Tag: japanese
SELAMAT DATANG: THE IKIMASHO! GUIDE TO INDONESIA
by joostay
Why you should visit the world’s largest island nation
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: asia, asian, bali, blog, design, indonesia, japan, japanese, java, justin egli, photography, se asia, sumatra, tokyo, travel, travel guide, writing
THIS IS TOKYO
by joostay
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Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: asia, blog, design, food, japan, japanese, justin egli, kichijoji, photography, se asia, shimokitazawa, tokyo, travel, urban, west tokyo
Akasaka Hikawa Matsuri
by joostay
When the spirits of mountains and forests roam the streets of Tokyo The summer matsuri season may have died down but there are still plenty of smaller cultural festivals happening all over Tokyo each weekend for those curious enough look that little bit further. For me, visiting these festivals is an integral part of living here: for as well as helping me understand more about Japan, they also satisfy my need to ‘travel’ in that I am constantly seeing something new and fresh for […]
Categories: Traditional Festivals • Tags: akasaka, asia, blog, blogger, festival, hikawa, japan, japanese, justin egli, matsuri, photography, se asia, tokyo, travel, video
Inner Reflection at Inokashira Koen
by joostay
Getting lost in the sound of the Japanese summer Last weekend I took a stroll around Inokashira Koen, a park 10 minutes by train from my house. If I ever decide to move away from Shimokitazawa, it will be to here – in and around Kichijoji. Just west of Tokyo, this area is close enough to the central wards to be convenient but far enough away to have a sleepy, bohemian atmosphere. Then again, being only ten minutes away, I guess I can […]
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: blog, buddhism, design, japan, japanese, justin egli, photography, setagaya, suganami, tokyo, travel, Zen
Kitazawa Hachiman Shrine Reitaisai 2016
by joostay
Last weekend was the annual Reitaisai (Grand Festival) in my suburb of Shimokitazawa. The festival was centred around Kitazawa Hachiman Shrine which was built more than 500 years ago to put the area under divine protection. Around 20 mikoshi (portable shrines) were scattered throughout the neighbourhood and then carried by various teams to the shrine itself. Like IKIMASHO! on Facebook
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: culture, design, festival, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, matsuri, photography, shimokitazawa, tokyo, travel
IKIMASHO Luxury Stays: The Grandis Hotel, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.
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 Travel, Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: asia, borneo, food, hotel, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, kota kinabalu, photography, se asia, tokyo, travel
Ramen: Nagi, Shimokitazawa
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: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: food, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, niboshi ramen, photography, ramen, shimokitazawa, tokyo, travel
IKIMASHO Luxury Stays: Hyatt Regency Kinabalu, Sabah, Borneo.
by joostay
Five-star luxury in Sabah – with design that gets better at every turn.
Categories: Luxury Travel, Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: asia, borneo, five star, hotels, hyatt, ikimasho, islands, japan, japanese, justin egli, luxury, malaysia, photography, sabah, se asia, tokyo, world travel
Shimokitazawa Awa Odori
by joostay
Dancing in the streets of my neighbourhood in Tokyo This weekend was the annual Awa Odori festival in my neighbourhood of Shimokitazawa in Tokyo. Awa Odori is part of the Bon festivities, which are held to welcome one’s ancestors back to this world for a few days. Participants march in a straight line in unison to music performed on the shamisen, flute, drums, and bells singing “odoru aho ni miru aho; onaji aho nara odoranya son son!” (It’s a fool who dances […]
Categories: Traditional Festivals • Tags: asia, blog, festival, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, obon, photography, shimokitazawa, tokyo, travel
Call to Prayer at Dusk: Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque, Brunei.
by joostay
Reflecting upon a reflection in Bandar Seri Begawan
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: asia, blog, ikimasho, japanese, justin egli, photography, se asia, travel
Textures of Taiwan: A glimpse into the backstreets of Taipei.
by joostay
I’m currently in Borneo after spending a few days in Taipei. Taiwan’s political and international status is messy: it has declared itself as independent, but The People’s Republic of China say sod that, Taiwan belongs to us – a claim controversial due to the unresolved Chinese Civil War. I’m not going to sit here and pretend I know the ins and outs of it all: I don’t. Hell, I don’t even know the political goings-on of my own country. What I do […]
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: asia, blog, china, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, photography, se asia, Taipei, Taiwan, travel
IKIMASHO Luxury Stays: Shangri-La’s Far Eastern Plaza Hotel, Taipei.
