japan

Tokyo (2026)

Got an evening flight into Haneda and beelined into the city by around 22:30. I immediately felt very comfortable around my hotel in Asakusabashi. Monday night in this neighbourhood was surprisingly lively, though winding down by the time I got out to explore at 11pm. Amazing how comfortable my return to Tokyo felt. These backstreets felt just like home. Didn't spend too long wandering the backalleys at night as I needed some sleep. Gave myself the next morning to explore a little further in the Asakusa area instead. Tokyo Skytree - the world's tallest tower - in the background here! Couldn't recall visiting Senso-ji during my first trip to Tokyo so, given that I was a half hour walk away, I decided to swing by this time around. Senso-ji is Japan's oldest temple, dating back some 1000-1500 years depending on how one interprets the history. Its present structures, however, date from post-WW2 for fairly obvious reasons. I came by here around 9:30am thinking that I'd beat most of the crowds, but the place was swarming with (mainly foreign) tourists so my thirst for exploring was significantly reduced. One can admire the aesthetic value of the place even with all the disgusting tourists however. A cool complex, no doubt. The five-storey pagoda. Inside the main hall of the temple. Now back outside, with a pretty traditional garden to the right. Spent a bit of time enjoying the grounds of the temple complex; the contrast between the Skytree and Senso-ji made for a fun visual. Same contrast, different vantage point. Exploring the traditional streets surrounding Senso-ji now, while hunting down a vegan restaurant in the vicinity. Asakusa is a whole vibe. Tokyo is never less than interesting to look at. Love the three workers starting their day to the right here. Walking back through Asakusa and finding interesting shots everywhere I turn. Vending machines: perhaps Japan's most iconic (and abundant) amenity? Love the typically grey building in the background and the wild bar in the foreground too. After three nights in Kawaguchiko/Fuji, I returned to Tokyo for my final night. I based myself in Shinjuku this time, and once again, immediately took to my surrounds as soon as I got off the metro! Though it's likely been surpassed on that front by a number of Chinese (and perhaps other Asian) cities now, Tokyo is the OG 'futuristic' metropolis imo. This image of a subway training whizzing by various gleaming skyscrapers illustrates the point. Wandering around late evening after dinner. Tokyo is SUCH a vibe after dark and I'd somehow forgotten. So full of life! As exemplified by the streets surrounding the Godzilla head! A closer look at Godzilla head in Kabukicho! Cats - along with humans, orcas, pandas, and mosquitoes - are one of five animals I actively dislike. But the 3D cat billboard by Shinjuku station (notice another train whizzing past at bottom left) is justifiably iconic. Omoide Yokocho's famous izakayas are not designed for a plant-based person like me, but it was good to pop over to these vibes after missing them during my first visit. Much love to the server who, after being informed I was vegetarian, tried to ply with me beer and a smile instead! If it wasn't for the fact that I had to wake up the next morning to get to Narita airport, I would have totally surrendered myself to the cute lil' taverns of Golden-Gai! These booze-soaked alleys are right up my street! I'll be back another time for more of the nightlife! Sth about this scene at the edge of Golden-Gai spoke to me. There are four truly Great-with-a-capital-G cities in the world today imo: New York, London, Paris, and Tokyo. Bustling, intoxicatingly vibrant centres of cosmopolitanism, commerce, and culture; with quality nightlife to match. This shot by a Uniqlo store in Shinjuku felt typically Tokyo. One last street scene before retiring to my hotel for the night. What a city. Can't wait to return another time soon!

Kawaguchiko (2026)

After my brief temple excursion in Asakusa/Senso-ji, I took myself over to Shinjuku and caught a bus out to Kawaguchiko - a location I'd actually visited ten years ago! I forgot how much I love walking through Japanese residential areas. A cute little bus stop outside my (excellent) hostel. I spent most of this afternoon prepping for the next day's climb and enjoying the vegan restaurant that I'd discovered (to my pleasant surprise!) on the town's main street. Up early on day two, as I'd been told to get going as early as possible. Here's the central bus station at around 7am. The bus station again. The previous evening I'd chatted to a BRITISH attendant (of Japanese descent) here when enquiring about buses to the mountain. Had to cut the convo short due to other customers, but was hoping to catch a beer with him at some stage as he seemed cool. Sadly never happened. Oh, and note how I lucked out with the weather - Mount Fuji had been barely visible for much of the prior week due to crappy weather, but on the day of my climb the clouds parted in the morning giving us this view! Day three, post-summit. The first bus departing Fuji was at 7:45 and made it back into town around 8:30. After some much-needed refreshments, I got yet another perfect view of Fuji during my walk back to my hostel. The best time for Fuji visibility during summer is early in the morning - things often cloud up by afternoon, as seen here at Lake Kawaguchiko. Was strolling by here as I'd decided to head to an onsen with a dormmate from my hostel, mostly to relax my muscles (which weren't all that sore tbf) but also cos it's such a traditional Japanese thing to do. Here is the onsen. Snuck a cheeky pic while in the buff as by this point all other guests had exited except myself and my dormmate! (Pics in onsens are obviously *not* cool otherwise.) Onsen was at the Royal Hotel Kawaguchiko FYI - within walking distance from hostel, cheap, and willing to accept folks with tattoos, unlike some other, more scenic options elsewhere. Day four. Took myself over to the other side of the lake for the iconic Fuji view in the morning. I struck a very similar pose during winter here ten years ago (check IG Highlights) so it was fun to do this again. Fuji from a different vantage point elsewhere by the lakeside. It's noticeable how tourists often congregate en masse in particular spots - if you're willing to walk around a little away from where they are, you get scenes like this all to yourself. Speaking of tourists, this was my last shot before leaving Kawaguchiko: the social-media-hyped 'Lawson' (convenience store) pic. Though I caught this at a relatively quiet moment, the hoopla around here is beyond ridiculous. Throngs of tourists line up for photoshoots, regardless of whether Fuji is visible or not (often isn't). The adjacent sidewalks are super narrow and can *barely* fit people when single file, so the pandemonium caused by dumbasses trying to block the streets for stuff like this is beyond tiresome. (Esp as I needed to walk up and down this street constantly to get between supplies/vegan restaurant and my hostel).

