Is available here, for those of you interested. Just remember, for me this was happening before breakfast… Read more
Me
Siren Visual Podcast
I was a guest at Australian anime distributor Siren Visual’s podcast this month – it’s online at the Capsule Computers website, check it out! Read more
Tokyo Diaries – Cat Café Nekorobi
The nekokissa really is one of Japan’s most intriguing and charming innovations. This Saturday I visited a couple of Tokyo institutions in Ikebukuro – Jiro Ramen and Nekorobi. Jiro Ramen is hard to explain until you’ve tried it – many locals are fond of saying, “It’s not ramen, it’s Jiro.” […] Read more
Tokyo Diaries – Plum Blossoms, Torii and a Cat
It’s Spring – sort of. Attached are some pics of my outings this weekend. First off is the Ume Matsuri at Yushima Tenjin, in Yushima (a neighborhood famous as the one-time center for Tokyo’s transvestite geisha). This shrine is dedicated to Sugawara Michizane, the same legendary Heian scholar enshrined at […] Read more
Tokyo Diaries – Ta-Asobi
It’s New Years again already? As matsuri go, Ta’Asobi (“Rice field play”) has a pretty good history – about 1,000 years. Japan, like other Asian nations, is celebrating the lunar new year at the moment, and that also represents the beginning of planting season (if you recall, Setsubun is actually […] Read more
Tokyo Diaries – Sumo
What a fascinating country this is. A little belatedly, here are some pics and videos from a trip to the Ryoguku Kokugikan, the national sumo stadium in East Tokyo. Sumo isn’t an element of Japanese culture than I know all that well, honestly, but it’s a very deeply ingrained part […] Read more
More Tokyo Snow
That cute little surprise snow has turned into an actual snowstorm. We’ve got around 15cm so far where I live, and they closed Kagurazaka-dori to traffic this afternoon. I haven’t checked, but I think it’s pretty rare for Tokyo to get this much snow – I consider myself very lucky […] Read more
Yuki ga Furimasu!!
At long last, snow in Tokyo. Never trust the weather forecast. “Rain all day” it said – and here we are, with gorgeous snow swirling everywhere and even starting to stick. I grew up with snow and missed it when I lived in California (as you know if you read […] Read more
Kyoto: Day 3 – Omi-Jingu, Higashiyama, Kitano Tenmangu
Omi-Jingu is seeing a different sort of pilgrimage than it’s used to these days. Having made the journey to Enoshima last month and seeing that York Shin isn’t likely to be an option anytime soon, there was never really any question that I’d be visiting Omi-Jingu while in Kyoto. And […] Read more
Akemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu
I swear there are times this country is so sugoi I think my head is going to pop like a champagne cork… It’s Hatsumode time in Japan, and that means a visit to a temple or shrine on the first three days of the year. For many that comes on […] Read more