by joostay
1,998… 1,999… Lost in a sea of 2,000 bamboo.
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo, Travel: Inside Japan • Tags: blogging, buddhism, design, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, Kamakura, life, photography, photos, religion, Shonan, travel, travel writer, travel writing, Zen
by joostay
A few weeks back I was out at the Fukagawa Hachiman Festival in Koto-ku, east Tokyo. I wrote a bit about the insane water battle here, but before tens of thousands took to the streets I was able to watch a traditional taiko performance in somewhat calmer surroundings. I always enjoy watching Japanese drumming: it has a hypnotic effect – not only through the sound and rhythm, but also visually, the way the drums are struck. Standing there watching the taiko […]
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo, Traditional Festivals & Matsuris • Tags: asia, drumming, festival, japan, japanese, justin egli, photography, taiko, traditional, travel writing
by joostay
A region rebuilding, six years later.
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo, Travel: Inside Japan • Tags: asia, beauty, design, earthquake, food, japan, japanese, justin egli, Miyagi, photography, regeneration, Scenic, Tohoku, travel, travel blogging, travel writer, travel writing, tsunami
by joostay
A trip to Italy, via the Tokyo skyline
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo, Luxury Travel • Tags: 5 star, cuisine, five star, food, food photography, japan, japanese, justin egli, luxury, photography, restaurant, tokyo, Travel blogger, travel writer
by joostay
A water purification festival on a truly epic scale
Categories: Art Music & Culture, Daily Life in Tokyo, Traditional Festivals & Matsuris • Tags: asia, blogging, colour, design, festival, japan, japanese, justin egli, matsuri, photography, story, summer, travel, Travel blogger, travel writing, writing
by joostay
What I was up to last weekend – and the next few to come…
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo, Traditional Festivals & Matsuris • Tags: art, asia, blog, blogging, buddhism, design, japan, japanese, justin egli, life, music, photography, photos, religion, traditional, Travel blogger, travel writer, video, writing
by joostay
Staying ice cool from the summer heat…
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: asia, blogger, design, dessert, food, japan, japanese, justin egli, kakigori, photography, tokyo, Travel blogger, travel writer
by joostay
The remains of Old Tokyo – but how long can they remain?
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: architecture, asia, beauty, blogging, design, environment, japan, justin egli, life, mono no aware, photography, photos, space, tokyo, travel, travel writer, urban, wabi-sabi, work, Zen
by joostay
“Gotokuji is an area of the city obsessed with all things feline and many believe its temple to be the birthplace of ‘maneki-neko’ – the cats you’ve seen with one paw held high” I have a new article out in DAZED, exploring the area of Gotokuji in West Tokyo. Gotokuji is a quiet collection of backstreets, bakeries, and flower shops with people going about their daily life. It’s not unlike hundreds of other small stations in Tokyo – apart from one […]
Categories: Art Music & Culture, Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: animals, blog, blogging, cats, design, japan, japanese, justin egli, photography, photos, se asia, temple, tokyo, traditional, travel, Travel blogger, travel writer
by joostay
High-end cuisine, high up in the city.
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo, Luxury Travel • Tags: 5 star, ANDAZ, asia, boutique, cuisine, five star, food, hyatt, ikimasho, japan, justin egli, luxury, photography, tokyo, travel, travel writer
by joostay
An ancient cosmic celebration on the streets of Tokyo
Categories: Art Music & Culture, Daily Life in Tokyo, Traditional Festivals & Matsuris • Tags: aphex twin, asia, colour, design, festival, food, japan, japanese, justin egli, photography, tokyo, Travel blogger, video
by joostay
AKABANE / 赤羽 Last Friday I found myself out drinking in Koenji, an area not too far from Shinjuku that – like my own ‘hood of Shimokitazawa – is famous for its thrift stores and retro vibes. I go there once a year for the Awa Odori, but apart from that I honestly don’t really venture out that direction – despite it only being a short train ride from where I live. (Last year I think I visited three times in total.) […]
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: alleyways, asia, design, food, japan, japanese, justin egli, photography, street, tokyo, travel, travel writer, urban
by joostay
IKIMASHO! on Facebook
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: asia, design, food, japan, justin egli, photography, street, tokyo, travel, travel writer, urban
by joostay
So rainy season (tsuyu/梅雨) has finally arrived, drowning Tokyo in a thick veil of humidity and raindrops that will last until mid-July. Yet for now, the rain has stopped: the only sound outside being the distant call of a tofu-seller wheeling his cart through the streets. As I sit here sipping on a mug of yuzu-cha/ゆず茶 (citrus tea made by mixing boiling water with marmalade) I realise that after five years of living in Japan, it is the little things […]
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: asia, ikimasho, japan, justin egli, photography, tokyo, travel, travel writer
