The thoughts and adventures of a pathological book-buyer about to navigate the highs and lows of life in Japan
On Sunday, I found myself on a ‘fat bike’, slipping and sliding my way down a snowy hill, with the sun glare off the snow making my eyes water. This is Nowhere, an amusingly-named activity centre beneath the towering Mt. Bandai, and I’d entered a four-hour race. Continue reading Racing a Fat Bike to Nowhere
The nights in Japan feel especially long this winter, with regular -7 temperatures, cold starry skies and a mountain wind that sweeps over the rice fields and buffets my rickety apartment. But there is an upside to the long, dark nights: snow festivals. In particular, Aizu’s annual candle festival. Continue reading Aizu’s Candle Festival
One of the best things about living in the Japanese countryside is the abundance of temples and shrines. Rather than praying in churches or cathedrals, Japanese people make pilgrimages to little wooden shrines that are often buried deep in a forest or hidden on a distant mountaintop. Nihonmatsu has some of my favourites. Continue reading Nihonmatsu’s Many Gods
This time last year, the snow I’d long been promised still hadn’t arrived. This year is different. One morning in mid-December I woke to minus temperatures and a world of white outside my window. The winter I was promised had come! Continue reading Fukushima’s Winter Wonderland
It was a miserable day. We’d driven two hours through the sleet and snow, and now I was in a city on the west coast with hail driving into my face. It was the perfect day to visit a museum. And not just any museum – Niigata Manga Museum. Continue reading Manga and Mountains
So, Yakushima. I don’t even know where to begin. I could tell you it’s my favourite place on the planet, but that wouldn’t quite cover it. Never before have I fallen so deeply and so completely in love with one place. And we only stayed 25 hours. Continue reading The Mythical Island of Yakushima
My childhood was spent camping on windy cliff tops and under Welsh mountains, building fires with nothing but twigs and flint and steel – no matches allowed. And yet the BBQ, with its fresh coal and easy lighter fluid, refused to start. Continue reading Lake Inawashiro
I am not a keen cyclist. Yet somehow, I found myself on a weekend cycling holiday, where we crossed two prefectures, six islands, six very long suspension bridges, and over 80km of pain. In short—I loved it. Continue reading The Best ‘Nightmare’ Holiday
I think people around the world can agree that 2020 has started with some strange weather, and Japan is no exception. My colleagues told me this was the warmest winter they’d had, but I wouldn’t let this crush my dreams of spending every weekend hurtling down mountains. So a group of us woke before dawn, ski gear stuffed into our bags, and boarded a series of local trains to Zao Onsen ski resort in Yamagata prefecture. Continue reading Searching for Monsters in Zao
Autumn has finally arrived in Japan, but it came on so quickly that it seemed like the entire season had been condensed into October. In the space of a month, the temperature dropped from 26 to 6, we had Japan’s worst typhoon for 60 years (plus other smaller typhoons), and meanwhile the trees turned red and my town held one of Japan’s largest lantern festivals. This is where I attempt to cover it all in one post! Continue reading Drums in the Night ft. THAT Typhoon
A Book Lover's Travels 