42 posts (31 chapters, 11 poems)
February – May 2023
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I’ve Made It to Japan! | 日本に到着した！
A lifelong dream finally begins.
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Life is Beautiful and Ugly | 人生は美しくて醜い
Sapporo Snow Festival, Otaru Snow Light Path Festival, and a drift ice walk in Shiretoko kick off my trip with a frozen bang – and remind me how much I hate humans.
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Birthday Boy | 誕生日
Kawayu Onsen, Lake Akan, and a surprise TV interview during a hike to a frozen waterfall at the highest ryokan in Hokkaido make for my best birthday.
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Stranger in a Strange Land | 異性の客
The fun continues in Sapporo and Noboribetsu Hell Valley, until I realize how different I am in this land.
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Waking Up to Fantasy | 空想に目覚める
I leave modern society for a digital detox.
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Alone in a Foreign Country | 異国で一人
Everything is different for an Israeli in the Land of the Rising Sun. Including said Israeli.
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My First Time | 初めて
A digital detox ryokan in the mountains offers a slew of new experiences: loneliness, living in the moment, butterflies, and a bus stuck in a snowstorm. My first overnight ferry ends this rollercoaster on a terrifying note.
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Heaven and Hell | 天国と地獄
Japan and Israel are polar opposites. Kanazawa, Shirakawa-go, and Matsumoto are slices of heaven.
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Not for Long | 長くはない
A backpacker comforted by words, and haunted by regret.
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Things Go South | 下がりへ
A wasabi farm and Matsumoto Castle console a heart heavy with regret. Problems arise in Fuji Five Lakes, until Hakone puts the final nail in the coffin.
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Winding Roads | 曲路
Hakone and Kiso Valley offer small reprieves.
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One Month in the Land of the Rising Sun | 日出ずる国の一ヶ月間
The most sacred Shinto shrine in Ise, a date in Nagoya, and an explosion of fun in Universal Studios in Osaka eclipse my cares and take me to new heights.
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Ghostin’ Around | 幽霊してる
A sumo tournament, attractions in Osaka, and dates gone wrong end in ghostings. I feel abandoned at Omizutori Festival in Nara.
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Colour is Void, Void is Colour | 色即是空、空即是色
After Omizutori Festival ends with a fiery finale, a temple stay in Koya-san and a cemetery at night lead to the happiest and saddest night of my life.
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A Day (or Five) in the Life of a Pilgrim | 巡礼者の一日（また五日）
Don’t pick a multi-day pilgrimage for your first hiking experience.
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Resurrection | 復活
I hike for the first time across Kumano Kodo, a pilgrimage to grand shrines. Days 1 and 2 (Tanabe-Chikatsuyu-Hongu) revive my spirits after the cemetery on Koya-san.
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To Be Alive, Part 1 | 生きていること、第一章
Kumano Kodo pilgrimage proves so hard and existential, that it takes me back to my fourteenth birthday, where I lost the balance between the brain and the heart.
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To Be Alive, Part 2 | 生きていること、第二章
Kumano Kodo pilgrimage continues to bring out my innermost thoughts on existence. It kills me that human life is so deadly.
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To Be Alive, Part 3 | 生きていること、第三章
Kumano Kodo pilgrimage ends with a spiritual finale. Days 3 and 4 (Hongu-Nachi) test my limits and culminate in the most climatic night of my life.
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If That Didn’t Sum Up What Life was, I Didn’t Know What Did | それが人生を要するにしなかったら、要するにすることが分からなかった
Shingu, Okayama, and a near-death experience during an impromptu visit to Shodoshima. I’ve never felt more scared and free in my life.
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A Different World | 別世界
I bid Shodoshima a premature farewell, marvel at Naoshima’s contemporary art, stomach Hiroshima’s atomic sights, and picnic under cherry blossoms.
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A Leap of Faith | 清水の舞台から飛び降りる
A poem I wrote on the ferry back from Miyajima that motivated me to share my coming out story.
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Life is Grand | 人生は壮大だ
Miyajima, Okunoshima, and Shimanami Kaido. Japan’s islands prove that heaven is a place on Earth.
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Not What I Had in Mind | 思っていたのと違う
A dangerous escapade in Japan’s most remote valley leads to natural wonders and existential horror.
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Bloom, Then Rot | 咲いてから腐る
Peak blossoms in picture-perfect Himeji wither into decaying petals in Kyoto. Betrayal makes me vow to never let anyone hurt me again.
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Till Then, I’ll Cry | それまで、泣きます
A poem I wrote at Saigyo-an Hermitage, the mountain hut where the poet and Buddhist monk Saigyo lived in seclusion in the 12th century.
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The Pink Paradise | ピンク色の楽園
Things pick up on Yoshino Mountain – the best place in Japan for cherry blossoms – and at temples in Kyoto.
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The Best Two Months of My Life | 人生で最高の2ヶ月
An instant friend and matcha-rich Uji are the recipe for too much joy and sorrow. What an unforgettable celebration.
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The Holiest Shrine in Japan | 日本で最も神聖な神社
A poem I wrote after visiting Ise Grand Shrine.
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Ignorance is the Opposite of Bliss | 知らぬが仏の反対
Arashiyama brings out the anxious poet in me.
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The More I Matured, the More I Felt Like a Child | 成熟するほど、子供のように感じた
I grow sick of Kyoto’s overcrowded and overrated attractions. Fushimi Inari and a tea ceremony in Uji make me realize I will never grow into an adult.
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Travel was a Double-Edged Sword | 旅は両刃の剣
Takayama Festival, Oku-Hida hot springs, and Toyama lead me to marvelous places, only to pull the rug from under my feet.
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For the Last Time | 最後に
Hirayu Onsen might be my last hot spring.
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The Wilted Sakura | 枯れ桜
Regret and defeat at Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden.
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A Writer With No Pen | ペンを持たない作家
Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route, Matsumoto, and Tokyo at long last. The joys of life slip through my fingers, and I can’t rewrite my story.
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The Thinking Monkey | 考える猿
A two-day road trip around Ashikaga and Nikko ease my mind off Tokyo’s disappointments. Flower festivals, the oldest school in Japan, and one familiar monkey.
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My First Pride | 始めてのプライド
The first day of Tokyo Pride is as gloomy as any day.
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And So Does My Heart, After Feeling on Top of the World | それと自分の魂、足が地に着かない後
The highs and lows of clubbing.
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High on Life | 人生でラリッた
My first Pride and nights out clubbing bloom into dating and a drug-like rush.
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Like a Scene From a Movie | 映画の場面みたい
Forest therapy in Tokyo and Saitama alleviates anxiety surrounding the end of my trip. Partying takes a dark turn, until my Japanese equivalent shows up.
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The Dark Side of Japan | 日本の暗黒面
I relish Asakusa, visit a penis shrine in Kawasaki, and cry at the dark secrets of Japan.
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Sayonara | さようなら
I bid my favorite place on Earth farewell at a cemetery that makes me realize how much I’ve grown – and how much of a failure I’ve become.
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Japan: Round One, Synopsis | 日本で一回目の梗概
A lifelong dream came true when I left the West for the first time and travelled to Japan. Delights, discoveries, and dangers exposed me to a whole new world – one where I felt comfortable enough to grow into a new person.