by joostay
A colourful children’s procession with wishes for happiness and health
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo, Traditional Festivals & Matsuris • Tags: asia, ceremony, festival, japan, japanese, justin egli, photography, shrine, temple, tokyo, travel, travel writer
by joostay
❤ A little photo essay of some wanderings from the last month or so here in Tokyo ❤ IKIMASHO on Facebook
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: asia, blog, design, japan, japanese, justin egli, photography, se asia, tokyo, travel, travel writer
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 my girlfriend 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, justin egli, nature, photography, tokyo, travel writer, Zen
by joostay
A report from Ikazuchi no Daihannya, a weird and wonderful ‘matsuri’ that takes place annually to ward off ancient ghosts
Categories: Bizarre/Unique, Daily Life in Tokyo, Traditional Festivals & Matsuris • Tags: blogging, buddhism, design, festival, japan, japanese, justin egli, photography, photos, random, religion, travel, travel writing, writing
by joostay
Working out how to do some working out in Saigon
Categories: Bizarre/Unique, Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: asia, backpacking, fitness, gym, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, Local Gym in Ho Chi Minh City, photography, Saigon, se asia, tokyo, travel, travel writer, urban, vietnam
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 Travel, 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
Right now I’m sitting in a coffee shop at Terminal 2 in Narita Airport listening to a super cheesy sax solo playing over the radio. I have a few hours to kill before a flight to Ho Chi Minh, where I will be hanging out until Friday. Next week is Golden Week in Japan – a string of National holidays giving people five days off this year. Looking back over my blog from the last few months, I’m aware that I’m not posting as often […]
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: blog, japan, japanese, justin egli, photography, se asia, travel, travel writer
by joostay
Chasing away evil spirits with cross-dressing men in the Tokyo suburbs
Categories: Bizarre/Unique, Daily Life in Tokyo, Traditional Festivals & Matsuris • Tags: asia, design, festival, japan, japanese, justin egli, Kimono, matsuri, photography, temple, Textile, tokyo, travel, travel writing
by joostay
Nakasu (中洲) is the red-light district which exists between the neon-lit sandbank of the Naka River (那珂川) and the Hakata River (博多川) in Fukuoka City
Categories: Bizarre/Unique, Travel: Inside Japan • Tags: aesthetic, asia, design, fukuoka, japan, justin egli, neon, photography, travel, urban
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 Travel, 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
1,000km. Five hours. One bento. Taking the bullet train as an alternative to flying.
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo, Travel: Inside Japan • Tags: asia, blog, countryside, design, fukuoka, hakata, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, mount fuji, photography, tokyo, tourism, train travel, writing
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, justin egli, kanagawa, nature, ocean, photography, sea, tokyo, train travel, trains, views, writing
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: Daily Life in Tokyo • 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: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: asia, blog, design, food, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, photography, sushi, tokyo, travel, travel writer
by joostay
Last weekend I was out at the Mori Art Museum reviewing the new NS Harsha retrospective for Tokyo Art Beat. I’ll hopefully get that article written and published later next week. I’ve always been a big fan of the Mori: it’s a space that never fails to enhance the exhibitions it hosts, not any easy task considering its size. What also makes the Mori special is that admission to the museum also grants you entrance to Tokyo City View on the 52nd floor. Offering 360-degree […]
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo, Uncategorized • Tags: art, city, culture, design, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, megacity, mori art museum, NS Harsha, photography, tokyo
by joostay
When I first started this blog in March 2012, it was more a collection of daily photos – a diary for myself more than anything – of all the new things I was seeing and doing in Tokyo. As the years went on, these daily things of course became (somewhat) normal to me and so IKIMASHO! matured (is that the right word?) into a site with more specific articles about traditional festivals, certain neighbourhoods in the city and other stuff […]
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo, Kindergarten Life • Tags: design, japan, justin egli, living in japan, photography, Teaching in Japan, tokyo, travel, travel writer, writing
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, 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: Daily Life in Tokyo • 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: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: design, eating, food, food photography, ikimasho, interior design, japan, japanese, justin egli, photography, tokyo
by joostay
Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi! / Demons out! Luck in!
