I can see my house

July 9, 2014 by joostay

“It sure is hot,” the Japanese lady beside me exclaims, talking to nobody in particular. Fanning herself with her hand, she removes a small towel from her bag and pats her forehead – the actions of a woman who is determined to prove a point. “Sheesh, it’s hot,” she continues. I share a knowing smile. I guess it is kind of hot, now that you mention it. The elevator arrives and we both step in. I push 17, she pushes 12. I enjoy the actions of people in […]

Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: blog, creative writing, japan, japanese, oji, short story, tokyo

DAVID LYNCH / TOKYO 2014

July 8, 2014 by joostay

David Lynch returns to Tokyo to showcase his most recent body of work. I’ve always been a huge David Lynch fan so I was happy to be asked to review his current exhibition here in Tokyo. A total of 22 of his recent works are now on show at the Tomio Koyoma Gallery in Shibuya, following past exhibitions in Tokyo in 2012 and 2013. You can read my full review for Tokyo Art Beat here, as well as check out some […]

Categories: Art, Music & Culture • Tags: 2014, david lynch, exhibition, hikarie, japan, japanese, lithographs, photography, shibuya, tokyo, Tomio Koyoma Gallery, woodcuts

texture / テクスチャー

June 30, 2014 by joostay

Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: art, blog, ikimasho, japan, photography, space, tokyo, urban

Tsuyoshi Hisakado / Quantize

June 26, 2014 by joostay

“The flowing river never stops and yet the water never stays the same.” – Kamo no Chomei (12th Century Buddhist Poet) Born in Kyoto in 1981, Tsuyoshi Hisakado completed an M.F.A. at the Department of Sculpture of Kyoto University of Arts in 2007. He formed the artist group SHINCHICA in 2002 while he was in university, taking charge of sound and installation. From this background, the two elements ‘sound’ and ‘sculpture’ are the main features in Hisakado’s art creation. I was recently invited […]

Categories: Art, Music & Culture • Tags: art, blog, culture, ikimasho, japan, ota fine arts, quantize, sonic, sound, sound installation, tokyo, Tsuyoshi Hisakado, wako fine arts

Becoming a kindergarten teacher in Japan

June 21, 2014 by joostay

Love it or hate it. Please read this before applying for a kindergarten job in Japan. Between monitoring stats, comments and emails, one of the most popular topics it seems for people who stumble across this site is information on how to become a kindergarten teacher in Japan and what it entails. So I thought I’d write a bunch of stuff here to give people an idea of what my life’s like on a daily basis. I really like my […]

Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: asia, backpacking, blog, career, culture, english, ikimasho, japan, japanese, job, kindergarten, se asia, teaching, tefl, tokyo

Fiona Tan / Photo Works

June 16, 2014 by joostay

The mundane is beautiful. See Tokyo in a new light through the private lives of others. Fiona Tan was born in 1966 in Pekan Baru, Indonesia, to a Chinese-Indonesian father and an Australian mother. Now living in Holland having studied in both Amsterdam and Hamburg, her works are known for contesting and underlining cultural identity. With such a rich cultural history herself, it’s no surprise that an in-depth exploration of identity has always been at the forefront of her artistic career. The main focus […]

Categories: Art, Music & Culture • Tags: art, children, exhibition, fiona tan, japan, life, new, nostalgia, old, photography, tokyo, wako works art

A soundtrack to Mitake

June 1, 2014 by joostay

 I went to Mitake with a camera and some music. This is what I saw and heard. Ikimasho! Mitake-san is a sacred mountain in the far reaches of western Tokyo. From Shinjuku catch the JR Chuo line Tachikawa and change to the JR Ome line towards Okutama. (90 minutes / 920yen). From Mitake Station catch the Nishi Tokyo Bus to Cable Shita (ケーブル下) bus stop. Buses leave at least once or twice an hour and cost 270yen for the 10 minute […]

Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: beauty, blog, Chichibu Tama National Park, hiking, ikimasho, japan, mitake, nature, okutama, tamagawa, tokyo, Zen