by joostay
Two days of VIP Treatment in Taipei’s most luxurious location Right now I’m back in my regular stomping ground of SE Asia for a couple of weeks. First stop: Taipei, capital of Taiwan. I’ve actually been to Taipei twice before, the last time being memorable for all the wrong reasons when I stupidly decided to break up with my ex-girlfriend in a hotel room on the last day or our trip here. Not something I recommend: an awkward bus back to […]
Categories: Luxury Travel, Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: asia, blog, design, far eastern plaza hotel, five star, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, luxury, photography, se asia, Taipei, Taiwan, tokyo, travel
Ramen: Shinosoba Tanaka Second, Akihabara
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: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: asia, blog, food, ikimasho, japan, japanese, japanese food, justin egli, photography, ramen, tanaka second, tokyo
Freedom of Movement & The Komusō Monks of Japan
by joostay
Freedom to travel is an amazing thing, and something we should never take for granted.
Categories: Traditional Festivals • Tags: asia, blog, brexit, buddhism, design, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, photography, tokyo, travel, uk, writing
Tōrō Nagashi: Lanterns for the Dead
by joostay
Tōrō nagashi is a long-held Japanese tradition where candle-lit lanterns are released into rivers to guide the spirits of the departed back to the other world.
Categories: Traditional Festivals • Tags: ambient, asia, blog, buddhism, buddhist, culture, darren mcclure, design, eilean rec., festival, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, peace, peaceful, photography, Porya Hatami, se asia, tradition, travel, Uwe Zahn, video, Zahn | Hatami | McClure, Zen
IKIMASHO! x DAZED: Visiting an ancient Japanese cross-dressing festival near Yokohama.
by joostay
Ofudamaki was established in 1688 when mothers gave their clothes to male Shinto dancers in the hope of bringing them protection from cholera. My latest piece for DAZED is now online, talking about Ofudamaki, an obscure festival held once a year in a nondescript area 50 km from Tokyo. Check it out here.
Categories: Traditional Festivals • Tags: asia, blog, cross dressing, culture, design, female, festival, gender roles, japan, japanese, justin egli, male, matsuri, ofudamaki, photography, religion, shinto, tokyo, travel, urban
LITTLE ISAAN BARBERSHOP OF HORRORS: Getting a haircut in rural Thailand
by joostay
This time last year I was getting ready to go to Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Thailand for a couple of months. While looking through my camera the other day I came across some photos from my time in Isaan in the Thai countryside. I remember one day Allan and I went down to get haircuts at the local barbershop. The place was amazing – totally unlike any barbershop I’d seen before, with chickens running about and toddlers getting cool buzzcuts. It’s these daily experiences […]
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: asia, blog, cambodia, design, ikimasho, isaan, japan, japanese, justin egli, photography, rural, thai, thailand, tokyo, travel, writing
Sunday Mornings & Mango Ice Cream
by joostay
Last Sunday morning I cycled to Enjoin (en-jo-in), a small Buddhist temple near my house. Despite it only being 10am, the temperature was already pushing 30 degrees and the air was still. The cicadas haven’t started yet, but I feel they aren’t far away. I bought mango ice cream from an elderly couple’s house across the street, and then wandered around the temple grounds, sitting alongside the turtles and koi carp. This post isn’t really about anything in particular, just the small and simple things in life that […]
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: blog, buddhism, design, japan, japanese, justin egli, meditation, nature, photography, setagaya, temple, tokyo, urban, wildlife, Zen
Natsubate / 夏バテ
by joostay
Right now I’m sitting in Starbucks listening to some god-awful freestyle jazz over the cafe speakers. If I was CEO of this place I’d just have Music for Airports by Brian Eno playing on repeat – my go-to music when I wanna bash out a load of writing. Sundays for me in Tokyo probably resemble that of many people around the world: laundry, cleaning, getting ready for the week ahead, yadda yadda yadda. But of course as well as a kindergarten teacher, […]
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: advertising, asia, balance, bmx, career, CREATIVE, CREATIVITY, design, ikimasho, japan, japanese, job, justin egli, photography, se asia, sun, tokyo, travel, work, writing
The Bhutan Exhibition – Hint to Happiness @ Ueno Royal Museum, Tokyo.
