the land of the rising sun (japan)

March 6, 2025

Our next stop, Japan, has been particularly pleasant as Jade and I got to meet up with our friends Maxi and Oscar to travel around the country together.

After our relatively isolating visit to China, it has been nice to catch up with some old friends. Like many tourists, we’re starting in the metropolis of Tokyo.

tokyo #

The streets here are plastered in various displays and Japanese typography, which lends itself to a particularly appealing look that many others are a fan of. There’s something both stragely chaotic and purposeful about it all.

For all its cleanliness, Tokyo’s Kabukicho area is certainly one of the messiest. Maybe that’s why the fire department showed up.

jade and maxi — Jade and Maxi havin' a chat.

One evening, we went to the top of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building to get a view of the city skyline.

I should also note that I had the best bowl of ramen I’ve ever had in my life at Sugoi Niboshi Ramen Nagi. Sad I didn’t get pictures of it.

oscar waiting — Oscar waiting for his ramen.

alt — This is a sign for a drugstore. Certainly beats Chemist Warehouse.

Decorative kazaridaru (sake) containers.

omoide yokocho #

I took a little trip to see a very touristy laneway called Omoide Yokocho. It has a lot of charm and is a good spot to get a quick bite to eat. I wound up having soba noodles.

These photos wound up being far too underexposed as I was trying to compensate for the lighting. So forgive their darkness.

laneway — A couple off to grab a bite to eat.

alt — The street to the right of Omoide Yokocho.

shibuya crossing #

Like any good first-time Tokyo tourist, we checked out the famous Shibuya Crossing.

sumo wrestling #

Oscar and Maxi managed to pick us all up some tickets to a sumo wrestling all-stars tournament at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan arena.

taito hey #

Nothing like a little bit of arcade fun.

harajuku #

I didn’t get any pictures of the incredibly well dressed people of Harajuku, but I did get a few pics of some other things.

design festa gallery — Design Festa Gallery.

sword museum #

We also visited the Japanese Sword Museum.

myoko #

We made our way to Myoko to meet up with Alex who was working at a ski lodge up in the mountains for the ski season. It got cold real quick.

skiing #

I should note I had never skiied in my life before.

The ski shoes were maybe a little too tight. Better to be safe than sorry.

Shortly after picking up our gear, we popped on our skiis and lined up for the ski lift, only for us to realise we didn’t even know how to stand up. After a very awkward balancing act, we managed to get onto the lift and get to the top of the slope.

None of us knew how to ski so this was pretty much a trial-by-fire experience. After getting the handle on basic turns and making the diamond slow down shape, me and Oscar picked it up fairly quickly. Jade and Maxi took a little longer to get it down.

After feeling confident in moving slowly, myself and Oscar began moving a little faster down the slopes. This.. this was fun.

After getting to the bottom of the slope with everyone, myself and Oscar decided to quickly get back to the top for another run before the slope closed for the day. We managed to get down to the bottom without so much as a scratch.

The second day of skiing, however, was a little tougher. It was snowing a lot heavier, and Jade and Maxi decided to sit this one out. Myself and Oscar decided to tackle the course and after we popped up we realised we could not see very far ahead of us.

snowy — The second day was much more arduous.

snowy trees — The trees looked beautiful covered in the soft snow.

oscar snowy — Perhaps my favourite photo of Oscar.

snowy landscape — If it weren't for all the other skiiers, this place would be eerie.

I didn’t fully anticipate how physically exhausting skiing would be, and by the end my legs were made out of jelly. There were even a few moments during one of my runs that I had to pull over to the side to give my legs some reprieve.

snowy path — I think.. that's the path to follow?

Oscar and I had also attempted a slope assuming it was a ‘green’ slope (meaning easy), but after struggling for a part of the slope and many falls, we started to suspect it wasn’t as easy as we thought. After we got to the end, we found out it was a red slope and certainly not intended for us beginners.

