Tag: photography
Japan & the Art of Happiness in Doing Nothing
by joostay
Sunshine makes me happy. I’m not sure if I’d go as far as to say I suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), but I also certainly wouldn’t be surprised if that was to be the case. There are many people I know who class winter as their favourite season, loving the snow, and actually preferring to wear about ten layers of clothing day in, day out. I’ve never been able to understand it. Give me shorts, tshirt and bare feet any day. […]
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: art, asia, design, happiness, japan, life, lifestyle, nomadic, photography, tokyo, travel, Zen
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, meiji jingu, photography, tokyo, travel
Mono no aware / 物の哀れ
by joostay
The sakura have fallen, swept away by the rivers and lost in the breeze for another year. Living gloriously, albeit for only a week, sakura are the embodiment of mono no aware (物の哀れ) – a Japanese Buddhist concept that recognizes the impermanence of life. In ancient Japan, warriors were compared to sakura blossoms – born to live brilliantly and die young. And so when the petals fall, a gentle sadness can be felt all throughout Japan. Spring is still here, but the pre-summer rains will soon begin.
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: asia, buddhism, design, japan, photography, tokyo, travel, Zen
Tsukemen: CAMINO, Mishiku, Setagaya.
by joostay
Serving up noodles and vegetables that almost look too good to eat.
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: blog, cafe, culinary, design, food, foodporn, ikimasho, japan, japanese food, noodles, photography, ramen, restaurant, sakura, shibuya, tokyo, tsukemen
Hanafubuki: Cherry Blossom Blizzard in Tokyo
by joostay
In Japanese, hana (花) means flower and fubuki (吹雪) means snow storm. So, hanafubuki literally means ‘flower snow storm’ – or more commonly, ‘cherry blossom blizzard’. It happens once a year when the sakura petals begin to fall. Right now, hanafubuki has begun in Tokyo. I walked from my house in Shimokitazawa down to the river at Naka-meguro and the trees were snowing sakura all the way. ❤ Like IKIMASHO! on Facebook
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: animals, beautiful, blog, cherry blossoms, cute, festival, ikimasho, japan, photography, pink, rabbit, sakura, spring, tokyo
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, 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, 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, nature, photo essay, photography, tokyo, travel, writing, Zen
‘Some no Komichi’: Fabric-Dyeing Festival in Nakai, Tokyo
by joostay
Exploring a new area with an old tradition… ❤ For the last 3-4 years I have been living in Setagaya-ku – one of the 23 wards of Tokyo. After spending a good deal of time here, I’ve become somewhat of a Setagaya snob, in that I genuinely think it’s the best place to live – my station of Shimokitazawa being low-key enough yet offering access to both Shibuya and Shinjuku in under ten minutes. The area around Shinjuku station is massive, and […]
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: asia, blog, design, fashion, festival, ikimasho, japan, kimons, photography, tokyo, tradition, traditional, travel, writing
IKIMASHO! IN TOP NORTHERN IRISH TRAVEL BLOGS 2016
by joostay
Happy to be featured in a list of top Northern Irish travel blogs put together by fellow countryman and friend Jonny Blair from Don’t Stop Living. Jonny is currently travelling in India (country 112) – but he also goes out of his way to visit micronations and disputed countries that most people have never even heard of. Check out his site to read all about his adventures in bizarre places such as Podjistan, Adammia, Austenasia, Karakalpakstan, Ladonia, Lagoan Isles, Christiania, Uzupis and Gorno Badakhshan. I caught […]
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: bangor, design, japan, northern ireland, photography, tokyo, travel, writing
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, minimalism, photography, street, tokyo, urban
A walk around: Daitabashi, Tokyo.