The Okutama region of western Tokyo

May 27, 2014 by joostay

Yes, this is Tokyo. But not as you know it.   Ikimasho! Okutama is a mountain district in the west of Tokyo. To get to Okutama Station take the Chuo Line from Shinjuku and switch at Tachikawa on to the Ome Line. Depending on connections the journey takes anything between 90 minutes and 2 hours (for a very reasonable 1,080 yen). Buses are irregular to Lake Okutama, one or two an hour – and if you decide to walk between […]

Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: asia, backpacking, culture, dam, hatonosu, hiking, ikimasho, inaka, japan, lake, nature, okutama, ome, shiromaru, south east asia, tokyo, wildlife

Institute for Nature Study, Tokyo

May 18, 2014 by joostay

An oasis of calm in the heart of metropolitan Tokyo Established in 1949, The Institute for Nature Study (Shizen Kyōikuen) is a nature reserve set right in the heart of downtown Tokyo. Within a 20-hectare park, the Institute is home to 1,436 species of plant, 2,130 species of insect and 130 bird species. Its aim: to preserve the natural environment of Tokyo’s forests and marshlands. The grounds are used for research and education, although anyone may enjoy the park’s trails and natural beauty. […]

Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: asia, backpacking, bizarre, blog, caterpillars, culture, guidebook, ikimasho, insects, japan, japanese, meguro, nature, south east asia, tokyo, travel, turtles, urban

Cats & Dogs: A lucky walk around Gotokuji, Tokyo

May 6, 2014 by joostay

Visiting Tokyo? The smaller suburbs are where it’s at… Despite being only four minutes by train from my neighbourhood of Shimokitazawa, I had never been to Gotokuji before. I hadn’t even heard of it – as many stations going away from Shinjuku simply aren’t on my radar. I am, however, so glad I found it. I ventured out there with my camera and was rewarded with quaint shopfronts, as well as peace, quiet – and hundreds of cats wishing me luck. […]

Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: asia, blog, cats, charms, gotokuji, gotokuji temple, ikimasho, inaka, japan, lucky, odakyu, old, photography, quaint, suburbia, suburbs, tokyo, trains, urban, Zen

Tokyo Travel Library

May 4, 2014 by joostay

34,000 books – most of which you won’t be able to read but who cares this place is great. If, like me, you spend an inordinate amount of your time loitering in the travel sections of bookshops reading Lonely Planets while the staff regard you as some kind of vagrant tramp with no home, then you are in luck. Just beside Tokyo station there’s a place where this kind of behavior is actively encouraged – a library entirely devoted to travel- and tourism-related materials from all over the world. […]

Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo, Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: asia, book shop, books, flying, japan, lonely planet, magazines, tokyo, travel, travel library

ただいま

April 23, 2014 by joostay

The smell of rain. The hum of neon.  ただいま

Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: japan, tao, tokyo, Zen

Doraemon x Akira

April 20, 2014 by joostay

Doraemon goes head-to-head with Akira at the 2020 Neo-Tokyo Olympic Games Despite being over 30 years old, Katsuhiro Otomo’s manga masterpiece, Akira, still dominates mainstream media today. Talks of a (personally unwelcome) live action film are still underway – and only this month its legendary soundtrack by musical collective Geinoh Yamashirogumi was given a vinyl release and instantly sold out on Bleep.com Now, with the announcement that Tokyo will host the 2020 Olympic Games, it seems that Akira has written itself […]

Categories: Art, Music & Culture • Tags: akira, anime, blog, doraemon, ikimasho, japan, kaneda, katsuhiro otomo, manga, olympics, tetsuo, tokyo, tokyo olympics 2020

RABBIT PHOTO SHOOT! / Yokohama, Japan

April 14, 2014 by joostay

And the award for the cutest thing to ever happen in the history of the world goes to…

Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo, Travel: Inside Japan • Tags: animal clothing, cats, chinatown, dumplings, japan, kawaii, pedigree, rabbits, tokyo, yokohama

Fine Dining in Japan

April 10, 2014 by joostay

King for a day. Or for lunch, at the very least. Indisputably the world capital of gastronomy, Tokyo has more Michelin-starred restaurants than any other city in the world. Eating at these places is an expensive hobby: the average cost of the food alone at high-end restaurants is around 15,000 yen ($150), and at a really high-end place, that figure can double. I was lucky enough to be the guest at a rather special lunch recently. I ordinarily can’t afford to eat this […]

Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: asia, cuisine, fine dining, food, japan, michelin stars, soba, tempura, tokyo, top restaurant

Experience the City with Tokyo Metro

March 27, 2014 by joostay

Take a virtual tour around Japan’s capital with the new Tokyo Metro ad I was an advertising copywriter and creative back in the UK for about seven years. Among other things, I worked on the Northern Ireland Tourist Board account developing full campaigns for print, radio and TV. Many people don’t realise the amount of effort that goes into the adverts they see on the street and screen. Some ads look deceptively simple: but the amount of planning that is required is ridiculous. This […]

Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: advertising, asia, getting around, ikimasho, japan, japanese, japanese blog, metro, tokyo, tourism, transport, travelling

Coming to Japan? Get a Smart Card.

March 23, 2014 by joostay

Travelling around Japan doesn’t have to be difficult I get a lot of emails from people asking for advice when they are coming to Japan: places to go, things to see as well as logistical stuff about travelling around the country. Besides mastering the use of chopsticks before getting off the plane, by far the single piece of advice I can give you is GET A SMART CARD AS SOON AS YOU ARRIVE. So what is a Smart Card? Well […]

Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo, Travel: Inside Japan • Tags: backpacking, blog, buses, getting around, ikimasho, japan, metro, pasmo, public trransport, smart cards, stations, suica, tokyo, tourists, trains, travelling

Hiwatari Matsuri: Mount Takao Fire-Walking Festival, Tokyo

March 13, 2014 by joostay

Fire walk with me. A closer look at the spectacular Buddhist purification ceremony held yearly at Mount Takao in Tokyo. Held on the second Sunday of March every year, the hiwatari matsuri or fire-walking festival at Mount Takao is a ceremony of purification known as ogoma. The ceremony is part of the training of Shugendo, a religion unique to Japan that mixes Buddhism and ancient mountain worship. Practitioners of Shugendo (called yamabushi) prepare a sacred fire and behind the blaze […]

Categories: Art, Music & Culture, Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: asia, backpacking, blog, buddhism, buddhist, fire, fire walking festival, hiwatari matsuri, ikimasho, japan, japanese, monks, mount takao, mountain, nature, ritual, tokyo, travel

MONOCHROME TOKYO

February 27, 2014 by joostay

Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: b&w, black and white, blog, CREATIVE, CREATIVITY, japan, monochrome, photographer, photography, photos, teaching, tokyo

Ueno Zoo

February 13, 2014 by joostay

Back when I was 15 I skipped school for the day and went to Ueno Zoo. I was living in Tawaramachi at the time, not too far from Kappabashi. I remember waking up and just not wanting to go. There was no real reason for it, I guess I was just being lazy. My parents had just started making me go to juku, which meant that once my regular school finished I had to go all the way to Suidobashi […]

Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: japan, short story, tokyo, ueno zoo

SNOKYO

February 9, 2014 by joostay

Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: asia, cold, japan, photography, snow, tokyo, travel, winter

One Sunday in Yanaka

January 30, 2014 by joostay

A stroll around one of Tokyo’s oldest neighbourhoods. Ikimasho! From Nippori, Yanaka Ginza is a 5-10 minute walk west of the station. Alternatively you can take the chiyoda line to Sendagi and walk east for about the same amount of time. You can also walk from Ueno Park in about 30 minutes – although it may be quicker if you are in a pram like this guy.

Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: asia, backpacking, edo, history, inaka, japan, old tokyo, spinning tops japanese, tokyo, travelling, ueno, yanaka

|||||||||||||||||||| TOKYO AS A CIRCUIT BOARD ||||||||||||||||||||

January 24, 2014 by joostay

Up until pretty recently I spent most of my life soldering speaker wire and crossover components. These days I solder cities. This is Tokyo, my latest creation. A living, breathing circuit board. Colour coded metro stations doubling as resistors. Cubic transformers as skyscrapers. Look down and what do you see? Semi conductors, diodes and transistors? Or convenience stores, ramen shops and pachinko parlours. I set the temperature of the iron to 675 degrees Fahrenheit and wait for the tip to heat up. […]

Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: electronics, futuristic, japan, short story, story, tokyo

Shimmer / 瞬く

January 23, 2014 by joostay

As the sun came down on Tokyo this evening the buildings turned to water. Squint and the city looks like the sea.

Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: diamond fuji, japan, mount fuji, photography, sunset, tokyo, travel

Gibbons & Gambling in Bukit Lawang, Sumatra

January 16, 2014 by joostay

Is it wrong to take money from those less fortunate from yourself? Not if you win it. Bukit Lawang is one of the main draws to northern Sumatra: a small village at the bank of the Bahorok River and your main gateway to the colossal Gunung Leuser National Park, famous for its mosquito-infused jungle treks and flourishing orangutan population. After climbing Mount Sibayak I headed to Bukit Lawang for a few days with the sole intention of lying in a […]

Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: bukit lawang, gambling, indonesia, japan, jungle, monkeys, nature, sumatra, tokyo, trakking, wildlife

Yes, I’m definitely back in Tokyo

January 13, 2014 by joostay

I got back from Indonesia a few weeks ago, but despite my feet being firmly in Japan, my mind is still wandering around somewhere in SE Asia. I went out for a walk with my camera today to remind myself where I live. Yes, I’m definitely back in Tokyo.

Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: art, coming of age day, culture, inaka, japan, koto ward, moma, museum of modern art, tokujin yoshioka, tokyo, tokyo metro

Falling in love with Lake Toba, Sumatra

January 8, 2014 by joostay

Introducing my new favourite place to do absolutely nothing.  Lake Toba has been part of traveller folklore for decades: the largest volcanic lake in the world, one so enormous that an island almost the size of Singapore sits in its centre. It’s hands-down the best place I have ever been to chill out, but it wasn’t always so peaceful. The lake itself is the site of a massive supervolcanic eruption that occurred 75,000 years ago. This is actually the biggest known explosive […]

Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: asia, backpacking, batak, hiking, indonesia, japan, lake toba, mas cottages, nature, samosir, se asia, sumatra, tokyo, tomok, tuk tuk

The day I drank with Sumatran gangsters in the jungle

January 2, 2014 by joostay

An intense experience featuring jungle juice, Mr. Samosir – and a pig’s head on a plate. While in Sumatra I met a guy my age who took me under his wing. He showed me stuff I never would have been able to find on my own. This is the story of the day we drove into the jungle.  “Sit down.” As I’m ushered towards a makeshift table in the middle of a clearing I suddenly wish I was somewhere else. […]

Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: arak, asia, backpacking, batak, gangs, gangsters, indonesia, japan, jungle juice, lake toba, se asia, sumatra, tokyo, travelling, tribes

Climbing an active volcano: Mount Sibayak, Sumatra, Indonesia

January 1, 2014 by joostay

Above the clouds, Mother Nature rumbles below. The beautiful power of Mount Sibayak. Indonesia has at least 150 active volcanoes including Krakatoa and Tambora, both famous for their devastating eruptions in the 19th century. Add violent storms, earthquakes and tsunamis into the equation and you’ve got one of the most geologically volatile countries on earth. Its shores and interiors are regularly hit by severe natural disasters, such as in 2004 when a 9.3 earthquake struck off the north coast of […]

Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: asia, backpacking, berastagi, climbing, guide, hiking, indonesia, japan, jungle, se asia, sumatra, tokyo, travel, volcano

Drinking blood with the Bataks. Christmas Day in Sumatra.

December 31, 2013 by joostay

Forget turkey and trifle. The Batak people of Sumatra do things a little differently. This is what I woke up to on Christmas Day in Lake Toba: my Sumatran friend Batin shouting “Look at me I’m Jesus” while standing on an underwater rock in the middle of the lake. He then fell in when he attempted to walk on water. It set the standard for the rest of the day: with constant reminders of it being Christmas, but with none […]

Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: batak, blog, cannibalism, christmas, food, ikimasho, indonesia, japan, lake toba, se asia, sumatra, tokyo, travel

Japan to Sumatra. The most insane day of travel I’ve ever had.