by joostay
A rare glimpse into the art and culture of one of the world’s most intriguing countries. A few weeks back I was invited along to the Ueno Royal Museum in Tokyo to check out its latest exhibition of art and relics from the Kingdom of Bhutan – a country I’d love to go to. Unfortunately, the only time I have ever seen the Himalayas was from the window of an airplane as I was evacuated from the earthquake in Nepal. […]
Categories: Art, Music & Culture, Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: art, asia, bhutan, blog, buddhism, buddhist, culture, design, himalayas, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, masks, nepal, se asia, travel
IKIMASHO! x DAZED: EXPLORING AN ABANDONED (AND HAUNTED) THEME PARK IN INDONESIA
by joostay
“When the park was dissolved, the owners left the crocodiles there to become wild. There’s an urban legend that the crocodiles ate humans, another reason why the Balinese won’t go near the place” Of all my travels last year, discovering an abandoned theme park on the east coast of Bali was one of the highlights. I wrote a bit about it here on IKIMASHO! – but DAZED have picked up the scent (along with the crocodiles) so here’s my full report […]
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: bali, blog, dazed, design, digital, haikyo, ikimasho, indonesia, japan, japanese, journalism, justin egli, photography, taman festival, tokyo, urban exploration
My night with Pato Banton in Tokyo
by joostay
Just like a soup in a pot we are what?! Bubbling Hot.
Categories: Art, Music & Culture • Tags: asia, blog, bubbling hot, culture, design, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, music, nights out, pato banton, photography, reggae, shinagawa, tokyo, travel, uk
Yushima Tenjin Grand Festival
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: Traditional Festivals • Tags: asia, blog, design, festival, food, ikimasho, japan, japanese, matsuri, photo essay, photography, shinto, summer, Tenjin, tokyo, travel, ueno, video, Yushima
Bugaku & Traditional Weddings at Meiji Shrine
by joostay
The start of Golden Week for us – and a new life for many. Today was the first day of Golden Week, a cluster of National Holidays in Japan where many workers get around a week off work. You really couldn’t have asked for better weather – the sun was splitting the trees – and so I headed down to Meiji Shrine for the start of the Spring Festival. Meiji Shrine (Meiji Jingū) is a shrine dedicated to the deified spirits of […]
Categories: Traditional Festivals • Tags: asia, blog, culture, design, golden week, harajuku, japan, japanese, justin egli, meiji jingu, photography, tokyo, travel
IKIMASHO! 2016
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: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: asia, blog, design, food, japan, japanese, justin egli, photography, sakura, shimokitazawa, spring, story, tokyo, travel
ST. PATRICK’S DAY PARADE 2016, TOKYO, JAPAN.
by joostay
セントパトリックスデイ・パレード Sunday was the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Tokyo featuring the usual oddball mish-mash of Japanese-Irish flute bands; cute dogs in clothes; terrifying leprechauns; bizarre Brazilian dancers; and green tea promoted simply because it is green. Throw in some samurai, gymnasts and a guy dressed as a Guinness can, and you have one of the world’s more curious St. Patrick’s Day Parades. Slideshow and video below.
Categories: Art, Music & Culture • Tags: blog, culture, design, dublin, ikimasho, ireland, irish, japan, japanese, justin egli, photography, saint patricks day parade 2016, st paddys, street, tokyo, urban, video
Plum Season in Kanagawa 2016
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: Daily Life in Tokyo, Travel: Inside Japan • Tags: blog, design, food, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, nature, photo essay, photography, tokyo, travel, writing, Zen
Un-street Street Photography: Tokyo’s Neglected Ordinary
by joostay
Like many teenagers, my first introduction to Tokyo was through Katsuhiro Otomo’s AKIRA. I watched and rewatched Tetsuo and Kaneda’s motorbike chase scene through Neo Tokyo’s narrow alleyways and towering skyscrapers. When I finally visited Tokyo for real in 2003, this is the city I wanted to see: dark, mad, futuristic, alive. A place that seemed a million miles from my small hometown in Northern Ireland. Thirteen years on, however, and the Tokyo that interests me now is very different from the neon fairy […]
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: asia, city, design, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, minimalism, photography, street, tokyo, urban
Ramen: Konjiki Hototogisu, Hatagaya.