Mount Fuji (2026)

Caught the 7:40am bus outta Kawaguchiko bus station and made my way to the '5th station' of Mount Fuji's Yoshida trail. Yoshida is the most popular trail on Mount Fuji (I think there are five in total?). It's the easiest climb and has the most facilities. I didn't *intend* to be on this trail, I would have been happy to have received a place at any mountain hut on Fuji, but this was where I got placed after my waitlist application. The trail starts off fairly flat before leading you into these forests. There are (surprisingly decent, by global mountain standards) toilets dotted around every hour or so, and even stores at the various mountain huts where you can buy snacks/drinks, albeit with understandably steep markups. Things get steeper approaching the tree line, although the trail still feels incredibly well-developed compared to others I've done. A steep section with rope for assistance. Most of the climb doesn't require any of this at all. I was moving at a fairly rapid pace, but didn't quite realise how rapid at this point... I think this may be at the 7th station? Despite starting early, there were many other hikers ahead of me (must've caught the first bus or taxi'd over), as well as others still descending from their summit attempt the night before. This might be the first trail I've hiked completely alone for a good couple of years, and I didn't strike up too many conversations during this morning's ascent tbh (beyond the group of international school teens who squealed about how 'jacked' I was and gave me a fun ego boost). So this was taken AFTER I'd reached my mountain hut (at the 8th station) just after 11am. With nothing else to do and no one else around, I decided to take an hour's nap before heading out again to view some more of the surrounds. I retreated back to the mountain hut after deciding *not* to summit Fuji twice (I was toying with the idea of going all the way up that afternoon as well as at sunrise). Took another power nap, read my book, waited around for other climbers to check in to the hut. Then went out again just before dinnertime to appreciate some more of the scenery. Surrounded by clouds on these rocky outcrops. Beautiful. After a fairly mediocre but functional dinner of potato curry + rice (which I supplemented with a tofu bar that I'd brought up with me), I went back out again to catch sunrise and chat to some locals from a neighbouring hut. I then returned to my own hut (Taishikan - far better than expected with amazing staff) where this photo op caught my eye. Snapped it, and then proceeded to take similar pics for five other groups who'd been inspired by my antics. #yourewelcome The last pic I took before heading to 'bed' (my sleeping bag) at around 8pm. Sadly, I didn't actually doze off until closer to 11pm. Set out again at 1:15am and had to deal with the crazy bottlenecks from all the slow af climbers/tour groups making their own summit attempts. No judgement really, I should've picked an alternative trail if I wanted a quieter route. Reached the summit at 2:45am (!!) - 90 mins earlier than expected - and had to sit around in the freezing cold watching this in front of me. This is what the scene turned into by 4:25am. Same place five mins later. Turns out we didn't actually get a 'clear' sunrise. But that's okay, it was still majestic being atop one of the world's most iconic mountains some 3700m high. Had to get a couple of pics of myself before descending. Things were CRAZY busy at this point - after being practically alone upon arrival at 2:45am, the mountaintop was now crawling with other hikers who were swarming in from all directions. It was crowded to the point where I didn't even bother finding a marker to state that I was atop Fuji, which is a bit of a shame... Did manage to pull this stunt to much cheering and bemusement, however! Sun properly risen and shining bright on my way down. I'd actually *removed* my windbreaker and done most of the summit climb with only one layer, so mild were the weather conditions that night (we were blessed). Put the windbreaker and gloves back on while waiting 90 mins for sunrise as it was freezing up top and I swear my fingers almost got frostbite. But as soon as the sun was back up I had to remove all top layers and switch back to a vest cos it was so damn hot... Beautiful scenes during the descent. Same same but different. And more. I did the first part of the descent with a very friendly Aussie family (and a couple of their buddies) who'd been staying at the same mountain hut as myself and had heard me say I was vegetarian at some point. They were super cool and we chatted a lot about life and travel and politics (as is often the way with me), but I eventually decided not to impose myself on them any longer. Also, I find running down mountains much easier than walking and by this point it was so hot that all I wanted to do was get back to Kawaguchiko ASAP... So after a fairly slower-than-usual start to my descent, I sped up the rest of the way and eventually reached the 5th station again by 7am. Not bad. Here's a torii gate at what I assume to be a temple at the 5th station. It was serene around here, but far too close to the ultra-touristy trailhead, and all I wanted to do was hop on the first bus back to town...

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