Categories: Kindergarten Life • Tags: 2017, asia, blog, educatin, festival, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, photography, school, setsubun, teaching english, tradition, traditional, travel, writing
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: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: architecture, buddhism, design, food, graphics, ikimasho, japanese, justin egli, photography, street photography, streets, travel, urban, Zen
by joostay
Lifting the lid on Japan’s underground Chicano culture
Categories: Art Music & Culture, Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: chicano, cholo, culture, jacob hodgkinson, mexico, photography, street, underground, urban, video
by joostay
Last Sunday – with the cold visible on my breath – I made a short trip on the dainty Setagaya train line visit to the Setagaya Boroichi Fair. Started over 400 years ago, this huge flea market is now designated as one of Tokyo’s intangible folk cultural assets and features about 700 venders selling all sorts of food, junk, toys and antiques. There was a marching band with students playing the tuba, and everyone was in good spirits. I also tried […]
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: asia, blog, boroichi, daily life, design, fair, festival, japan, japanese, justin egli, local life, photography, setagaya, tokyo, town, travel
by joostay
IKIMASHO! on Facebook
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: aesthetic, amazing, asia, blog, city, design, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, megacity, photography, shinjuku, street, tokyo, travel, travelling, urban, visit japan
by joostay
Dropkick Murphys talk to IKIMASHO! about playing Japan, Asia & beyond…
Categories: Art Music & Culture, YOUTUBE SESSIONS • Tags: asia, belfast, blog, china, Dropkick Murphys, fukuoka, ireland, japan, japanese, justin egli, music, northern ireland, photography, punk, runnin riot, se asia, tokyo, travel
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, justin egli, kircubbin, Lisbane, nature, northern ireland, photography, religion, sea, strangford lough, tokyo, writing
by joostay
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO FOLLOWED IKIMASHO! IN 2016!
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo, Travel: Inside Japan, Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: asia, blog, festivals, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, living in asia, living in japan, living in tokyo, photography, se asia, tokyo
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, justin egli, nature, northern ireland, outdoors, photography, travel
by joostay
Watching the world – and the trains – go by…
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: asia, coffee, design, food, japan, justin egli, nature, photography, sun, tokyo, trains, trainspotting, urban, Zen
by joostay
“A six-centuries-old tradition, showing allegiance to the mountain gods, feels like a religious test of endurance, writes Justin Egli recounting what he witnessed atop the volcano.” In 2014 I climbed to the top of an active volcano in Indonesia at midnight to witness a very unique festival. It was an extremely intense experience, with pilgrims throwing live sacrifices into the heart of the caldera. I’m really happy to have my account of the experience published by New Mandala – an […]
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: asia, festival, geography, indonesia, justin egli, photography, se asia, travel, travel writer, travel writing, volcano
by joostay
Realising you are getting old(er) and being perfectly happy about it. A few days ago I came across a piece I did for ACCLAIM magazine in 2015 featuring a bunch of old photos I took with disposable cameras back when I was living in the south of Japan in 2003. It got me thinking how I didn’t really fully appreciate being in Kyushu at the time, and exploring my immediate surroundings. At 22, all I cared about was partying, going to punk […]
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: advertising, asia, buddhism, CREATIVE, design, japan, justin egli, Nothingness, photography, tokyo, travel, urban, Zen
by joostay
A sunny walk through my neighbourhood in Tokyo
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: asia, blog, eating, food, ikimasho, japan, japanese, photography, ramen, shimokitazawa, sun, tokyo, travel, walking
by joostay
Stumbling across a traditional rite of passage for young children way out in the ‘burbs
Categories: Art Music & Culture, Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: architecture, blog, culture, design, fashion, festival, Hachioji, japan, japanese, justin egli, photography, shinto, tokyo, travel
by joostay
Because what else would you be doing on a Saturday morning?
Categories: Art Music & Culture, Bizarre/Unique, Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: abba, abban, asia, bizarre, blog, culture, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, kawasaki, music, photography, tokyo, travel, weird
by joostay
Another shop ticked off Japan’s Top 50 list
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: awards, blog, cuisine, design, En, food, Hachioji, ikimasho, japan, japanese, japanese food, justin egli, photography, ramen, tokyo
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
by joostay
A millennium-old Japanese dance on the grounds of Sensoji Temple, Tokyo.
Categories: Art Music & Culture, Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: asakusa, asia, blog, culture, dance, dancing, design, fashion, festival, japan, japanese, justin egli, matsuri, photography, se asia, sensoji, shirasagi-no mai, tokyo, traditional, travel, white heron dance
by joostay
The walking dead – and the cute living – take to the streets of Tokyo
Categories: Art Music & Culture, Bizarre/Unique, Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: anime, asia, cosplay, design, halloween, halloween 2016, japan, manga, photography, se asia, street, tokyo, travel, urban
by joostay
Those of us who work in Japan are lucky enough to get one or two national holidays a month. Health and Sports Day – also simply known Sports Day – is one such day held annually on the second Monday in October. It commemorates the opening of the 1964 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, and exists to promote sports and an active lifestyle. To coincide with the national holiday, many traditional sporting events take place throughout the city. And so a few weeks […]
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: archery, asia, design, fabric, fashion, japan, japanese, justin egli, photography, se asia, sports, tokyo, travel
by joostay
Another bizarre afternoon down in Kanagawa…
Categories: Art Music & Culture, Bizarre/Unique, Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: asia, city, design, japan, japanese, justin egli, kanagawa, kawasaki, photography, se asia, street, tokyo, travel, urban, wrestlers, wrestling
