From Tokyo with Love: December 2020
by joostay
Daily life in Tokyo, Japan | IKIMASHO
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: asia, colour, design, food, japan, japanese, nature, photography, tokyo, travel, travel writer
Tag: nature
Into the Wild: Exploring the Ten-en Hiking Trail, Kamakura / 鎌倉の天園ハイキングコースに挑戦
by joostay
Daily life in Tokyo, Japan | IKIMASHO!
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo, Travel: Inside Japan • Tags: blogging, buddhism, design, environment, escape, japan, japanese, Kamakura, life, lifestyle, nature, photography, tokyo, travel, travel blogging, travel writer, travel writing, Zen
Hunting for Autumn / 紅葉狩り
by joostay
Daily life in Tokyo, Japan | IKIMASHO!
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: asia, colour, design, japan, nature, photography, quiet, tokyo, travel, Travel blogger, travel writer, Zen
Escape from the City: Day Tripping to Jogashima
by joostay
The rugged coastline of the Miura Peninsula, Kanagawa | IKIMASHO!
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo, Travel: Inside Japan • Tags: asia, design, fall, ikimasho, japan, kanagawa, nature, photography, Seascapes, tokyo, travel, travel writer, travel writing, winter
A Summer Saturday at Ikuta Ryokuchi Park / 生田緑地で夏を楽しむ
by joostay
IKIMASHO! | Daily life in Tokyo, Japan
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: architecture, asia, design, japan, japanese, nature, photography, summer, tokyo, travel writer, travel writing, Zen
Welcoming Spring at Sankeien Garden, Yokohama / 横浜の三溪園で春を迎える
by joostay
IKIMASHO! | Daily life in Tokyo, Japan
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: beauty, city, design, japan, japanese, lifestyle, nature, photography, temple, tokyo, travel writer, urban, yokohama, Zen
Autumn Colours at Akiu Great Falls, Miyagi / 宮城県の秋保大滝の紅葉
by joostay
My visit to Miyagi Prefecture last weekend coincided with koyo season – the changing of the leaves. Driving through the winding roads of Akiu Onsen, an area famous for its hot springs, we eventually found ourselves at Akiu Great Falls. This 55-metre high waterfall is a nationally designated Place of Scenic Beauty, and really did look like something from a fairytale. Reflections from Tohoku, Japan Moments in Miyagi / 宮城でのひと時 IKIMASHO! on Facebook
Categories: Travel: Inside Japan • Tags: asia, autumn, blog, Colours, ikimasho, japan, japanese, Miyagi, nature, photography, travel, travel writer
Moments in Miyagi / 宮城でのひと時
by joostay
Right now I am back in Tokyo after spending a few sun-soaked Autumnal days in Miyagi prefecture. In recent months I have come to really appreciate and enjoy the contrast between urban city life and that of the Japanese inaka (田舎) rural countryside. Spending time with my girlfriend’s family who are volunteering after the tsunami, I feel incredibly lucky to have been introduced to life in Tohoku, absorbing everything around me. Above all, the last few days have reaffirmed my belief that […]
Categories: Travel: Inside Japan • Tags: asia, food, japan, japanese, Miyagi, nature, photography, Tohoku, travel, travel writer, Writer, Zen
A walk around Jindaiji Temple, Chofu, Tokyo
by joostay
Peaceful tranquility at one of Tokyo’s oldest temples Even after five years, Tokyo still manages to surprise me ~ providing all sorts of new places to discover and enjoy. Last weekend Miss IKIMASHO and I took a trip out to Jindaiji Temple and its neighbouring Botanical Gardens in Chofu, a place we had never been to before. The second oldest temple in the metropolis, Jindaiji features quaint cobbled streets, leafy riverbanks and hushed surroundings. Indeed, it feels more like a small township in Kyoto rather than downtown Tokyo. Jindaiji is especially […]
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: asia, beauty, blog, design, ikimasho, japan, japanese, nature, photography, tokyo, travel writer, Zen
Riding the Enoden: Enoshima Electric Railway
by joostay
From Fujisawa to Kamakura – with temples and ocean in between
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo, Travel: Inside Japan • Tags: asia, blog, design, Enoshima, ikimasho, japan, japanese, kanagawa, nature, ocean, photography, sea, tokyo, train travel, trains, views, writing
Setagaya Plum Blossom Festival 2017
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: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: asia, blog, design, Flowers, food, ikimasho, japan, japanese, nature, photography, tokyo, travel, urban, Zen
A walk around: Tsukishima, Tokyo
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: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: area guide, asia, asian, blog, design, food, ikimasho, japan, japanese, nature, neighbourhood, old japan, old tokyo, photography, shrines, street, temples, tokyo, urban
Strangford Lough & Saint Patrick’s Church, Lisbane, Northern Ireland
by joostay
What’s round the next corner? Starting the year as I mean to go on.