December 24, 2013 by joostay

Lost bags, landslides & The Vengaboys. The epic journey from my house in Tokyo to Samosir Island in Sumatra. On 20 December 2013 I got up for work at 6am in Tokyo, worked a full day, came home, grabbed my bag and went to Haneda Airport to catch a midnight flight to Kuala Lumpur. From there the plan was to transfer to an 8.45am flight to Medan in Northern Sumatra, then take a taxi or public transport to Parapat on […]

Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: backpacking, blog, epic, how to get to lake toba, ikimasho, japan, journey, lake toba, parapat, samosir, se asia, sumatra, tokyo, travel

Merry Christmas & Sumatra Ikimasho!

December 19, 2013 by joostay

Cliched as it is to say, it’s hard to believe that 2013 is nearly through. This time last year I was getting ready to visit my friends Allan and Fanfan in Bangkok, before hopping over the border to Myanmar. In January I went back to Taiwan to visit Jiufen, the real-life inspiration for Spirited Away, while in summer I spent a few weeks in Bali via Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta. Tomorrow I fly to Sumatra for my last trip of […]

Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo, Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: asia, blog, indonesia, japan, sinabung, south east asia, sumatra, tokyo, travel, trekking, volcano

The fly with no wings

December 14, 2013 by joostay

Once upon a time there was a fly with no wings. Well, I say ‘once upon a time’ but this actually happened yesterday evening at around 6pm outside my house in Tokyo. My rubbish needs emptied twice a week, and unlike in the UK there are no trash cans in Japan. You simply leave your bags of rubbish at the end of the street for the binmen to collect. (There’s a big green net to put over it all to […]

Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: asia, buddhism, japan, short story, tokyo, travel, Zen

Up in the Clouds: Hiking in Kanagawa

December 10, 2013 by joostay

Like IKIMASHO! on Facebook

Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: hiking, hiking in japan, japan, kanagawa, mount fuji, mount oyama, nature, serene, tokyo, woodblock

I am a cloud

December 8, 2013 by joostay

I am a cloud. I grew up in the ocean, surrounded by the gentle creatures of the Pacific – yet while I enjoyed my time swimming with the starfish in Tokyo Bay, I always knew I was destined for something more. Sure enough, that time came and one day I was chosen to leave: to rise above the water and join the skyline. Not many have such an opportunity: to experience life in the depths of the ocean and high […]

Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: asia, blog, buddha, buddhism, cloud, ikimasho, japan, story, tokyo, Zen

Becoming Transparent: Autumn in Tokyo

November 25, 2013 by joostay

Like the little stream  Making its way  Through the mossy crevices  I, too, quietly  Turn clear and transparent. – Ryōkan  Colorful leaves (koyo) are to the Japanese autumn what cherry blossoms are to spring. This is a time to seek out silent gardens: to sit motionless among the lonely reds and yellows of nature.

Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: asia, autumn, fall, japan, leaves, poetry, ryokan, tokyo, travel, Zen

OMEILAND: Sonic Assault on Shinjuku

November 24, 2013 by joostay

Introducing OMEILAND, the extreme noise crew destroying Tokyo one scream at a time… Omeiland [ 汚名ランド ] is an extreme noise crew based in Tokyo. Their chaotic public appearances are visually and sonically violent, regularly shut down by the cops when things get too extreme. I randomly saw Omeiland ‘perform’ last night as I was walking to Shinjuku station. The look on some of the unsuspecting pensioners’ faces was as expected. Japan is no stranger to the harsh, dark world of […]

Categories: Art, Music & Culture • Tags: bizarre, idm, industrial, japan, merzbow, noise, omeiland, power electronics, random, shinjuku, surreal, tokyo, travel, 汚名ランド

Myanmar: Life on the Streets

November 18, 2013 by joostay

Dust, blood, heat, humidity. Village life doesn’t get much purer than a local Burmese market. One thing has always puzzled me whilst travelling around SE Asia: how the hell local people don’t get sick all the time. All over the continent, meat and produce is prepared in such a way that goes against everything our little western minds have been taught from a young age. There are no rubber gloves or hygiene certificates here. Meat is hacked up on wooden […]

Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: asia, burma, food, local life, market, myanmar, se asia, streets, thailand, travel, village

100 yen

November 12, 2013 by joostay

It must be November as the vending machines have started to serve hot drinks again. I put my hand in my pocket and pull out a solitary 100 yen coin. It’s scuffed and has been well used; a small piece of metallic history on a neverending journey. Where has it been? What has it seen, this little coin? I turn it over in my hands, wondering if it is happy. This coin has seen many things, stolen moments lost in […]

Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: 100 yen, coffee, creative writing, drinks, japan, tokyo, travel, vending machines, winter

TRANS ARTS TOKYO 2013

November 8, 2013 by joostay

Trans Arts is back. The format may have changed – but it still packs a punch. Centering around the site of the former Tokyo Denki University, Trans Arts Tokyo is a unique project which last year saw the participation of 300 artists and attracted over 10,000 visitors. It’s the most chaotic and creative arts event in the city – and this year I was kindly asked by Tokyo Art Beat to snoop about and give my opinion. You can read my full […]

Categories: Art, Music & Culture • Tags: art, asia, CREATIVE, design, graffiti, installations, surreal, tokyo, trans arts 2013, travel, video

On Travel

November 7, 2013 by joostay

Tsugi wa doko. Where to next? It’s a question that’s always on my mind. I can’t get rid of it, and come to think of it, it’s always been there. While other kids were sticking posters of tits and footballers to their bedroom walls, I was down the local library photocopying pages from an atlas to stick to mine. Granted, I had tits and footballers too, but I also had a rather odd life-sized poster of a famous Swiss skiier […]

Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo, Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: atlas, japan, map, tokyo, travel, world

Deconstructing Tsukemen

October 28, 2013 by joostay

Noodles and soup. Simple. A closer look at ramen’s lesser-known cousin. I’ve been eating a lot of tsukemen lately. Too much probably, but I love it. Basically tsukemen is like deconstructed ramen: cold noodles which you dip into steaming hot soup. The thing I like about tsukemen is its simplicity – there’s no place to hide as a chef. There are just two main components, noodles and soup, so chefs are faced with the difficult challenge of making it as delicious […]

Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: asia, china, cooking, eating, food, japan, noodles, ramen, restaurant, shop, south east asia, tokyo, travel, tsukemen

Watching over you

October 26, 2013 by joostay

This is my hairdressing salon. It used to be anyway – it hasn’t been open in over a year as I haven’t been well. Every week I tell myself that next week will be the one when I’m well enough to work, but that day hasn’t come just yet. I pray it will though. I knew all my customers by name. They were my friends and I don’t see them any more. We used to talk for hours. I remember […]

Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: asia, hairdresser, hairdressing, japan, salon, tokyo, travel

Takeda no Komoriuta | Lullaby of Takeda

October 17, 2013 by joostay

This is possibly my favourite Japanese song. It isn’t by some up-and-coming band, obscure electronica artist or even Kyary Pamyu Pamyu. It’s a traditional lullaby which originates from the village of Takeda near Kyoto, and one which has been sung among the Kansai burakumin for generations. Burakumin (“hamlet people”) were an outcast community at the bottom of the Japanese social order that had historically been the victim of severe discrimination and ostracism. These communities were often made up of those with occupations considered impure or tainted by death […]

Categories: Art, Music & Culture • Tags: feudal, japan, lullaby, Lullaby of Takeda, music, Takeda no Komoriuta, tokyo, traditional

Spider Hunting in Hadano

October 15, 2013 by joostay

Mount Kobo is a nice way to spend an afternoon. Just watch you don’t bump into the locals… I’ve always been fascinated with insects. As a kid I would spend hours in the garden overturning rocks, wondering which weird and wonderful creatures I would find next. At a young age spiders did scare me to an extent, but not to the point that they would keep me at bay. I’d find a web, throw a leaf onto it and then […]

Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo, Travel: Inside Japan • Tags: asia, hadano, hiking, hummingbird hawk moth, japan, kogane gumo, kumo, mount kobo, nature, odakyu, spiders, tokyo, train, trekking

Welcome to my crappy Indonesian gym

October 3, 2013 by joostay

Aircon? Nope. Equipment? Nope. Safety? Nope. Badly cut-out clippings of stumpy men on the walls? Yup. Welcome to my crappy Indonesian gym. I just renewed my gym membership in Tokyo. It’s expensive. Like proper expensive. Most gyms over here run in the region of ¥10,000 a month (£60). That’s a pretty standard rate. There are cheaper ones to be found, but this one is just down the road from my house and has pretty much everything I want. With winter just […]

Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: backpacking, bali, gym, indonesia, island, lembongan, membership, nusa lembongan, se asia, south east asia, travel

Sunset over Zojoji

October 1, 2013 by joostay

No one travels Along this way but I, This autumn evening.

Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: asia, haiku, japan, shrine, temple, tokyo, tokyo tower, zojoji

On the list: Uzbekistan

October 1, 2013 by joostay

Despite having travelled extensively around SE Asia for the last ten years, I still have never ventured into Central Asia and explored the Stans: Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. While some of these regions are currently off-limits due to conflicts, others remain settled and open to tourism. The most settled of all these states is Uzbekistan, renowned for its Soviet avant-garde architecture and friendly people. To be fair, not much has been written about Uzbekistan in travel-related […]

Categories: Travel: Outside Japan

The Curator

September 24, 2013 by joostay

At midnight Tokyo can feel like a dream. A silent suburbia awaiting the onset of sleep. Vending machines hum and glow, pulsating, while cats peer down from above. Mass tangles of electrical cables silhouette against the moon. By 1am most of the shutters in my neighbourhood have closed. Yet one store is always open. It sells toys. Old toys. Spin tops and paddle balls, wind-up cars and forgotten plastic treasures. Inside, the Curator sits content: a pupa encased in a […]

Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: dream, japan, shimokitazawa, sleep, tokyo

Beautiful Bali: In the Shadow of Gunung Agung

September 23, 2013 by joostay

Beneath a sacred volcano lies a simpler way of life soaked in tradition The Balinese believe that Mount Agung is a replica of Mount Meru – the sacred Hindu mountain considered to be the central axis of the universe. Mythical tales tell of it being 672,000 miles high – with the sun and the all planets of the Solar System revolving around it as one single unit. It’s the be-all and end-all of everything. The centre of all the physical, metaphysical and spiritual universes. In short, a […]

Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: backpacking, bali, beautiful, coast, indonesia, nusa lembongan, nusa penida, se asia, seaweed farming, south east asia, sunset

Kecak: Balinese Fire Dancing

September 19, 2013 by joostay

What better way to spend the night than with a trance-inducing exorcism dance. It’s 8pm in Ubud and the wind is picking up. Sitting in silence in the grounds of a ruined temple I notice that the dark trees surrounding the perimeter are almost indistinguishable from the darker clouds above. It’s hot. Thunder cracks in the distance. A lone gust threatens to extinguish a long line of lanterns that climb the set of crumbling stone stairs. The weather dies down, and in […]

Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: backpacking, bali, dancing, fire, indonesia, kecak, ritual, south east asia, travel, tribal, ubud

Neon Memories

September 14, 2013 by joostay

“I wonder if neon has memories,” she says as she jumps off the 35th floor of the Marunouchi Building. Falling through the night we close our eyes, the only sound the low drone of an eight-lane freeway about a mile away. “I never see any stars in Tokyo,” she questions. “Does that mean they don’t exist?” “Maybe,” I reply, absorbed by the reflection of the city in her eyes. Below us salarymen dot the warm pavement, a collection of uniformed […]

Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo

Indonesian Independence Day

September 4, 2013 by joostay

PROCLAMATION WE THE PEOPLE OF INDONESIA HEREBY DECLARE THE INDEPENDENCE OF INDONESIA. MATTERS WHICH CONCERN THE TRANSFER OF POWER AND OTHER THINGS WILL BE EXECUTED BY CAREFUL MEANS AND IN THE SHORTEST POSSIBLE TIME. DJAKARTA, 17 AUGUST 1945 IN THE NAME OF THE PEOPLE OF INDONESIA SOEKARNO—HATTA

Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: 1945, asia, backpacking, bali, denpasar, festival, independence day, independent, indonesia

The day I saw a body being burned in Denpasar

September 1, 2013 by joostay

A chance encounter with Ngaben – the traditional Balinese Cremation Ceremony. My curiosity is going to get the better of me some day, I swear. Cycling round the potholed streets of Denpasar I was prepared for the traffic, the pollution, the general insanity. Pure city life in SE Asia is often a free-for-all: people selling animals (dead or alive) on the street, kids playing in desolate alleyways, a general feeling of structured chaos. I’m used to it. What I didn’t […]

Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: backpacking, bali, buddhist, ceremony, cremation, denpasar, hindu, indonesia, ngaben, reincarnation, south east asia, travel

“WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE MOVIE?”

August 21, 2013 by joostay

Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: bali, cartoon, denpasar, film, indonesia, jerry, movie, south east asia, taxi, tom, travel

Visiting Denpasar: The only tourist in town

August 20, 2013 by joostay

Like it or loathe it, Bali’s bustling capital doesn’t care what you think of it. Bali’s capital, Denpasar, is untamed. There’s something about it that sets it apart from Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh, Phnom Penh et al… cities which, over the last fifteen years, have become firmly established on the tourist trail. These cities, once exotic, are now epicentres for the travel industry, with virtually all foreign visitors on the SE Asia loop passing through them. As a result, travelling […]

Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: backpacking, bali, bangkok, cambodia, denpasar, guidebook, hostel, hotel, indonesia, kites, Kuta, puputan square, sanur, satay, south east asia, street food, thailand, travel

To infinity & beyond…

August 19, 2013 by joostay

∞ Hey mister where you going? Nowhere really, I’m just walking. Where to? I don’t know. You want a ride? Good price. Where to? I don’t know, where you going? Nowhere really, I’m just walking. Where to? I don’t know. You want a ride? Where to? I don’t know, where you going? Nowhere really, I’m just walking. ∞

Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: bali, indonesia, indonesian, motorbike, nusa lembongan, poetry, scooter, south east asia, taxi, travel

A little village in the forest

August 17, 2013 by joostay

No other way to describe it really. Pure rural Asia. Every time I’m faced with a scene like this I’m reminded of how crazy modern life has become. You’ll not find anyone bitching about how their $5 Starbucks cappuccino isn’t hot enough here. Actually this compound is probably better than some of the shithole venues I played with in my old band. Better accommodation anyway. I stumbled across it purely by accident in the middle of nowhere on Nusa Lembongan, Bali. […]

Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: bali, camping, indonesia, local life, nusa lembongan, remote, rural, south east asia, travel, village

Cliff Jumping in Bali

August 15, 2013 by joostay

Believe me, 43ft looks a long way down from the top… Cycling round Nusa Lembangon and Nusa Cengingan – two islands off the east coast of Bali – is a great adventure. Starting off at Jungut Batu and circling the circumferences you’ll come across remote mangrove swamps, hidden villages and the bluest water you’ve ever seen at the aptly named, Blue Lagoon. What makes this rugged coastline even more spectacular is that you can jump off a 43ft high cliff […]

Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: backpacking, bali, blue lagoon, cliff jumping, diving, extreme sports, indonesia, nusa ceningan, nusa lembangon, south east asia, travel

The Early Risers of Sanur

August 14, 2013 by joostay

The early bird catches the worm. Or the sweetcorn. It’s 7am in Sanur, Bali, and the beach is buzzing. In a good way. Locals hit the sand from sunrise, eating breakfast, gossiping, swimming. There are no tourists about. Only a sprinkling of foreigners inhabit Sanur beach during the afternoon, but during the morning it’s strictly a Balinese affair. Boys fly colourful geometric kites overhead while old toothless women toast sweetcorn on makeshift grills. It’s peaceful, certain parts of the beach […]

Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: backpacking, bali, beach, indonesia, morning, sanur, south east asia, travel