I was about to take a full-time job stateside after freelancing abroad in Hong Kong. Before I could bring myself to sign on the dotted line I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to visit Japan. What follows is a compilation of my time in Japan while traveling through Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe and Nara.
Photographers swarm Nara’s mountains during cherry blossom season and get a little trigger happy.
A small town on the outskirts of Nara, Japan.
Driving through the mountains in Nara, this old man stopped ahead of us, got out and walked over to our car. He held out a large bag of freshly picked mushrooms and offered to sell us a bundle, leaning in close to whisper the secret of how to prepare them — even though no one was around. That being said, we bought, prepared, and ate them, and they were fantastic.
Deer in Nara are considered National Treasures and pretty much have free reign throughout the city.
Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden is a large park in the center of one of the busiest areas of Tokyo.
Headed towards Asakusa Shrine amongst the throng of locals celebrating Golden Week, and in particular, Children’s Day.
Hondo, the Main Hall, of Kiyomizu-dera with Kyoto city in the distance.
Ameyoko Market in Ueno — near the end of the day they started giving us great discounts on the food to make sure it sold while still fresh.
Fresh market food and tasty udon noodles tucked away in smaller alleys.
Street performers in Ueno Park — one reenacts the crash of the Titanic while the other plays music on fold-up musical instruments he carries on his bicycle as he cycles around the country.
A famous old Japanese candy, a little shop in Yanaka sold dozens of vintage sweets.
There are many, many trains in Tokyo — one of the best ways to get around.
Early in the morning around 5am at Tsukiji fish market before the tuna auction starts.
Tsukiji is the biggest wholesale fish market in the world and also one of the largest wholesale food markets of any kind.
The sushi in Japan is everything you hope it will be.
Osaka Castle in Osaka, Japan.
Originally installed in 1935, the giant neon athlete is definitely a recognizable advertisement in the center of Dōtonbori.
A window washer and a gardener.
A robot from ‘Castle in the Sky’ at the Ghibli Museum. This museum is so jam packed with creativity and little eccentricities, highly recommend going.
Miniatures, sketches, and other trinkets are scattered around the Ghibli museum so it is ripe for exploring. But there’s something surreal about getting to walk inside a life-size Cat bus from ‘My Neighbor Totoro’ and take a seat amongst the locals.
Nerd central in Akihabara, and it’s amazing.
Maid cafes are prevalent in Tokyo, but none so much as in Akihabara — a truly strange and uniquely Japanese experience.
