneers who rap out a breathless string of calls that even to Japanese speakers are incomprehensible. A few hand gestures in return from the huddle and a tuna is sold. Occasionally a bow is exchanged. Or a casual nod..."
Sake, Dogs, Community
"With a sudden tug, Henry sends a slug of sake over my hand. Blame it on the toy poodle in the distance. Or me for trying to hold a one-cup sake with his lead wrapped around my drinking hand.
In fairness, it wouldn’t be a one-cup if I didn’t spill a bit. The pull-tab lids take just enough of a yank to frequently cause a mishap. A damp patch on your jeans. A boozy trickle down the arm. All common place for a one-cup drinker.
For Henry—a black shiba—and me, a sake spillage is part of our routine. A couple of nights a month, we forego a walk around the park or pee-punctuated run along the riverbank for a bench and a brew outside our local convenience store. Tokyoites can be standoffish, but just as a drink can bring down barriers, so too can a dog. Combining the two has become a way to connect with other people who call my neighbourhood home.
On this night, the socializing begins with a familiar face. A familiar set of teeth gnarling at all and sundry. Kenta-kun, a fluffy tan shiba. He comes by and growls incessantly while his mum chats with me and Henry. We talk about how early both the dogs seem be waking up of late—Henry wanted a lick at 4:15 yesterday, Kenta-kun was pulling off his mum’s bedding at 5. Occasionally, she turns to Kenta-kun and scolds him for being grumpy – the kind of soft, but rising intonation that has no effect. “Aren’t you going to play with Henry? He’s your friend,” she says at one point. I get the feeling Kenta-kun doesn’t do friendship..."
Faking it - Iberia Air
"Maiduru has been faking it for 70 years. In a good way. At its factory in an otherwise residential corner of Tokyo’s unfashionable northeast, the company makes sanpuru, the replicas of food and drink seen in restaurant window displays all over Japan.
Though not the only sanpuru maker in Japan, Maiduru is one of the most prominent. With two stores on Tokyo’s Kappabashi-dori, the shopping street halfway between popular tourist spots Ueno and Asakusa that caters to the restaurant trade’s every need, Maiduru is a regular fixture in guidebooks—a place to pick up quirky souvenirs like a sushi-shaped keyring, ramen fridge magnet or plastic piece of tempura. What you see in the stores, however, is just the tip of the iceberg.
“We make thousands of different items. Foods from all over the world, and not only for restaurants,” says Etsuji Isozaki, Maiduru’s general affairs manager, before picking up a plastic miniature gyoza dumpling from a worktop at the factory and holding it to an ear. “This will be an earring,” he adds with a smile…"
Green Heat - Morning Calm
"Tracing the River Abe northward out of central Shizuoka City, it’s only a 15-minute drive before urban Shizuoka is replaced by ever-heightening hills that offer glimpses at many of this part of Japan’s culinary specialties. Small mikan groves give an orange accent to the greenery. Steep, wooded slopes are punctuated by terraced rows of green-leafed tea bushes. And if you turn off the highway, following narrow curving roads deep into the hills, you’ll come across leafy patches of wasabi..."
Cup Sake - Tonic
"...Although sake is Japan’s best-known tipple, outside the country the humble cup sake is a largely unknown way of drinking it. That’s not really a surprise - overseas coverage of Japan tends not to dwell on the everyday. In the worst cases, it fetishizes and exoticizes Japanese culture to extremes, creating a world where with every breath the Japanese ponder their ikigai (reason for being) and every sip and pour of sake is heavily choreographed by tradition. There’s none of that with cup sake."
The Last Days of Tsukiji - DestinAsian
"Tsukiji Market just after 5 am. Outside, a rainy season downpour briefly cuts through the humidity. Inside, there’s an air-conditioned chill as an army of wholesalers move between the rows of tuna lining the auction floor, trying to evaluate the day’s catch.
They do it with barely a touch; a hook in the gills to gently tilt the tuna so they can shine a torch into the ice-packed slit in its belly; a study of the exposed flesh where the tail has been removed; a scan of the yellow and orange paper tags on the skin that indicate the tuna’s weight, lot number and where it was caught.
At 5:30 am sharp, hand bells start ringing, drawing the wholesalers into clusters around auctioneers who rap out a breathless string of calls that even to Japanese speakers are incomprehensible. A few hand gestures in return from the huddle and a tuna is sold. Occasionally a bow is exchanged. Or a casual nod..."
Sake, Dogs, Community
"With a sudden tug, Henry sends a slug of sake over my hand. Blame it on the toy poodle in the distance. Or me for trying to hold a one-cup sake with his lead wrapped around my drinking hand.
In fairness, it wouldn’t be a one-cup if I didn’t spill a bit. The pull-tab lids take just enough of a yank to frequently cause a mishap. A damp patch on your jeans. A boozy trickle down the arm. All common place for a one-cup drinker.