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: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: blog, design, food, ikimasho, japan, photography, setagaya, shinjuku, story, street, tokyo, train, travel, urban, video
A walk around: Residential Hachimanyama, Tokyo
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: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: asia, culture, design, food, ikimasho, japan, keio, narrative, photo essay, photography, street, tokyo, travel, 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, photography, ramen, review, soba, tokyo, travel
A walk around: Sasazuka, Tokyo
by joostay
SASAZUKA / 笹塚 I don’t know where I got the figure from – and please don’t quote me on it – but think I read one time that including metro and overland trains there are 924 stations in Tokyo. Whatever the true figure is, it surely can’t be too far off. Even after living in Tokyo for over three years there are still whole train lines that are completely unknown to me. Each station is essentially the heart of a little village or […]
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: asia, city, design, japan, keio, photography, sasazuka, street, tokyo, travel, urban
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
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, living, photography, 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, 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, photography, se asia, south east asia, tokyo, travel, urban
DISPOSABLE JAPAN #1
by joostay
Random images from Japan taken with a disposable camera 2003/04 I lived in the south of Japan for one year in 2003. I didn’t own a mobile phone and would keep a list of phone numbers in my pocket in case I needed to use a payphone. I also didn’t own a digital camera, so all the photos I took were with disposable cameras which I would process at the end of the month. Some of these photos I hadn’t looked at in […]
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: asia, ikimasho, kyushu, photography, travel
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
Living a simple life in Phetchaburi, Thailand.
by joostay
Quiet days. Simple food. And Monks playing hide & seek…
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: asia, backpacking, buddhism, countryside, ikimasho, japan, monks, Phetchaburi, photography, religion, rural, se asia, temples, thailand, tokyo, town, travel
IKIMASHO Luxury Stays: Ascott Waterplace, Surabaya, Indonesia.
by joostay
A room with a view… Taking time to unwind after climbing Kawah Ijen volcano.
Categories: Luxury Travel, Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: ascott waterplace, asia, blog, boutique, five star, hotel, indonesia, japan, java, luxury, photography, review, surabaya, tokyo, travel, urban
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
IKIMASHO! IN THE FINAL FOR BEST TRAVEL BLOG (+ OCTOBER TRAVEL PLANS)
by joostay
❤ THANK YOU! / ありがとう! ❤ IKIMASHO! has made it through to the final for Best Travel Blog in this year’s Blog Awards Ireland. Thank you to everyone who voted for me! I guess now it’s a case of whether the judges go for a straight down-the-line entry or my oddball stuff. To be honest, despite there being a number of great travel blogs out there, there are also far too many generic sites around today: the whole scene is swamped with people […]
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: asia, bali, CREATIVITY, festival, ijen, indonesia, photography, se asia, thailand, travel, video, writing
SRI LANKA: PUNK ROCK BUSES vs. DRUM AND BASS TRAINS
by joostay
How different types of transport can influence the tunes you listen to…
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: asia, bus, colombo, CREATIVE, CREATIVITY, dnb, drum and bass, fitness, huntingtons, ikimasho, japan, kandy, photography, pop punk, punk, punk rock, screeching weasel, se asia, seba, sri lanka, the queers, tokyo, train, travel, video
MY CRAPPY INDONESIAN GYM JUST GOT CRAPPIER
by joostay
SAY HELLO TO COCONUT! Followers of this blog will by now be well aware of my fondness for tracking down crappy local gyms in new countries I visit. It all started when I visited Nusa Lembongan in 2013 – an island off the coast of Bali. During my stint there I found a hilariously bad (yet amazing) gym which was basically just a wooden shack. Fast forward a few years and I was back on Lembongan last week, so of […]
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: asia, bali, bodybuilding, coconut, fitness, funny, gym, ikimasho, indonesia, japan, mens fitness, photography, running, story, tokyo, travel, weightlifting, weights, working out, workout
