by joostay
Postcards: Justin Egli photographs Fukuoka City
Categories: Art: stuff I've drawn, Travel: Inside Japan • Tags: asia, design, food, fukuoka, japan, japanese, justin egli, kyushu, photography, photos, street, tokyo, travel, travel writer, urban
by joostay
Modern escapism in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City
Categories: Luxury Stays, Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: aesthetic, design, five star, food, Ho Chi MInh, hotel, japan, justin egli, luxury, photography, Saigon, tokyo, travel writer
by joostay
Right now I’m back in Tokyo after a week in Saigon. I didn’t visit one tourist attraction while I was there, instead choosing to spend my time as I usually do, wandering the backstreets and eating local food. I quickly found out that the most interesting daily life happens deep in the concentrated network of alleyways that exist away from the main tourist centre. By zooming in on Google Maps, you can clearly see areas in Ho Chi Minh where […]
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: architecture, city, daily life, design, food, Ho Chi MInh, justin egli, photography, Saigon, se asia, travel, travel writer, urban, vietnam
by joostay
A cute cafe on the top floor of an abandoned apartment building in Saigon where they serve amazing drinks from skull pint glasses.
Categories: Bizarre/Unique, Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: asia, Cafe culture, coffee, culture, design, food, ho chi minh city, justin egli, photography, Saigon, se asia, street, travel writer, urban
by joostay
6am – 8am: SAIGON / SÀI GÒN
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: architecture, asia, design, food, ho chi minh city, justin egli, photography, Saigon, se asia, travel, Travel Photography, urban, vietnam
by joostay
Welcome to Dazaifu (太宰府市), a small, quiet city on the outskirts of Fukuoka in southern Japan.
Categories: Travel: Inside Japan • Tags: asia, Dazaifu, food, fukuoka, japan, japanese, justin egli, kyushu, nature, photography, shinto, travel, Zen
by joostay
A peaceful retreat in one of Japan’s most vibrant, cosmopolitan cities
Categories: Luxury Stays, Travel: Inside Japan • Tags: Agora Hotsel & Spa, architecture, asia, design, food, food photography, fukuoka, hotel, interior design, japan, justin egli, photography, resort, travel, travel writer
by joostay
Quite often when you travel a lot – and particularly when you are a travel writer – so many little moments can get lost; photos relegated to the the depths of memory cards, overlooked in favour of bigger articles that are being written at the time. As a perfect example, I was freeing up some space on a card the other day when I came across a group of photos I hadn’t looked at since the day they were taken. Cycling […]
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: asia, asian, backpacking, bali, blog, food, indonesia, japan, japanese, justin egli, photography, sanur, se asia, travel, travel writer, travel writing, writing
by joostay
Each year between mid-February and early March the Setagaya Plum Blossom Festival (Setagaya Ume Matsuri) takes place at Hanegi Park in Umegaoka. It’s a small park, with small neighbourhood vibes to match: the festival mainly attracting local people who live in the surrounding area. I live two stops from Umegaoka, and so last weekend I decided to check out a good sushi place then met some mates to hang out at the matsuri. Cute local festivals like this are what living in the […]
Categories: Tokyo Days • Tags: asia, blog, design, Flowers, food, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, nature, photography, tokyo, travel, urban, Zen
by joostay
High-end sushi without the high-end price tag
Categories: Tokyo Days • Tags: asia, blog, design, food, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, photography, sushi, tokyo, travel, travel writer
by joostay
TSUKISHIMA / 月島 Last Saturday I had a wander about Tsukishima – a man-made island in Tokyo Bay, just across the channel from Tsukiji fish market (which I still haven’t been to despite living here five years…) Tsukishima was created over 100 years ago using earth that was dredged from the bay during the construction of a shipping channel. It’s an area rarely featured in guidebooks, although among Japanese people it’s probably best known as a mecca for monjayaki – a kind of runny pancake with different ingredients, […]
Categories: Tokyo Days • Tags: area guide, asia, asian, blog, design, food, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, nature, neighbourhood, old japan, old tokyo, photography, shrines, street, temples, tokyo, urban
by joostay
“From China, a thousand years ago: tasty history!”
