We found our helicopter in the car park. It had its own fenced-off space, but the barrier was so low that anyone could see it. In fact, as we put on our headsets and the blades began to spin, a few people stopped to watch. I felt like a true VIP in the back of that helicopter, watched by passersby. The best part? I hadn’t paid a single yen. Continue reading Flying High Over Fukushima
Japan is the snowiest country on Earth. Surprised? I was too, until I came here. And of all the freezing places in Japan, Aomori City is the snowiest city in the world. Continue reading Night at the Murder Mystery Inn
In the second weekend of February, as yet another snow storm blew across the prefecture, three friends and I loaded up a rental car with skis and a shovel (for the snow, not for our enemies) and drove through the night. Our destination: the deep mountains of Nagano and Gifu. Our goals: see snow monkeys, go skiing, enjoy the onsen, and wander around the UNESCO village of Shirakawa-go. In three exhausting days. Continue reading Japan’s Lapland
Once a year, people from as far as Tokyo flock to a small town in the mountains around Nihonmatsu. Why? For the Towa Road Race, a top 100 race in Japan. I chose this race as my first 10k. Continue reading Towa Road Race: Conquering Hell Hill
I’m not a morning person. So when my alarm went off at 4am, and I dragged myself into warm layers and out into the pitch-black morning, I wondered why on earth I was doing this to myself. Even so, my fellow ALT Marc picked me up and up we drove to the Bandai Skyline. Continue reading Land of the Rising Sun
Back in secondary school, a taiko drumming group held a workshop at my school. I clearly remember being told about an island in distant Japan where the best taiko drummers in the world live. Fast-forward 10 years and I’m on a ferry bound for Sado island, the very island I’d once found so mystical and out of reach. Continue reading Sado – The Isle of Drums and Washtub Boats
I’ve learnt that there’s a reason Kanazawa looks like Kyoto: it also avoided the WWII bombs. So all the Edo-era bridges, houses, temples, and Geisha districts remain, but on a more walkable scale than Kyoto. Continue reading Day Four & Five: Kanazawa
After the ryokan’s buffet breakfast (where we helped ourselves to breakfast cake,) we went to the Wajima Morning Market. It’s a local market that takes place every day, and stretches along a long, traditional street. Continue reading Day Three: Noto Peninsula
Today we’d be driving to the Noto peninsula in Ishikawa prefecture, that thin arm that sticks out of Japan and is often left off maps. But before we headed for the coast, we needed to check off one more no. 1 in Japan: its tallest waterfall. Continue reading Day Two: Toyama to Noto
Five days, two prefectures, 1400km in my little pink car. Accompanied by two Canadians, I spent Golden Week exploring the Western coast and experiencing many of Japan’s no.1s: the highest onsen, the tallest waterfall, and the most delicious gold leaf ice cream (might’ve made that last one up.) Continue reading Day One: The Japanese Alps
A Book Lover's Travels 