This Month on Maction Planet – January 2026

Happy New Year! あけおめコトヨロ! January took me the length and breadth of the country, with a Manchester detour best left unmentioned (Exeter City lost 10-1 to Manchester City in the FA Cup). I spent days in Dornoch with Phil and Simon Thompson at their castle hotel, distillery, and whisky bar, before returning to London to guide Mary and family through the city – our fourth time together since April 2023.

Japan followed me everywhere – hojicha lattes in North London cafés, Godzilla rubber ducks at London Bridge, Imari porcelain in Manchester art galleries, and exclusive Japanese Whisky in a Scottish Castle. Then it was back to Japan to guide, with art and drinks meetings galore! We continue…

Featured image: Japan follows me everywhere, even to East Finchley! On 2 January, I enjoyed this stellar Hojicha Latte at Coffee Bank on High Road. For the uninitiated, hojicha is roasted green tea – a toasty, nutty alternative to matcha with significantly less caffeine. While matcha has recently dominated London’s café scene, hojicha is quietly becoming the next big thing. That characteristic brown colour comes from the roasting process, giving it gorgeous caramel and cocoa notes without much bitterness. Finding quality hojicha in a North London café is a proper treat, and this one was expertly prepared with that perfect frothy top. As someone who educates people about Japanese food and drink culture in Tokyo, it’s always a delight to see it thriving overseas!

On 6 January, while heading through London Bridge Station to meet friends, I stumbled upon this magnificent Godzilla TUBBZ Giant XL Edition at Duck World. This isn’t just any rubber duck – it’s the largest TUBBZ collectible to date, standing at a colossal 10 inches tall. The King of the Monsters is depicted with his iconic dorsal spines, powerful claws, and menacing expression while crushing a train carriage between his jaws – a brilliant nod to Godzilla’s legendary urban destruction. TUBBZ are collectable rubber ducks that reimagine pop culture icons, and this Godzilla is their most ambitious piece yet. As a huge Godzilla fan, finding this little legend brightened my commute considerably. SKREEONK!

On 7 January, I spotted this poster for “Rental Family” at Mottingham Station. The film hits British cinemas on 16 January after premiering at Toronto International Film Festival in September 2025 and releasing in the US on 21 November. It tells the story of professional stand-in families in Japan – people who hire actors to play relatives for events, photos, or companionship. Brendan Fraser stars, and the poster’s mix of human characters and mascots has that distinctly Japanese aesthetic. The film’s been well received, with an 87% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and inclusion in the National Board of Review’s top 10 films of the year, with Fraser’s performance singled out for particular praise.

On 7 January, I visited the Onitsuka Tiger store in Covent Garden. This is their first Red Concept Store in Europe, which opened in May 2025 as part of the brand’s 75th anniversary celebrations. The design is striking – that glossy red floor, black and mirrored surfaces, floor-to-ceiling shelving. Onitsuka Tiger was founded in 1949 in Kobe and later became the precursor to ASICS. The Mexico 66, designed in 1966 for the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, remains their most iconic silhouette and introduced the signature Tiger Stripes that became the brand’s trademark.

Also on 7 January, I spotted this sculpture suspended outside London Bridge Station. It’s part of ‘WE’ by Spanish sculptor Jaume Plensa, installed in September 2021. The work comprises two pieces – this suspended head and torso above the escalators, and a full figure in The Shard’s piazza nearby. Both figures are constructed from letters and characters from seven different alphabets, representing diversity and the universality of being human. The hollow text structure provides framed views of the surrounding environment, inviting people to look through the sculpture at the city beyond. It’s Plensa’s first permanent public work in London, commissioned by The Shard’s owners with curatorial support from Futurecity. Plensa also created ‘Roots’, a 10-metre-high seated figure constructed from letters in eight languages, which stands outside Toranomon Hills in Tokyo. Dating from 2014, it employs the same multilingual text approach to express global connectivity.

On 8 January, I headed from London to Manchester ahead of Exeter City’s FA Cup third round match against Manchester City on the 10th. We lost 10-1. Let us never speak of it again.