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: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: blog, cuisine, culinary, design, food, ikimasho, japanese, justin egli, photography, ramen, review, soba, tokyo, travel
Winter sun in Shinjuku Gyoen
by joostay
Many would think that parks are best to go to during the summer. But summer in Japan often means high humidity, cloudy skies and rain. Winter is actually an amazing time to visit parks – especially Shinjuku Gyoen in Tokyo. The grass is essentially dead, but because it is so well maintained, it looks like a giant sheet of silk. Like IKIMASHO! on Facebook
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: japan, japanese, justin egli, nature, park, photography, quiet, shinjuku, tokyo, urban, Zen
Takashi Murakami: The 500 Arhats
by joostay
A 100-metre long mash-up of otaku culture & Japanese art history. While it was always my intention to return to Tokyo in 2016, I thought I would most likely arrive in March, just in time for hanami. As it turns out, a position in my old company opened up in January, so here I am. Thankfully, coming a few months early meant I was able to catch the current Takashi Murakami exhibition before it closes in March. Murakami is one of the most […]
Categories: Art, Music & Culture • Tags: art, asia, blog, contemporary, culture, design, ikimasho, illustration, japan, japanese, justin egli, mori art museum, roppongi, takashi murakami, travel
The street I live in in Tokyo
by joostay
Daily life in Tokyo, Japan | IKIMASHO!
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: asia, blog, breakfast, cute, daily life, food, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, living, photography, tokyo, travel
Escape to Izu: Jogasaki Coast
by joostay
Disclaimer: this post contains unnecessary navel-gazing and anal flowery descriptors such as ‘turquoise-blue’. If you’re OK with that, read on. Tokyo is an odd beast. A month-or-so ago I wrote of my need to escape the city – packing a bag and head…
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo, Travel: Inside Japan • Tags: asia, blog, ikimasho, izu, japan, japanese, justin egli, shibuya, tokyo, travel
IKIMASHO! x ACCLAIM
by joostay
My Disposable Japan series is featured in ACCLAIM this month. Check it out here.
Categories: Art, Music & Culture • Tags: 35mm, blog, disposable, film, hiroshima, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, photography, tokyo, travel
DISPOSABLE JAPAN #2
by joostay
Random images from Japan taken with a disposable camera 2003/04 [click to scroll] DISPOSABLE JAPAN #1
Categories: Art, Music & Culture • Tags: art, asia, blog, culture, design, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, photography, se asia, south east asia, tokyo, travel, urban
TWO YEARS WORTH OF FLIGHTS…
by joostay
Did you know that if you are using Chrome as your web browser and type “my flights” into Google it will bring up a list of all the flights you have booked via gmail over the past two years? I really didn’t think I had flown as much as I had, and my own list surprised me. When I moved to Tokyo three years ago I still had a bit of an itch to see parts of Asia I’d never seen, but I think I’ve achieved that […]
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: air travel, asia, bagan, dougal, flights, flying, girls, hardcore, ikimasho, indonesia, japan, japanese, java, justin egli, mandalay, monks, myanmar, rave, se asia, sumatra, toba, tokyo, train, travel, vibes, video, yangon
INSECTS OF ISAAN
by joostay
For the past week I have been living in the small village of Broken Road in Nang Rong, Isaan. Isaan is Thailand’s largest region bordered by the Mekong River to the north and east (along the border with Laos), and by Cambodia to the southeast. (Roughly speaking, the larger red circle on the map above represents the whole of Isaan, while the smaller solid circle is where I have been staying.) I’m visiting my friends Allan & Fanfan for the second […]
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: animals, ants, asia, bangkok, blog, butterflies, caterpillers, countryside, creatures, fauna, flora, ikimasho, insects, japan, japanese, justin egli, moths, nature, photography, se asia, spiders, thailand, tokyo, travel
Welcome to my crappy Moroccan gym
by joostay
Working out how to do some working out in Marrakech When I visit new countries I try and find a local gym. Not only is it good to try and keep some sort of mental/physical routine going when you are on the road, but gyms are a great way to get a glimpse into the local community. Some interesting ones I have found have been on the island of Nusa Lembongan off the coast of Bali, Indonesia, as well as […]
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: africa, backpacking, fitness, gym, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, marrakech, morocco, photography, travel, working out
Welcome to my crappy Thai gym
by joostay
Stumbling across a cheap outdoor public gym in the centre of Bangkok. Simple post this one that will hopefully will be of some use to anyone looking for a dirt cheap place to work out in the centre of Bangkok. Gyms are often expensive in the city so if you don’t mind sweating outside with the locals, head to Lumphini Park not far from Silom BTS station. Once you go through the main gates veer to the left and you’ll […]
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: asia, blog, cheap, fitness, free, gym, ikimasho!japan, japanese, lumphini park, lumpini park, thailand, weights, working out
IKIMASHO Luxury Stays: Riad Star, Marrakech, Morocco)
by joostay
For the past two nights I’ve been staying in the Riad Star – the former home of 1930s vaudeville star Josephine Baker in Marrakech. Baker dropped out of school at the age of 13 and lived as a street child in the slums of St. Louis, sleeping in cardboard shelters and scavenging for food in garbage cans. By 1934 she was the first black woman to star in a major motion picture and the most famous woman in the world. […]
Categories: Luxury Travel, Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: africa, best riad in marrakech, blog, hotel, ikimasho, japan, japanese, josephine baker, justin egli, marrakech, medina, morocco, photography, tokyo
Medan: Entry point to North Sumatra
by joostay
Nice for a visit, kind of. Would I want to live here? Hell no. Quite often when I travel to new cities I judge them by whether or not I could live there. Kuala Lumpur has a great food scene with unrivalled access to the rest of SE Asia. Bangkok is crazy busy, but in a nice way. Even Denpasar in Bali, which is certainly more grubby than the other two cities, has a certain charm hiding behind its chaotic […]
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: asia, backpacking, blog, city, ikimasho, indonesia, japan, japanese, justin egli, medan, se asia, sumatra, tokyo, travelling, urban
Skydiving over Lake Taupo, New Zealand.
