47 posts (43 chapters, 4 poems)
August 2023 – January 2024
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I’m Home | ただいま
Back to my favorite place on Earth!
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Days of Perfection | 完全な日々
Asakusa, Morioka Sansa Odori Festival, Kakunodate, and Akita Kanto Festival. A marathon of sheer happiness.
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Happy | 嬉しい
Aomori Nebuta Festival, Osore-zan, Sendai Tanabata Festival, and the country that keeps on giving.
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Left on Unread | 未読スルー
If only I could tread into the fog inside your head.
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Kesem in Kesennuma | 気仙沼のケセン
A private tour of a sake factory, Yamadera, Okama, Kesennuma, Morioka, and Nyuto Onsen. There is no need to rest when you’re riding high.
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A Journey of Re-Birth | 生まれかわりの旅
Dewa Sanzan pilgrimage surprises me with a strong contender for my favorite shrine in Japan.
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Farewell Civilization, Yet Again | また、文明さようなら
I return to the digital detox ryokan that changed my life exactly six months later, with unfinished business.
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The Last Straw, Part 1 | 我慢の限界、第一章
Things go awry at Morioka Funekko Nagashi festival, Tamagawa Onsen, and a digital detox ryokan.
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The Last Straw, Part 2 | 我慢の限界、第二章
More and more problems arise at Tanbo art festival, Hirosaki, Sukayu Onsen, Aomori, and Omagari Fireworks festival.
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The Last Straw, Part 3 | 我慢の限界、第三章
Six months of searching end in failure. I hate Sendai, I hate Matsushima, I hate people. Good riddance, Tohoku.
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Four Months in Japan | 日本の四ヶ月間
A road trip and a nocturnal hike to Fuji-san with my best friend push me to new heights and dark voids.
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The Final Spark | 最終の火花
Not even Koreatown or Yokohama can fill the void that people have left. I am done with the human race.
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The Mystery of Love | 愛の神秘
What does it feel like to fall in love? I mull over this in Asakusa, a pitch-black hot spring, art museums, a mosque, and frustrating dates.
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Tokyo Blues | 東京病
Parks, Judo, art museums, and hit-or-miss dates. Another day in the life of a straving-artist-turned-backpacker who loathes the human race.
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Nevermind, Move On | 今のなし、進もう
I’ve become a fool.
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Hokkaido Homesick | 北海道懐郷
Back to my favorite place in Japan, and where my trip began: Sapporo, prime sushi, a business dinner, and a life-changing encounter.
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The Rabbit Hole | ラビットホール
Sapporo Pride makes way for a budding romance.
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Somewhere on the Northernmost Island in Japan | 稚内、分かんない
Rebun Island, as blustery and intense as it’s remote, is also home to the wackiest hostel on Earth.
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The Black Lovers’ Hill | 黒い恋人の丘
A delectable road trip around Rishiri Island culminates in romantic estrangement.
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The Heavy Balloon | 重い風船
After dating in Sapporo proves harder than I thought, I start working at a cabbage farm, all while carrying a heavy balloon.
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Country Boys Make Do | 農家人間
Farm work, natural wonders, and the pangs of mortal existence. Life is as bittersweet as a cabbage.
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Hollow Blue | 虚ろな青
An existential end to my stint at the farm is followed by the perfect brown hot spring and a vivid blue pond.
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Five Months and Four Seasons in Japan | 四季の日本の五ヶ月間
I ascend to heaven in my birthday ryokan atop the highest mountain in Hokkaido, see fall colors for the first time, and soak in my favorite hot spring.
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Tel Aviv in Hokkaido, Massacre in Israel | 北海道でテルアビブ、イスラエルで虐殺
Repeated encounters with Israelis in Asahikawa, Asahidake, Kawayu Onsen, and Lake Akan couldn’t have prepared me for the worst massacre in Israel’s history.
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Make Marimo, Not War | 戦争をしないでマリモをしよう
War in Israel rains on the Marimo festival’s parade in Lake Akan, until a romantic reunion and an immigration office offer new possibilities.
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The Passenger | 旅客
Yoichi, Otaru, a circus, and the ups-and-downs of dating someone. It doesn’t matter, if I am just a passenger in people’s lives.