The day before, I visited the ‘Trading Station: How hot drinks shape our lives’ exhibition at Manchester Art Gallery. The exhibition explores uncomfortable truths: coffee and sugar grown by slaves in the West Indies, Java and Brazil; slave owners compensated after abolition, whilst former slaves received nothing; tea plantations in colonial India where workers endured conditions akin to slavery. The Gallery acknowledges that its collections reflect the interests of privileged European collectors and invites visitors to contribute what the collections don’t address.

Among the objects was this Worcester Porcelain coffee pot, can and saucer from 1765-1775. The chrysanthemum design surrounded by cobalt-blue panels imitates Japanese Imari ware, which was highly fashionable in mid-18th century Britain. Imari porcelain, decorated in blue, deep orange and gold, was exported from the port of Imari to the West and widely copied by Chinese and Western potters.

If you look carefully, you can see my ghostly reflection, hoping the glass is half full.

New Wave Ramen on Tib Lane has built its reputation around Tokyo-style chintan chicken broths and house-made noodles aged in their own noodle room. The O.G Paitan delivers exactly what the menu promises: white chicken broth boiled hard until the fats emulsify into something creamy and coating, topped with shoyu-glazed pork collar and belly, menma, and nori. Everything about the bowl was executed properly. The broth had depth, the chashu was tender, the seasoning balanced. Yet the noodles never quite match Japan. That particular chew and spring remains elusive in the UK, at least in bowls I have tried. The never ending battle continues.

Manchester Airport, 11 January, an hour before the flight to Inverness. Hibiki Japanese Harmony Master’s Select at £84.99, Suntory’s travel retail blend combining malt whiskies from Yamazaki and Hakushu with grain whisky from Chita. The 24-faceted bottle design represents the seasons of the Japanese lunar calendar. The Master’s Select leans heavier on sherry cask influence than the standard Harmony bottling, positioning itself as the premium option for travellers willing to spend just under ninety quid before they board.

For more about Hibiki, watch above.

So, why was I flying to Inverness? Now all can be revealed: to spend time with Phil and Simon Thompson at Dornoch Castle Hotel. The brothers run the family hotel, operate Dornoch Distillery out back in the old 1881 fire station, and bottle independent releases under the Thompson Bros label. They’re also building Struie Distillery, a major expansion that will produce up to 20 times more spirit than Dornoch. Their whisky bar ranks number one on Whiskybase, over 350 bottles lining the shelves behind us, two decades in the building. Days were spent across Inverness, the Black Isle and Dornoch itself, creating content but mostly just experiencing what draws people to Sutherland. What we captured there will unfold throughout the year on Kanpai Planet – subscribe and stay tuned. Thanks to Phil, Simon and their amazing team for their incredible hospitality. This was the final photo of us together before my departure on 15 January – one of those places I didn’t want to leave. As the Tenth Doctor put it: “I don’t want to go.”

The still house at Glenmorangie, 13 January. Scotland’s tallest copper stills rise 8 metres, their giraffe necks a legacy of William Matheson’s 1843 decision to repurpose second-hand London gin stills for whisky production. I’d released a review of the Glenmorangie 23 Azuma Makoto collaboration in 2024, and this visit was a chance to see the distillery where it all happens. Carol arranged everything with precision, whilst Zoe and Alan guided the day with a hospitality that went well beyond the professional. They opened doors, shared stories, made the impossible work. Glenmorangie sits just along the coast from Dornoch, close enough for the detour but worlds apart in scale and operation. It’s experiences like these that make the effort I put into Kanpai Planet videos worth it. Thanks to the team for making it happen.

I flew from Inverness to London on 16 January, and a couple of days later found myself walking past the Gillian Lynne Theatre on Drury Lane. Studio Ghibli’s My Neighbour Totoro has transferred here after breaking box office records at the Barbican, where it won six Olivier Awards in 2023. The Royal Shakespeare Company’s adaptation uses puppetry from Jim Henson’s Creature Shop to bring the forest spirits to life on stage. This is the production’s third London year, still drawing audiences who want to see how Hayao Miyazaki’s beloved film translates to live performance.

On Sunday 18 January I guided Mary, Eric, Jacob and Ava through London. I first guided them in Tokyo back in April 2023, and we’ve toured together in Tokyo in 2024 and 2025 since then.