I could feel a little sense of pride that we’d managed to tackle a level beyond beginner, though. I’ll certainly return to ski again.

snowy days #

The snow in Myoko was the thickest snow I’ve ever seen in my life. Not that I’ve seen much.

myoko main street — The main street in Myoko.

cars in snow — A few cars amongst carved out snowfall.

snow — Everything turned white overnight.

snow roof — I know it would be satisfying to knock the snow off the patio roof.

cold town — It was cold, but it was honestly not as brisk as Beijing during December.

snowy building — I wonder how much snow could accumulate on top before it's a problem.

moving to bus stop — On our way to the bus stop.

Last minute cigarette before leaving this wintery wonderland.

kyoto #

After skiing for a few days, we made it to the cultural capital - Kyoto.

fushimi inari-taisha #

We visited the Fushimi Inari-taisha shrine, one of the most visually famous landmarks of Japan with its endless stretch of orange coloured gates.

kiyomizu-dera #

This temple is what I most keen to see in Kyoto. The Kiyomizu-dera Buddhist temple is from 778 CE and is notable for not using an entire nail in its entire structure.

alt — Note the roof which is made out of Japanese cypress (hinoki) bark.

Tourists putting incense into the incense bowl.

ryoanji zen garden #

One morning, I went and visited one of Japan’s most famous zen gardens, known for its kare-sunsui or ‘dry landscape’, where rock formations are positioned amongst finely raked pebbles. This is meant to facilitate meditation. I spent most of my time there listening to a book about zen buddhism.

rock in zen garden — Finely raked pebbles circle the rocks.

woman at zen garden — A woman spends some time contemplating the garden.

building in zen garden — One of the buildings in the zen garden complex.

Another pretty garden out the front of the restaurant.

kinkaku-ji (golden pavilion) #

I also managed to check out the golden pavilion on the same day.

nijo castle #

Afterwards, I met up with Jade, Maxi and Oscar to check out Nijo Castle.

ninomaru palace — Ninomaru Palace within the Nijo Castle grounds.

local park #

We then took a little walk through the nearby park.

osaka #

After getting our cultural fix, we went to Osaka, which I would describe as Tokyo’s edgier and cooler cousin. People smoked on the street here, and it was a little grungier in general.

dotonbori #

Dotonbori is the main area to spend time in Osaka and for good reason. It’s full of restaurants, shops and people and is an absolute visual overload.

If you see a figure like this, you'll likely find takoyaki (octopus balls) nearby.

dotonbori sidestreet — One of Dotonbori's sidestreets.

dotonbori locals — Some locals hanging out.

neon signs — Neon signs light up the streets.

glico running man — Dotonbori ad space with the famous Glico running man to the left.

mittera kaikan (bar block) #

One of my favourite discoveries in my entire Asia journey so far has been Mittera Kaikan, a block full of bars that looks rather innocuous from the outside. The complex features over 60 unique bars, all seating only around 5-10 people.

The photos I captured of this bar were sadly underexposed so they’ve got a bit of grain to them. I also regrettably didn’t get any photos of the insides of the bars.

bar doors — You never know what the bar is like until you open the door.

mittera kaikan — A lot of the halls look like a tenant building and it's unclear if you're welcome to take a look around. But you are.

guitar — There's a big focus on alternative at a lot of these places.

Each bar has its own aesthetic, such as this one with a corkboard wall out the front? I'm guessing they serve a bit of wine here.

osaka bar — Sometimes you'll try to enter a bar and finds it is closed. Most of these places don't advertise their opening times.

69 bar — Didn't try this place, but I am curious.

cheap bar — All drinks for about $5 Australian dollars ain't bad.

graffitied walls — Graffiti adorns the walls.

pink universe — The entrance to my favourite bar of the block - momoirouchu (Pink Universe).

graffitied posters — Some posters and more graffiti.

osaka castle #

Just to tick it off, we made a visit to Osaka Castle. It was a decent visit, and it also featured a mini-museum of plastic figurines.

nara park #

I know Nara Park is actually in Nara, not Osaka, but I feel most people visit here as a day trip from Osaka. We got to meet and feed the hungry deer, who aren’t shy at all. They’ll even nip on your bum to demand a feed.

Japan has been an absolute highlight of our Asia trip, and even if I am sad to see Maxi and Oscar leave back home, it was nice to experience the country together.

Time to continue on to South Korea.