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: 2017, bangor, blog, church, county down, japan, japanese, kircubbin, Lisbane, nature, northern ireland, photography, religion, sea, strangford lough, tokyo, writing
Cave Hill, Belfast, Northern Ireland
by joostay
I’m back in Northern Ireland for a few weeks for the holidays. Today some of my old bandmates and I climbed up Cave Hill, overlooking Belfast. Cave Hill is thought to be the inspiration for Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, with Swift imagining that the Hill resembled the shape of a sleeping giant safeguarding the city.
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: belfast, blog, cave hill, green, ireland, japan, nature, northern ireland, outdoors, photography, travel
Winter Sun at Canal Cafe, Iidabashi
by joostay
Watching the world – and the trains – go by…
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: asia, coffee, design, food, japan, nature, photography, sun, tokyo, trains, trainspotting, urban, Zen
Autumn in Tokyo / 東京の秋
by joostay
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. Like IKIMASHO! on Facebook
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: asia, autumn, buddhism, change, design, gardens, japan, leaves, nature, parks, photography, tokyo, travel, Zen
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, meditation, nature, photography, setagaya, temple, tokyo, urban, wildlife, Zen
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, nature, photo essay, photography, tokyo, travel, writing, Zen
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, nature, park, photography, quiet, shinjuku, tokyo, urban, Zen
Portavoe Reservoir, County Down, Northern Ireland
by joostay
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Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: animals, bangor, country down, environment, nature, northern ireland, photography, travel, uk
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, moths, nature, photography, se asia, spiders, thailand, tokyo, travel
Climbing Kawah Ijen Volcano, Java, Indonesia.
by joostay
Taking steps in my own life – and meeting the sulphur miners who risk theirs every day. After being involved in the earthquake in Kathmandu in April, I have to admit that for a few months afterwards I was slightly on edge. The five days I spent in the city pre-evacuation caused my brain to be in a constant state of heightened alert. Even after I arrived home in Northern Ireland, if a truck drove past my house and shook the building my heart rate […]
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: adventure, asia, CREATIVE, earthquake, extreme, humans, ijen, indonesia, japan, nature, photography, tokyo, travel, video, volcano, wildlife
IKIMASHO Luxury Stays: Villa Sabandari, Ubud, Bali
by joostay
Two days of blissfully doing nothing in Bali’s cultural capital
Categories: Luxury Travel, Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: asia, bali, boutique, CREATIVE, design, holiday, hotel, ikimasho, inaka, indonesia, interior design, japan, luxury, nature, photography, review, rice fields, se asia, tokyo, travel, ubud, video, wildlife
Rejecting the Cliché: Sunset over Mirissa, Sri Lanka
by joostay
A fisherman makes his last catch of the day as his wife looks on from the shore In travel photography circles, sunsets get a bad rap – widely considered as overdone and clichéd. The chances of taking a shot that’s different to the millions of others is slim, yet when the sun begins to set and the colours fill the sky most of us feel compelled to take out our camera. Photography means recording beautiful light. And sunsets are all about beautiful, […]
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: art, asia, beauty, buddhism, CREATIVE, japan, mirissa, nature, photography, se asia, sea, seascape, sunset, tokyo, travel, video
IKIMASHO Luxury Stays: Heritance Kandalama, Dambulla, Sri Lanka
by joostay
Have you ever wanted to stay in a five-star luxury tree house? Now you can. Did anyone actually have a tree house as a kid? The older I get, the more I think they were purely between the pages of Enid Blyton novels and the intros of coming-of-age 80s movies on TV. Deep down, I think everyone secretly wishes they had one though – a place to escape, looking down at the world below. So when I saw a picture […]
Categories: Luxury Travel, Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: asia, CREATIVE, dambulla, hotel, japan, monkeys, nature, photography, review, sri lanka, tokyo, travel, wildlife, writing
ON TOP OF THE WORLD: SIGIRIYA, SRI LANKA
by joostay
Climbing the ancient fortress-palace of Sigiriya – and the astonishing views from the top. After a good few days bumming about Kandy I caught a bus up to the Central Province of Sri Lanka to visit Sigiriya. (A/C bus from Kandy bus station to Dambulla 300 rupees/2 hours, then 20-minute tuk-tuk to Sigiriya.) UNESCO certified, Sigiriya is perhaps Sri Lanka’s most iconic sight: a huge sheer-walled rock that seems to appear out of nowhere. Its flat-topped summit contains the ruins […]
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: 1200 steps, asia, backpacking, climbing sigiriya, ikimasho, japan, jungle, nature, photography, sigiriya, sri lanka, tokyo, travel, wildlife
TUK-TUK SAFARI!