IKIMASHO Luxury Stays: Landesi by Jetwing, Galle, Sri Lanka
by joostay
Exploring Galle with classic colonial style, cricket and Jungle music. Apart from a quick stopover in Negombo in order to make an early-morning flight, the historic fort city of Galle was my last stop on my three-week Sri Lankan itinerary. The trip from Mirissa was painless, my local bus taking under an hour as it belted along the palm-fringed coast. After having already stayed in three impressive Jetwing properties, this was to be my fourth, and once again it didn’t […]
Categories: Luxury Travel, Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: architecture, asia, blog, CREATIVE, design, drum and bass, galle, hotel, ikimasho, interior design, japan, mirissa, photography, review, se asia, sri lanka, tokyo, travel, video
Taman Festival: Abandoned Theme Park in Bali, Indonesia
by joostay
Exploring the Indonesian theme park with no visitors – not living ones anyway… Right now I’m back on mainland Bali after spending a week on the small island of Lembongan off the east coast. During my time on the island I spoke a few times to a local guy called Niko about ghosts and Indonesian folklore: I specifically wanted to learn about the Pontianak – vampiric ghosts which are said to be the spirits of women who died while pregnant. (The city of […]
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: abandoned, bali, bizarre, CREATIVE, ghost hunting, ghosts, haikyo, indonesia, old, photography, sanur, spirits, street, taman festival park, travel, unusual, urban, urban exploration, video
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
SRI LANKAN DEATH NOTES
by joostay
One thing that surprised me on my recent trip to Sri Lanka was the vast amount of Death Notices I saw while walking around small villages. These notes are a Sri Lankan tradition, originally introduced as a way for local people to learn about recent deaths in the area, much like obituary notices in today’s western newspapers. In some rural areas, telephone and digital communications have only recently been introduced, so these physical notices proved to be a useful asset. It was the first time I […]
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: asia, backpacking, culture, death, funeral, ghosts, japan, photography, sri lanka, story, tokyo, travel, urban
HELLRIDES: KUALA LUMPUR (MALAYSIA) TO NUSA LEMBONGAN (BALI)
by joostay
Back to Bali – and escaping the End of Days. I’ve written a bit before about Hellrides – those horribly twisted and depraved long-distance drives my old band used to do every night in order to play a farcical gig in front of no one. My touring days may be behind me, but travelling in Asia often means cramped conditions, squalid surroundings and not quite knowing if you’ll end up at your intended final destination. Not much change from playing on the DIY punk circuit then, […]
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: airplane, bali, belfast, boat, CREATIVE, dangerfields, hellride, indonesia, ireland, journey, northern ireland, photography, punk, punk rock, story, train, travel
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
Inside a Sri Lankan Snooker Hall
by joostay
Where’s the cue ball going?! Becoming one of the lads with the Young Men’s Buddhist Association. As far as tourist destinations go, Galle is a major player in Sri Lanka: a town filled with Dutch-colonial buildings and classic architecture. The oh-so-quaint UNESCO Fort area is home to about 400 historic houses, churches and mosques – many of which date back hundreds of years. Inside the Fort you’ll see many nationalities of tourist, all on tours checking out the buildings etc. […]
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: asia, backpacking, buddha, buddhism, colombo, CREATIVE, funny, galle, japan, photography, religion, snooker, sport, sri lanka, story, toyko, travel, video, YMBA
THE #1 RULE AS A TRAVEL WRITER
by joostay
If you’re a chef, the last thing you want to do is get a sledgehammer and smash up your oven. If you’re a taxi driver, the last thing you want to do is get a load of petrol, throw it all over your car and set it on fire. If you’re a travel writer, the last thing you want to do is pour a nice big cup of sugary coffee all over your netbook. Which is what I did the other day. […]
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: asia, photography, sri lanka, story, travel, travel writer, writing
PLEASE VOTE FOR IKIMASHO! AS ‘BEST TRAVEL BLOG’!
