Land of the Rising Sun
Having fully recovered from my epic hike earlier in the year, over a recent public holiday I decided it was time to hit the mountains again, this time heading to the Hotaka Mountains which consists of five peaks; Okuhotaka, Karasawa, Kitahotaka, Maehotaka and Nishihotaka reaching a height of 3,190 m (10,466 ft) in Nagano prefecture. Read more
On one of the hottest days in August this year, I attended the second HOUSE VISION exhibition in Tokyo, three years after the inaugural event. Read more
Having completed the 1,400km Shikoku Pilgrimage (四国遍路) earlier this year, writing a daily journal while on the trail, I have now collated 100 of my favourite images into a book which hopefully captures some of the essence of what makes Shikoku so special. Read more
A few weeks ago I attended a letterpress workshop at Tsukiji Katsuji (築地活字) print shop in Yokohama. Founded in 1919, the shop specialises in letterpress printing, a mechanical process which went largely out-of-date in the 1980s due to the rise of computers, but has recently experienced a resurgence as an artisan handcraft. Read more
Over the past month since I completed the Shikoku Pilgrimage I’ve been busy putting together a photo book chronicling the adventure and I’m pleased to announce that it’s almost complete! Read more
Unlike outdoor adventures I’ve undertaken before, the Shikoku Pilgrimage is unique in that you’re rarely far from civilisation and that it takes upwards of 7 weeks to complete. This means you don’t need to worry about food or cooking equipment but any gear you carry needs to be extremely durable and light. Read more
For my last full day in Shikoku, Masako was kind enough to drive me around Tokushima, starting at Kamodani (加茂谷) in Anan City (阿南市) between Kakurin-ji (鶴林寺 – 20) and Tairyūji (太竜寺 – 21). It was a damp morning and fog hung over the mountains, creating a surreal aura along the valley floor. Read more
During my final weekend in Shikoku, one of the places I visited was Kotohira-gū (金刀比羅宮), a huge Shinto shrine that sits halfway up Mount Zōzu and is said to have been founded during the 1st century. Read more
Arriving at my apartment in Tokyo on Tuesday at noon, part of me didn’t want to unpack the bag that had been strapped to my back for most of the past two months. After all the endings of the last few days at Ōkubo-ji, Ryōzen-ji and Kōya-san, this was the moment when I knew the adventure was over and it was time to face a new beginning. Read more
After a fun weekend exploring a few sights in Tokushima and Kagawa that I’d missed the first time around (more on this in a later post) I woke at 5.30am on Monday morning and made my way to the Nankai Ferry terminal, about 20 minutes by bus from Tokushima Station. Read more