Categories: Tokyo Days • Tags: asia, blog, china, chinese food, cooking, design, food, food photography, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, photography, restaurant, travel
by joostay
An unusual bowl in one of Tokyo’s lesser-known neighbourhoods
Categories: Tokyo Days • Tags: design, eating, food, food photography, ikimasho, interior design, japan, japanese, justin egli, photography, tokyo
by joostay
KAGURAZAKA / 神楽坂 Despite being cold, the winter months in Tokyo are often the best time of year to enjoy clear blue skies and sunshine. And so, with the sun on my back, I recently headed down to Kagurazaka for the afternoon – a neighbourhood in Tokyo not too far from Iidabashi station. (There’s a great cafe down by the canal there by the way, check it out.) Kagurazaka is perhaps most famous for its picturesque cobblestone streets, cute French restaurants […]
Categories: Tokyo Days • Tags: architecture, buddhism, design, food, graphics, ikimasho, japanese, justin egli, photography, street photography, streets, travel, urban, Zen
by joostay
Watching the world – and the trains – go by…
Categories: Tokyo Days • Tags: asia, coffee, design, food, japan, justin egli, nature, photography, sun, tokyo, trains, trainspotting, urban, Zen
by joostay
A sunny walk through my neighbourhood in Tokyo
Categories: Tokyo Days • Tags: asia, blog, eating, food, ikimasho, japan, japanese, photography, ramen, shimokitazawa, sun, tokyo, travel, walking
by joostay
Another shop ticked off Japan’s Top 50 list
Categories: Tokyo Days • Tags: awards, blog, cuisine, design, En, food, Hachioji, ikimasho, japan, japanese, japanese food, justin egli, photography, ramen, tokyo
by joostay
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Categories: Tokyo Days • Tags: asia, blog, design, food, japan, japanese, justin egli, kichijoji, photography, se asia, shimokitazawa, tokyo, travel, urban, west tokyo
by joostay
Touching down in the bustling state capital of Kota Kinabalu On my most recent trip to SE Asia I visited three countries: Taiwan, Brunei and Malaysia – specifically the Malaysian state of Sabah in Borneo. I had visited Sabah’s major hub Kota Kinabalu before, but that was seven years ago and so I was interested to see if the city had changed in any way. Fortunately, Kota Kinabalu has retained its character and has not changed dramatically simply in order […]
Categories: Luxury Stays, Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: asia, borneo, food, hotel, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, kota kinabalu, photography, se asia, tokyo, travel
by joostay
Playing a game of musical chairs – with wontons as the prize.
Categories: Tokyo Days • Tags: asia, cherry clossoms, design, food, ikimasho! japanese, japan, justin egli, meguro, nakameguro, photography, ramen, sakura, tokyo, travel
by joostay
❤ ハイパーかわいいです！❤ While some schools offer kyushoku (prepared school lunches), my school is primarily bento-based – ie. the kids bring in their own packed lunch made by their parents that morning. These Japanese bentos are usually pretty healthy and super cute – with the kids all having little chopstick sets and table cloths featuring their favourite cartoon characters.
Categories: Kindergarten Life • Tags: asia, food, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, kindergarten, photography, school, teaching, tefl, travel
by joostay
Typhoon strength ramen as Tokyo takes a direct hit from one of three tropical storms Today was my first day back at work after the summer break – and it seemed like the weather didn’t want to play ball. Right now three tropical storms are spinning near the country, and in the last 24 hours Tokyo has taken a direct hit from one of them, Mindulle, which strengthened into a typhoon early this morning. It’s the first typhoon to make landfall near the metropolitan region in 11 years, with gusts […]
Categories: Tokyo Days • Tags: food, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, niboshi ramen, photography, ramen, shimokitazawa, tokyo, travel
by joostay
Noodles and soup. Nothing else. I was in Akihabara over the weekend for an exhibition at 3331 Arts Chiyoda. Usually when I’m out and about I do a quick search to see if there are any highly rated ramen places in the area. My search of Akihabara threw up a few options, but one shop in particular caught my attention as I’d been meaning to try it for a while now. I first read about Shinosoba Tanaka Second (志奈そば 田なか Second) on the Ramen […]
Categories: Tokyo Days • Tags: asia, blog, food, ikimasho, japan, japanese, japanese food, justin egli, photography, ramen, tanaka second, tokyo
by joostay
YUSHIMA / 湯島 Last Sunday I made my way out to Yushima in east Tokyo – a station one stop from Nezu on the Chiyoda line, not far from Ueno Park. Yushima Tenjin (or Yushima Tenmangu) is Tokyo’s most famous shrine of scholars, and is therefore visited by students all over the city who come to pray for good exam results. Inside the grounds you can see hundreds of ema – small wooden plaques – written by students hoping for entry to the university of their […]
Categories: Art Music & Culture, Tokyo Days • Tags: asia, blog, design, festival, food, ikimasho, japan, japanese, matsuri, photo essay, photography, shinto, summer, Tenjin, tokyo, travel, ueno, video, Yushima
by joostay
Ahhh, Blogger’s Guilt… I wonder if anyone else gets it or just me? In the same way that if I go a week without the gym, if I don’t post at least once a week on here I get edgy. Amazingly, I’ve been running IKIMASHO! for four years now – with an average of two posts a week. But now with more writing gigs for other magazines and publications – as well as kindergartening full time – I’m busier than ever. And so, a […]
Categories: Bizarre/Unique, Kindergarten Life, Tokyo Days • Tags: asia, blog, daily life, design, food, ikimasho, japan, japanese, photography, tokyo, video
by joostay
Serving up noodles and vegetables that almost look too good to eat.