by joostay
Hanging out at the wrong end of 12,000ft. These days, throwing yourself out of a plane just for the sheer hell of it is not uncommon – especially in New Zealand, a country famous for its adventure sports. I’ve only ever skydived once, and that was a tandem jump in 2007, flying over Lake Taupo on the North Island. Jumping solo takes a lot of training, expense, and well for lack of a better word, balls. So while I didn’t get […]
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: adventure sports, backpacking, blog, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, lake taupo, new zealand, skydive, skydiving, tokyo, travel
Hellrides: Tokyo to Hua Hin, Thailand.
by joostay
I’m sure there are easier ways to relive your youth than this. Back when I was younger I was in a punk band. We toured a fair bit, our drummer relentless in his thirst for a gig – any gig – and so we drove thousands of miles in a green VW Estate plastered with an assortment of stickers of bands you have probably never heard of. The tours were planned well in advance, so if we were offered a gig […]
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: backpacking, bangkok, blog, hellride, how to get from don muang airport to hua hin, hua hin, ikimasho, japanese, justin egli, punk, punk rock, thailand, the dangerfields, travel, van
Spring Fuji
by joostay
I went to the top of Mount Takao today to experiment with my camera and make a short video. This was the view of Fuji waiting for me at the top. All around me people were picnicking in the sun, enjoying the start of hanami. Spring has arrived.
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: asia, backpacking, blog, electronica, fuji san, hanami, hiking, idm, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, mount fuji, music, ovuca, takao san, tokyo
Fracking: the consequences to land, water and community in Northern Ireland.
by joostay
Shale gas extraction and the dire implications for Northern Ireland, Japan & beyond… With the anniversary of the March 2011 tsunami just a few days away, thousands of demonstrators surrounded Japan’s parliament building on Sunday to protest against the government’s attempt to restart some of the country’s nuclear plants. After the Fukushima nuclear accident, Japan is desperately looking for energy alternatives. However, to the concern of many, one of the solutions being explored is the dangerous gas extraction process known as fracking. […]
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo, Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: asia, bangor, blog, energy, environment, fracking, global, green, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, northern ireland, solutions, tokyo, travel
Testing a GoPro in Tokyo
by joostay
Testing a GoPro Camera in Tokyo: Shimokitazawa to Shibuya by BMX. On Friday night I strapped a GoPro Camera to my head and cycled from Shimokitazawa to Shibuya in Tokyo. It took about 15 minutes, slightly longer than if I had cycled down the busier main road (Inokashira-dori) near my house. I wanted to cycle through my neighbourhood at night, and then be able to come down into Shibuya from the top of Dogenzaka and finish at the scramble crossing. […]
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: asia, blog, bmx, camera, COOL, culture, gopro, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, shibuya, street, tokyo, video
“A Labour of Love” / The Tokyo Rail Network
by joostay
One talented reader shows how the Tokyo rail network really can be a work of art I’m grateful to the people who take the time to write to me about Japan and Ikimasho! The majority of the stuff I get these days is from people wanting to know how to become a kindergarten teacher – actually this site ranks #1 if you Google the words Japan and kindergarten. Sometimes though, I get mails that are pretty left field and interesting. The other day I received a great […]
Categories: Art, Music & Culture, Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: advertising, art, blog, design, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, map, minimal, otaku, public transport, rail, railway, tokyo, trains, trainspotting, yokohama
Tengu Matsuri / Shimokitazawa 2015
by joostay
Don’t mess with Tengu. The Long Red-Nosed Goblin Festival, Tokyo. Once a year, the Shimokita Tengu Matsuri – or Long Red-nosed Goblin Festival – takes place about a two-minute walk from my house in Tokyo. Along with possibly having the best name for a festival ever, it’s a chance to worship the legendary Tengu (天狗, “heavenly dog”) and take part in a special ritual called Mamemaki – bean-throwing to toss away bad luck from the previous year. In 2014 at my kindergarten I was the […]