by joostay
Midday in Central Province, Sri Lanka: 35 degrees and the sun is brutal. After spending the night in the middle of nowhere, I check out of my hotel and start walking down a dusty lane looking to hitch a ride back out on to the main road. I see a motorbike parked in the driveway of a house and go round the back to see if anyone is about. No such luck. Soon enough I spot a tuk-tuk bobbing up […]
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: asia, central province, dambulla, drum and bass, nature, sigiriya, sri lanka, transport, travel, tuk tuk, wilderness
The immense Danum Valley Conservation Area. Sabah, Borneo.
by joostay
One of the last strongholds of undisturbed tropical flora and fauna in the world The Danum Valley Conservation Area is a 438km2 tract of relatively undisturbed lowland dipterocarp rainforest deep in the heart of Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. This vast stretch of forest holds unique status in the sense that before it became a conservation area there were no human settlements at all, meaning that hunting, logging and other human interference was non-existent. Recognized as one of the world’s most complex ecosystems, […]
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: asia, borneo, indonesia, malaysia, nature, photography, rainforest, sabah, wildlife
Wounded but not quite dead… yet. Bangor, County Down, N. Ireland.
by joostay
An open letter to anyone who gives a sh*t about the future of my town. I come from a little seaside town called Bangor in Northern Ireland. Growing up, it was everything I could have wanted. The sea was just a ten-minute walk from my house, the town centre was busy and there were lots of shops to get lost in. My friends and I would do the rounds of the record stores on a Saturday: Plastic Passion, Harrison Musique, […]
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: bangor, county down, development, home, nature, northern ireland, planning, sea, travel
Lumphini Park: The best park in Bangkok
by joostay
If I ever move to Bangkok, I want to live by Lumphini Park. Music by Fabio Orsi – from his Just For A Thrill release on Home Normal.
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: ambient, asia, backpacking, bangkok, electronica, fabio orsi, home normal, japan, label, music, nature, netlabel, peace, photography, sound, tokyo, travel, Zen
In Pictures: Mount Bromo region, East Java.
by joostay
You can read about the local family I stayed with in Cemoro Lawang here.
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: backpacking, cemoro lawang, hiking, indonesia, java, Mount Bromo, nature, sunrise, travel, viewpoint, volcanic, volcano, walking
The Sound of the Japanese Autumn
by joostay
Like the little stream Making its way Through the mossy crevices I, too, quietly Turn clear and transparent. – Ryōkan The other day I travelled out to the Takao region of western Tokyo. At this time of year – and because it was a long weekend – I knew it would be packed. So as soon as I got out of the station I started walking up the main road, across a freeway towards the mountains in the distance. I cut […]
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: autumn, blog, fall, hidden gem, ikimasho, japan, japanese, leaves, maple leaves, mountains, nature, orange, red, ryokan, secret, takao, tokyo, yellow
A soundtrack to Mitake
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
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
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
Hiwatari Matsuri: Mount Takao Fire-Walking Festival, Tokyo
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
Gibbons & Gambling in Bukit Lawang, Sumatra
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
Falling in love with Lake Toba, Sumatra
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
Up in the Clouds: Hiking in Kanagawa
by joostay
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Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: hiking, hiking in japan, japan, kanagawa, mount fuji, mount oyama, nature, serene, tokyo, woodblock
Spider Hunting in Hadano
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
Home is where you lay your head…
by joostay
Right now I’m looking into arranging a homestay in rural Bali. It got me thinking of some of the amazing (and not so amazing) places I’ve stayed over the years… 1. Primary Rainforest – Borneo Three hours from civilization in a 4×4 lies Borneo Rainforest Lodge, a spectacular resort buried deep in the Danum Valley Conservation Area – 438 square kilometres of relatively undisturbed lowland dipterocarp forest in Sabah, Malaysia. Indulgent luxury, each room with its own outdoor hot tub […]
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: asia, borneo, chunking mansions, danum valley, deer farm, hong kong, hotel, japan, malaysia, milford sound, nature, new zealand, rainforest, rainforest lodge, san francisco, tenderloin, tokyo, travel
Todoroki: the lost art of keeping a secret
by joostay
Brush past spider webs and dusty shrines and immerse yourself in Tokyo’s best kept secret. As I stand motionless in a trance watching a spider hypnotically spin its web I’m hit by an odd sensation. Absolute nothingness. I can’t hear Tokyo. I close my eyes and instead feel the sound of water splashing against rocks and nature breathing peacefully. Not to sound like a hippy, but Todoroki truly is a special place. It’s the only natural gorge left in Tokyo, […]
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: commute, gorge, hiking, japan, metro, nature, shrine, station, subway, temple, todoroki, tokyo, train, travel, valley, Zen
Peace & solitude at Mt Oyama
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: Daily Life in Tokyo, Travel: Inside Japan • Tags: asia, cable car, food, hiking, isehara, japan, nature, odakyu, oyama, south east asia, train, travel, udon, walking
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