Categories: Tokyo Days • Tags: blog, cafe, culinary, design, food, foodporn, ikimasho, japan, japanese food, justin egli, noodles, photography, ramen, restaurant, sakura, shibuya, tokyo, tsukemen
by joostay
It’s been three months now since I moved back to Tokyo after travelling for the guts of a year. I arrived in January after my company needed someone to replace a teacher who had quit after the second term. So for the last three months I’ve basically been finishing off someone else’s contract – which has had its good and bad points. The positives: I had actually taught at this school before, four years ago. It was the first kindergarten I ever […]
Categories: Tokyo Days • Tags: asia, blog, design, food, japan, japanese, justin egli, photography, sakura, shimokitazawa, spring, story, tokyo, travel
by joostay
34,998… 34,999 … 35,000 plum blossom trees in bloom at Soga Bessho Bairin. Last Saturday I woke up early and by 8.30am was already heading west out of Tokyo towards Shimosoga – a station in northeast Odawara, Kanagawa prefecture. I was on my way to get lost in Soga Bessho Bairin, a grove of 35,000 plum trees in the inaka, Japan’s countryside. There was a small festival being held to celebrate the plum bossoms. After about an hour on the Odakyu line the […]
Categories: Tokyo Days, Travel: Inside Japan • Tags: blog, design, food, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, nature, photo essay, photography, tokyo, travel, writing, Zen
by joostay
DAITABASHI / 代田橋 Stumbling across a cute Okinawan Town in Central Tokyo Did you know there’s a small Okinawan Town in Tokyo? Well, I say town, but it’s more like a collection of cute shops and alleyways in a residential neighbourhood. I found it by accident the other day while wandering aimlessly around Daitabashi, a station just a fifteen-minute walk from my house in Shimokitazawa. Despite living so close, I hadn’t been to Daitabashi in a long time so I decided to […]
Categories: Tokyo Days • Tags: blog, design, food, ikimasho, japan, justin egli, photography, setagaya, shinjuku, story, street, tokyo, train, travel, urban, video
by joostay
Of the many countries I visited in 2015, I’d say Sri Lanka was the highlight. I was fortunate enough to be working with the Jetwing Hotel Group for a portion of my trip, and so was able to experience some really amazing hotels. When I wasn’t reviewing these properties, however, I chose to stay in homestays across the country: families who have turned their spare rooms into lodgings for travelling guests. (Another post about that here.) I fondly remember one family that […]
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: accomodation, asia, backpacking, blog, budget, design, food, foodie, japan, justin egli, se asia, sigiriya, sri lanka, tokyo, travel, where to stay in sigiriya
by joostay
HACHIMANYAMA / 八幡山 I’ve been back living in Tokyo one month now. I arrived on a Monday night and was back to work on the Wednesday. Feels like I’ve never been away. Prior to me taking a break to travel for ten months I was working all the way out at Kashiwa in Chiba. It was a great school and I loved it, but the two-hour commute each way became too much, and that was what ultimately led me to needing a break. This time around I’m back working […]
Categories: Tokyo Days • Tags: asia, culture, design, food, ikimasho, japan, justin egli, keio, narrative, photo essay, photography, street, tokyo, travel, urban
by joostay
Getting my ramen game back on. Eating ramen awarded a Bib Gourmand by Michelin. Ramen Walker is a website which specialises in reviewing, rating and generally being a know-it-all when it comes to ramen restaurants in Japan. Right now there are over 57,000 listed on its database, and as it turns out, No.20 on the list – Konjiki Hototogisu in Hatagaya – is just a ten-minute cycle from my house. As well as being rated highly by Ramen Walker, it was one of 10 ramen […]
Categories: Tokyo Days • Tags: blog, cuisine, culinary, design, food, ikimasho, japanese, justin egli, photography, ramen, review, soba, tokyo, travel
by joostay