by joostay
❤ IKIMASHO! NEEDS YOUR HELP! ❤ IKIMASHO! has been shortlisted for ‘Best Travel Blog’ in this year’s Irish Blog Awards. 30% of the judging for this round is by public vote, so if you would be sooo kind to click the link below and vote for IKIMASHO! You don’t need to register, or give your name, or any of that stuff – just click the link and vote. Remember, IKIMASHO! is 100% my own travel experiences. I’m not a tour operator. […]
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: art, asia, awards, backpacking, blogging, CREATIVITY, drawing, japan, northern ireland, photography, tokyo, travel, video, 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
IKIMASHO Luxury Stays: Jetwing Vil Uyana, Sigiriya, Sri Lanka
by joostay
Eco Retreat? Nature Reserve? Luxury Resort? Jetwing Vil Uyana is all of these, and more… Truth be told, after being caught up in the earthquake in Nepal in April I was a little apprehensive about coming back to Asia. But I’ve been drawn to the region for the past ten years, and so it was only a matter of time before I jumped on a plane back East. Coming to Sri Lanka was the best decision I ever could have […]
Categories: Luxury Travel, Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: 5 star, animals, asia, backpacking, dambulla, design, endangered, five star, hotel, lizards, luxury, photography, resort, sirigiya, snakes, sri lanka, travel, video
When only the streets remain. Bangor, Northern Ireland.
by joostay
A puzzling postcard – and how the ghosts of generations walk the streets of my home town. From a travel point of view this year has been pretty varied. I spent the first three months of the year finishing up a contract in Japan, then went to visit my friend near the Cambodian border in Isaan, Thailand. From there I flew to Nepal and was caught up in the earthquake in Kathmandu and subsequently evacuated back to the UK. In […]
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: 1900s, bangor, blog, county down, ghosts, history, ikimasho, japan, northern ireland, nostalgia, old, photography, photos, pictures, postcards, puzzle, tokyo, war, world war 1, world war 2
Marrakech or Meh-rrakech?
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, marrakech, morocco, north africa, photography, poisoning, tokyo, travel
Urban s̶p̶r̶a̶w̶l̶ scrawl: Belfast, Northern Ireland.
by joostay
Categories: Art, Music & Culture, Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: art, belfast, creartivity, CREATIVE, design, grafitti, ikimasho, northern ireland, photography, STREET ART, travel, uk
Chilling in Tossa de Mar. How Spain’s Costa Brava killed my travel snob.
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, photography, sand, sea, spain, sun, tokyo, travel, video
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, marrakech, morocco, photography, travel, 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, marrakech, medina, morocco, photography, tokyo
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
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
Songkran Festival in Isaan, rural Thailand.
by joostay
Discovering the true meaning of Thailand’s most important festival For the last few weeks I’ve been staying in a small village called Broken Road in Isaan, northeast Thailand. My stay coincides with Songkran – the Thai New Year celebrations from 13-15 April – during which people throw water over each other as a a symbol of their sins being washed away. Unfortunately, in the larger cities these celebrations have become rather hedonistic: an excuse for people to get wasted and […]
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: asia, backpacking, blog, buddhism, buddhist, ikimasho, isaan, japan, monks, photography, rural, se asia, songkran, thailand, tokyo, travel
Textures in a Thai Market
by joostay
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: art, asia, backpacking, bangkok, graffiti, grime, hua hin, photography, real life, se asia, thailand, travel, urban
geometry / 幾何学
by joostay
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: angles, art, blog, geometry, gym, japan, japanese, outdoors, photography, tokyo, working out
Portrait of a Matsuri
by joostay
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: 2014, asia, awa odori, dancing, festival, ikimasho, japan, matsuri, nakameguro, photography, streets, tokyo, travel, urban
DAVID LYNCH / TOKYO 2014
by joostay
David Lynch returns to Tokyo to showcase his most recent body of work. I’ve always been a huge David Lynch fan so I was happy to be asked to review his current exhibition here in Tokyo. A total of 22 of his recent works are now on show at the Tomio Koyoma Gallery in Shibuya, following past exhibitions in Tokyo in 2012 and 2013. You can read my full review for Tokyo Art Beat here, as well as check out some […]
Categories: Art, Music & Culture • Tags: 2014, david lynch, exhibition, hikarie, japan, japanese, lithographs, photography, shibuya, tokyo, Tomio Koyoma Gallery, woodcuts
texture / テクスチャー
by joostay
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: art, blog, ikimasho, japan, photography, space, tokyo, urban
IKIMASHO! 