For Henry—a black shiba—and me, a sake spillage is part of our routine. A couple of nights a month, we forego a walk around the park or pee-punctuated run along the riverbank for a bench and a brew outside our local convenience store. Tokyoites can be standoffish, but just as a drink can bring down barriers, so too can a dog. Combining the two has become a way to connect with other people who call my neighbourhood home.
On this night, the socializing begins with a familiar face. A familiar set of teeth gnarling at all and sundry. Kenta-kun, a fluffy tan shiba. He comes by and growls incessantly while his mum chats with me and Henry. We talk about how early both the dogs seem be waking up of late—Henry wanted a lick at 4:15 yesterday, Kenta-kun was pulling off his mum’s bedding at 5. Occasionally, she turns to Kenta-kun and scolds him for being grumpy – the kind of soft, but rising intonation that has no effect. “Aren’t you going to play with Henry? He’s your friend,” she says at one point. I get the feeling Kenta-kun doesn’t do friendship..."
Faking it - Iberia Air
"Maiduru has been faking it for 70 years. In a good way. At its factory in an otherwise residential corner of Tokyo’s unfashionable northeast, the company makes sanpuru, the replicas of food and drink seen in restaurant window displays all over Japan.
Though not the only sanpuru maker in Japan, Maiduru is one of the most prominent. With two stores on Tokyo’s Kappabashi-dori, the shopping street halfway between popular tourist spots Ueno and Asakusa that caters to the restaurant trade’s every need, Maiduru is a regular fixture in guidebooks—a place to pick up quirky souvenirs like a sushi-shaped keyring, ramen fridge magnet or plastic piece of tempura. What you see in the stores, however, is just the tip of the iceberg.
“We make thousands of different items. Foods from all over the world, and not only for restaurants,” says Etsuji Isozaki, Maiduru’s general affairs manager, before picking up a plastic miniature gyoza dumpling from a worktop at the factory and holding it to an ear. “This will be an earring,” he adds with a smile…"
Green Heat - Morning Calm
"Tracing the River Abe northward out of central Shizuoka City, it’s only a 15-minute drive before urban Shizuoka is replaced by ever-heightening hills that offer glimpses at many of this part of Japan’s culinary specialties. Small mikan groves give an orange accent to the greenery. Steep, wooded slopes are punctuated by terraced rows of green-leafed tea bushes. And if you turn off the highway, following narrow curving roads deep into the hills, you’ll come across leafy patches of wasabi..."
Books
Lonely Planet Best Bike Rides Japan
Co-author of the first edition of LP's cycling guide to Japan. 2025. Covering rides in Tohoku, central Japan, and other parts of Japan that aren't yet on many travelllers' radar.
Lonely Planet Kyoto
Co-author of LP's newly written and revamped guide to Kyoto, as well as the pocket guide to Kyoto and Osaka. 2025.
Japanese Inns & Hot Springs
A look at centuries of finely honed ryokan hospitality and tradition, focusing in on 40 of Japan's finest traditional inns, from the historic Hiiragiya in Kyoto to the contemporary Zaborin in Niseko. Tuttle Publishing, 2017. Co-authored with photographer Akihiko Seki.
Lonely Planet Japan
A newly written Tohoku chapter for the revamped LP blue spine. 2024.
Japan Traveler's Companion
A photo-heavy follow-up to the award-winning Capital of Cool. Tuttle Publishing, 2017. Winner of a Gold NATJA Award for best guidebook/travel book.
Be More Japan - The Art of Japanese Living
Multi chapters for this DK Eyewitness book on Japanese culture.
Tokyo Capital of Cool
Originally published in 2015, then reissued in 2018. Tuttle Publishing. Winner of a Silver NATJA Award for best guidebook/travel book.
Lonely Planet Best Bike Rides Japan
Co-author of the first edition of LP's cycling guide to Japan. 2025. Covering rides in Tohoku, central Japan, and other parts of Japan that aren't yet on many travelllers' radar.
Lonely Planet Kyoto
Co-author of LP's newly written and revamped guide to Kyoto, as well as the pocket guide to Kyoto and Osaka. 2025.
Japanese Inns & Hot Springs
A look at centuries of finely honed ryokan hospitality and tradition, focusing in on 40 of Japan's finest traditional inns, from the historic Hiiragiya in Kyoto to the contemporary Zaborin in Niseko. Tuttle Publishing, 2017. Co-authored with photographer Akihiko Seki.
Lonely Planet Japan
A newly written Tohoku chapter for the revamped LP blue spine. 2024.
Japan Traveler's Companion
A photo-heavy follow-up to the award-winning Capital of Cool. Tuttle Publishing, 2017. Winner of a Gold NATJA Award for best guidebook/travel book.
Be More Japan - The Art of Japanese Living
Multi chapters for this DK Eyewitness book on Japanese culture.
Tokyo Capital of Cool
Originally published in 2015, then reissued in 2018. Tuttle Publishing. Winner of a Silver NATJA Award for best guidebook/travel book.