This is the street I live in in Tokyo. When I left the house at 10am this morning there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. The neighbourhood was silent, bar a few birds singing and the clip-clop of this lady’s traditional wooden shoes as she shuffled down the street. I must have walked up and down this street over a thousand times, but I always spot something new. Here are some photos I took on the short 100-metre walk to go get some […]
Categories: Tokyo Days • Tags: asia, blog, breakfast, cute, daily life, food, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, living, photography, tokyo, travel
by joostay
Sea. Check. Beach. Check. Boutique bliss at two of Negombo’s finest hotels. There’s never really been an easy way to get to Asia from Belfast in Northern Ireland. Skyscanner lured me in with a very good price to Sri Lanka (£270) but it was quite the hellride: a two-hour bus journey to Dublin; a three-hour wait; an hour-long flight to Heathrow (+ pick up my bag and re-checkin); another four-hour wait; then a turbulence-belting eleven-hour flight to Colombo. It was […]
Categories: Luxury Stays, Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: asia, blog, boutique, food, ikimasho, japan, jetwing beach, jetwing hotels, jetwing sea, justin egli, luxury, negombo, se asia, sri lanka, tokyo, travel
by joostay
Recently named the world’s best destination – yet I’m still trying to figure out why. I spent some time in Marrakech about a month ago but haven’t really written much about it. During my stay I was struck down with severe food poisoning for the first time in my life. I’ve had a mild case before, but this was something else: 10 hours of hardcore vomiting, delirious and generally festering about in my own filth. (At one point I was […]
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: africa, arabic, asia, backpacking, city, culture, design, food, ikimasho, illness, japan, justin egli, marrakech, morocco, north africa, photography, poisoning, tokyo, travel
by joostay
Well, whad’ya know: Spain isn’t all just Brits on Tour & Butlins on steroids. When it comes to Spain I’ll admit I’ve always been a bit of travel snob. Visions of redfaced Brits eating egg and chips, hen parties with huge inflatable penises and drunken bastards singing the macarena. Growing up, I never had any real desire to go there, maintaining that you had to go further afield to get a ‘real’ travel experience, whatever that is. Of course, it was […]
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: backpacking, beauty, catalonia, costa brava, europe, food, ikimasho, japan, justin egli, photography, sand, sea, spain, sun, tokyo, travel, video
by joostay
Hua Hin: A nice beach, good food and less sleazy than other Thai beach towns. That’s the reason I chose Hua Hin to spend the first few days of my trip. I’ll not try and make it out to be some sort of mystical and untouched travel paradise: it’s not. There are many tourists there, as well as many upscale resorts. But if you are looking for a place to swim, relax and get a bit of Thai culture, it’s a perfect getaway […]
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: asia, backpacking, bangkok, beach, blog, cha-am, food, hua hin, ikimasho, japan, justin egli, motorbike, mountain, se asia, thailand, tokyo
by joostay
How do sumo wrestlers get so fat? Learning how to make Japanese stew and rice cakes with the big boys. CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE IKIMASHO! PARTY ON FACEBOOK
Categories: Kindergarten Life, Tokyo Days • Tags: blog, culture, food, ikimasho, japan, japanese, mochi, Omochitsuki, se asia, sumo, sumo wrestling, sweets, teaching, tokyo
by joostay
The bus is quiet tonight. A few Chinese workers from the Panasonic plant and a family of three wearing identical scarves and hats. The little girl draws a few random squiggles on the foggy window with her finger and then erases her artwork with the cuff of her sleeve. Rinse. Repeat. Wax on. Wax off. Every time a new passenger climbs on board, he or she goes through the same ritual: shaking their umbrella and making a loud brrrr noise just to make sure everyone on the bus knows […]
Categories: Tokyo Days • Tags: atsugi, blog, CREATIVE, food, hon-atsugi, ikimasho, inaka, japan, japanese, rain, ramen, tokyo