We visited two of London’s lesser known but most incredible museums, saw many of the city’s major sites, visited some of London’s most historic pubs, and had two incredible meals… and a Greggs (IYKYK). The following day, Mary posted her humbling review of the London tour. Three years, multiple tours, two cities. These are the relationships that matter.

Guiding in London is available on request to former Tokyo guests when I’m in the UK, typically around Christmas and New Year, and during summer. Drop me a line if you want the Maction London Experience.

All good things… and it was time to return to Japan. I chose seat 25A in Premium Economy on flight NH212 – the side of the Boeing 777-300ER that opens toward the western horizon on the descent to Haneda. As dusk shrouded the Kanto Plain on 23 January, Mount Fuji emerged silhouetted against the golden sky. This view never gets old, regardless of how many times you’ve seen it. I was home.

Here’s the obligatory arrival photo at Haneda, grinning in front of the “Welcome! Tokyo-Tokyo” sign. Except something was different. No Hello Kitty. No smiling mascots or cultural illuminaries greet the (clearly) weary traveller. Then I remembered the numbers: the Hello Kitty franchise is worth roughly $83 billion USD. She probably has better things to do. Fair enough.

Within twelve hours, I’d shed the jet lag and was on my way to meet Adam and Lauren. Here we are grinning into the winter light about 6 hours into what ended up being a very food-focused tour! I was especially thrilled they’d managed to secure tickets for the final day of the January sumo tournament. They ended up witnessing history: Aonishiki claiming his second consecutive tournament victory.

That evening, on my way to meet some whisky luminaries, I passed Ginza Graphic Gallery and spotted a familiar face through the window: Norio Nakamura – the graphic designer I’d met on 16 December and featured in last month’s column. He has an exhibition at ggg until 31 January 2026. An absolute legend, seeing his work again reminded me why I’d been so struck by our first encounter – the gallery’s clean lines and the precision in his work mirror each other perfectly.

There’s Brendan McCarron, and there’s me, both grinning on a Tokyo street. A multiple award winner with previous roles at Diageo and Moët Hennessy, Brendan’s currently working with Tenkyo Distillery, among other projects. With legends like him, there’s no need to explain why you’re excited about a particular bottle, or why provenance matters, as you’ve spent the evening talking about flavour compounds instead of the weather.

At the members-only Mori Art Museum New Year party, I’m standing with artist Takuro Kuwata, who’s currently participating in Roppongi Crossing 2025. Takuro Kuwata is a ceramic artist born in Hiroshima in 1981. Based in Tajimi City, Gifu—the heart of Japan’s Mino ware region – he trained in traditional ceramics before developing his own distinctive voice: tea bowls and vessels that blend classical techniques with vivid colours and contemporary forms. His work sits uncomfortably in traditional spaces, which is exactly the point. He’s been shown internationally and holds pieces in major museum collections. LOEWE Craft Prize Special Mention (2018), Japan Ceramic Society Award (2022). The museum hosted a special talk featuring Kuwata during the event, and I was lucky to snap a commemorative shot at the end of the event.

It was great to spend more time with Blair Bowman – whisky consultant and broker, deeply embedded in the industry’s more serious conversations. The Kaze highballs disappeared quickly, but the conversation didn’t.

On 30 January I spent the evening with Brandon Doughan, the master brewer and co-founder of Brooklyn Kura. We’d been meaning to meet properly for quite some time. He became a fan of Kanpai Planet around the time of the nine-part documentary series ‘Making Sake on Sado’. I hope to visit the brewery soon!

And finally… Kanpai Planet celebrates its 5-year anniversary on 9 February 2026. To mark this milestone, I’m asking the community to help define the channel’s greatest moments – the reviews, stories, and conversations that have shaped our journey through Japan’s drinks culture. I’ve selected 17 key videos from the 95 I’ve published. Your mission: choose your Top 3. Can’t find your favourite? Add it yourself. You’ll also get the chance to Ask Me Anything about Kanpai Planet.

Your submissions will shape two upcoming videos:
→ The Definitive Top 5 Kanpai Planet Moments
→ An AMA Episode

I’m also exploring membership options to help sustain the channel, and I’d love your thoughts on what you’d want from a Patreon-style programme.

I truly value your input. The form will be open until 8 February 2026. Click here: https://forms.gle/S74USRTeyjodY2xC8 and start voting! We continue… and Kanpai!

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