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The Driver | 運転者
A romantic roadtrip puts me behind the wheel for the first time, on the road and in a relationship. I adore Sapporo, Lake Toya, Jozankei, and my partner to all of this. But war, visas, and money force farewell.
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Things Go South, Yet Again | また、下がりへ
I leave beloved Hokkaido for infuriating days in Tohoku, participate in a Wanko Soba eating marathon, and see fall colors blanketed by snow.
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The Master of Energy | 気仙
An adoptive Japanese grandma from Kakunodate becomes a rock in times of trouble, and a Taiwanese encounter shines in Nyuto Onsen’s yellow forests.
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Half a Year in Japan | 日本の半年間
More fall colors around Kakunodate inject color into an anxious routine of legal endeavors. Romantic defeat kills my hope for a relationship during a solo road trip to Fukushima’s mountains.
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The Club of Slytherin | スリザリンのクラブ
Just another soul-crushing night of partying.
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Dead End | 行き止まり
Utsunomiya, stone quarries, Koreatown, and betrayal. Back in the biggest city in the world, I find myself alone and helpless.
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Back to Square One | 振り出しに戻る
With no one to count on but myself, I begin volunteering at a language cafe, ascend to Harry Potter heaven, and experience disappointment after disappointment in dating.
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Cogito Ergo Patior | 我思う、故に我被り
I think, therefore I suffer.
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The Writing Boy of Izu | 伊豆の作家
An escape to the Izu Peninsula leads to the fanciest hostel in Japan, archery at the crater of an extinct volcano, gushing waterfalls, exquisite art, and a broken heart.
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Tokyo Time Loop | 東京ループもの
More art museums, more shifts at the language cafe, more parties, more dates, and one ugly breakup. Farewell to Tokyo and romance.
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Trial by Fire | 火だるま
A bleeding heart’s race to see every bleeding temple during Kyoto’s peak foliage. Maples leaves and romantic failure are the epitome of romanticism.
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The Torch Song | トーチソング
The fall temple marathon across Kyoto continues with fiery leaves, unrequited longing, and sudden tears; geishas, grief, anxiety, and a disasterous accident in Sakurai’s temples. Despite the heartache and pain, this is my favorite chapter.
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Seven Tumultuous Months in the Land of the Rising Fun | 歓喜出ずる国での激動の７ヶ月間
Bedridden in Osaka with a sprained ankle, I rest at the biggest hot spring in Japan, then overcome my pain at Fushimi Inari, a cafe in Kyoto, Himeji, and a Yokai festival.
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The Temple that Changed My Life | 人生を変えたお寺
I return with unfinished business to the mountaintop cave temples in Shodoshima, where I nearly died and emerged as a changed person.
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The Thrill Seeker | スリルを求める人
Snoozy Takamatsu, sexually perverse Uwajima, quaint Matsumoto, and a triumphant return to Iya Valley – yet another dangerous slice of nature that changed my life – make way for an unforgettable dish and date in Kochi.
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The Burnout | 燃え尽き
An academic paper, a dwindling budget, and subpar attractions haunt me through Matsuyama, Onomichi, Kurashiki, Izumo Taisha, and the godforsaken Shimane prefecture.
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The Cold Spell | 寒の戻り
Snow at Tottori Sand Dunes and Kinosaki Onsen herald a magical Christmas – until sickness in Kyoto ruins all end-of-year plans.
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Eight Months in Japan | 日本での八ヶ月間
Recuperating with friends in Kyoto is quickly marred by abhorrent Nagoya and the bitter reminder that no one will look out for me but myself.
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Temple Life | お寺での生活
Heartbreak and unrequited longing continue to haunt me as I begin volunteering at an obscure temple and hike to a snowy temple with a unique view of Mt Fuji.
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The Winds of Change | 変化の風
Volunteering at a temple offers a memorably simple lifestyle, comforting friendships, an Israeli meal, and a trip to Japan’s forgotten gems.
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Sayonara, Yet Again | また、さようなら
I leave my favorite place on Earth for a new adventure in Taiwan.
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Japan: Round Two, Synopsis | 日本で二回目の梗概
I returned to my favorite place on Earth for more festivals, more dangerous adventures, and one enlightening romance. My love-hate relationship with humanity reached a tipping point with betrayals and abandonments that made me forswear intimacy – until all the financial and emotional pain proved too memorable to reject.