by joostay
Have it your way. As long as it’s a black, soggy mess. So yes, this actually exists. A black cheeseburger featuring a black bun, with black sauce and black cheese. The Kuro Burger (“kuro” means black) is now available at Burger King in Japan. The buns and cheese are made with bamboo charcoal to achieve the dark color and the sauce includes squid ink as an ingredient. But what does it taste like I hear you ask? Well, I don’t have […]
Categories: Bizarre/Unique, Tokyo Days • Tags: black burger, black cheeseburger, blog, burger king, culture, food, ikimasho, japan, japanese, kuro burger, strange, tokyo, weird
by joostay
Rule of thumb: if it smells like shit it probably tastes like shit. Gari-Gari Kun ice lollies (or popsicles if you don’t know how to speak English) are one of the cheapest things you can buy in a Japanese convenience store. Costing about ¥60, they are a godsend in the summer – with all the usual flavours you’d expect: cola, orange, peach etc. Every once in a while though, the company releases some utterly ridiculous flavours: the latest being a […]
Categories: Bizarre/Unique • Tags: asia, bizarre, flavours, food, gari-gari kun, ice lolly, japan, spaghetti, tokyo, weird
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: Tokyo Days • Tags: asia, cuisine, fine dining, food, japan, michelin stars, soba, tempura, tokyo, top restaurant
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
by joostay
“Bring them ramen until they can’t eat any more.” A surreal evening at Tokyo’s annual noodle extravaganza. “Bring them ramen until they can’t eat any more.” Surely these words are every noodle-lover’s fantasy: especially when they come straight from the mouth of Shigemi Kawahara, the CEO and founder of Ippudo, one of the most famous ramen chains in the world. I’m just back from this year’s Tokyo Ramen Show and to say it was a bit of a surreal experience would […]
Categories: Art Music & Culture, Tokyo Days • Tags: food, fukuoka, ippudo, japan, komazawa, noodles, ramen, Shigemi Kawahara, tokyo, travel
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
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: Tokyo Days • Tags: asia, china, cooking, eating, food, japan, noodles, ramen, restaurant, shop, south east asia, tokyo, travel, tsukemen
by joostay
I’ve been in Japan 16 months now and I’m grateful for the opportunities living here has given me. In that time I’ve been to Taiwan twice, watched the sun set over the Temples of Bagan in Myanmar, drank moonshine in my friend’s apartment in Bangkok and next month I’m off to explore Bali. Time/cash permitting I’d also love to hit the Philippines before the end of the year. In August I’ll also be visiting Nagoya for the first time for […]
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: bali, food, holidays, indonesia, japan, south east asia, summer, tokyo, travel, ubud, vacation
by joostay
Why Mt Oyama earns its place on the list of ‘Kanagawa’s 50 Most Scenic Sites’ One of the best things about living in Tokyo is the ease of which you can escape it. Travel an hour in any direction and you’ll either end up on the beach or on top of a mountain. Izu and Hakone are both great day escapes – as is Takao, just an hour away from central Tokyo on the Keio line. The problem with Takao, however, is its popularity. 3 […]
Categories: Tokyo Days, Travel: Inside Japan • Tags: asia, cable car, food, hiking, isehara, japan, nature, odakyu, oyama, south east asia, train, travel, udon, walking
by joostay
Messy eaters rejoice! Traditional Japanese pancakes served up with a modern twist… OK, hands up who likes okonomiyaki. If you live in Japan you should have your hand up right now. (But maybe not if you are alone in your room reading this article on the internet and to raise your hand would seem rather embarrassing. If that’s the case, I’ll forgive you this one time.) For those of you who don’t know, okonomiyaki is a Japanese savoury pancake containing […]
Categories: Art Music & Culture, Tokyo Days • Tags: asia, backpacking, cuisine, culture, food, guidebook, harajuku, hiroshima, japan, japanese, okonomiyaki, osaka, pancakes, south east asia, tokyo, travel