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: blog, culture, festival, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, matsuri, setsubun, tengu, tokyo, travel
Shun Owada / “dissolution”
by joostay
I should explain what is happening in the picture above. This is “dissolution” – an impressive sound installation by Shun Owada at the Tokyo Experimental Festival 2015. Chunks of limestone filled with extinct fossils from 270 million years ago are slowly dissolved by weak acid dripping from intravenous bags hanging from the ceiling. When the surface of the stone dissolves, it generates CO2 – releasing gas from the fossils which lived when reptiles first roamed the earth. The room is completely […]
Categories: Art, Music & Culture • Tags: acid, art, blog, dissolution, dissolve, ikimasho, installation, japan, japanese, performance, raindrops, shun owada, sound, tokyo, tokyo experimental festival
I ♥ THE YURIKAMOME LINE, TOKYO
by joostay
The Yurikamome line is my favourite train line in Tokyo, connecting Shinbashi to Toyosu via the artificial island of Odaiba. When I woke up this morning the sun was shining and I had a sudden urge to ride the Yurikamome. I shot this video, and the Ulrich Schnauss tune playing is exactly the same one I was listening to at the time. A group of kids were sitting next to me, and towards the end of the tune their laughter and voices […]
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: blog, electronica, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, tokyo, trains, ulrich schnauss
Daikoku Matsuri: Tokyo’s Answer to the Ice Bucket Challenge
by joostay
“It’s a cold January morning in east Tokyo and as soon as I leave Shin-Ochanomizu station I’m cursing myself that I didn’t bring my gloves. Even the dog on the pavement beside me is wearing a coat, though I’m not entirely sure the color suits him. On this particular morning I’m on my way to the nearby Myojin shrine to watch a load of naked men throw buckets of ice water over themselves—It’s moments like this when I wonder what […]
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: aqrticle, asia, blog, city, cold, culture, Daikoku Matsuri, festival, ice, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, matsuri, tokyo, tokyo weekender, traditional, weird, writing
In the Belly of Buddha
by joostay
Going Deeper Underground: Exploring the Tokyo temple with a dark secret What was I doing last Sunday morning I hear you ask? No, I wasn’t writhing about in my bed hungover. Guess again. Church? No, I wasn’t at church either – but I guess you could say I was having a religious experience of sorts, exploring the secret underground tunnel of a temple nestled deep in the Tokyo suburbs. This is a tunnel so secret that not even some of […]
Categories: Art, Music & Culture, Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: blog, Denentoshi, Gyokushin Mitsuin, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, religion, religious, shrine, suburbia, suburbs, Tamagawa Daishi, temple, tokyo, unique, unusual, urban, utako-Tamagawa, weird
Christmas throwback + Ikimasho! 2015
by joostay
This time last year I was in Sumatra. The photos above were taken on Christmas Day in a small restaurant on Lake Toba. I wish I could remember this lady’s name, who agreed to cook me a full chicken in the back of her house using nothing but a bucket of hot coals. Earlier in the day I was taken to a place that served pig’s blood for my Christmas lunch. I really loved Sumatra, especially the hospitality of the […]
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo, Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: asia, backpacking, blog, brunei, ikimasho, india, japan, japanese, justin egli, nepal, se asia, tokyo, travel
Shinji Ohmaki: Memorial Rebirth
by joostay
Bubbles, bubbles and more bubbles… Stumbling across the extraordinary in Kita Senju. Last month, contemporary artist Shinji Ohmaki invaded Senju Asahi Park (also known as Taroyama Park) in Kita Senju, releasing massive amounts of sparkling soap bubbles and transforming the grey urban space into a dreamland. The result was an ordinary space turned extraordinary, with music, dancing, and thousands upon thousands of bubbles. You can read my feature for Tokyo Weekender here.
Categories: Art, Music & Culture, Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: art, bubbles, contemporary, ikimasho!blog, installation, japan, japanese, justin egli, Kita Senju, Shinji Ohmaki, subrban, suburbia, tokyo, tokyo weekender, uban
IKIMASHO! 