This Month on Maction Planet – June 2025

I finally had a day I didn’t guide on in June! I didn’t know what to do with myself, so I had some meetings and visited several art exhibitions and food and drink venues to ensure our tours going forward are even better. Welcome to the meaning of Maction!

Featured image: On 4 June I headed to Uji with Tyler and George and visited the Byodo-in Temple, which is featured on the ¥10 coin. We were not the only people taking this photo!

This was the first photo I took after me, Tyler and George, and I arrived in Kanazawa. It is of a calligraphic sculpture: “Rain” by the calligrapher Sisyu. It was exhibited in the underground exhibition hall of the Louvre Museum in Paris. It won her the Grand Gold Prize and garnered the comment, “Hokusai turned the solid into a plane, whereas Sisyu turned the plane into a solid.” This work shatters the idea that characters are flat. When subjected to light, the sculpture’s shadow serves as a key part of its expression. Sisyu is a Japanese calligraphic artist officially recognised by the Japanese government. She has even shown her artworks to the Emperor and the Empress in person. Known for incorporating Japanese calligraphy into other art forms such as sculptures, media arts, and paintings, her latest artwork adds calligraphy etched in iron and glass to the collection. Sisyu symbolizes the Japanese concept of “Zen” and sends the traditional work of calligraphy “Sho” into an age of new perspectives.

Kenrokuen in Kanazawa, one of Japan’s top three gardens, never gets old.

We got to Kyoto on the afternoon of 3 June and despite some rain, we didn’t waste any time hitting up Fushimi Inari Taisha. Here are the lads giving it the large in the Senbon Torii area.

Our adventures on 4 June continued at the Nintendo Museum. I was not the only person posing for this photo, although few could match the pose!

On 5 June we headed to Hiroshima and Miyajima Island!

We just kept collecting iconic photos. Here we are on 6 June in Osaka with the Glico man!

All good things must come to an end… this is the final photo Tyler, Geroge and I took together. What an epic 12 day trip that way. I didn’t want it to finish, so much so that the taking of this photo almost caused me to miss my stop. Luckily, I have watched all the Mission: Impossibles!

After leaving the lads, I went straight to Jingu Stadium to host Allison and family at Meiji Jingu Baseball Stadium, as my beloved Tokyo Yakult Swallows took on the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks… and WON! Yes, I was as shocked as the players by their 4-2 victory!

Watch out for the latest boyband: Maction feat. The Fraziers.

Some people have a spirit animal, I have MyakuMyaku. So when I spotted them at Shinagawa Station on the morning of 12 June, there was only going to be one outcome.

On 12 June we successful attempted an epic day trip to both Himeji and Kyoto. Why? Himeji Castle appears as a wonder in several Civilization games. Specifically, it is featured as a wonder in Civilization Revolution and Civilization V. This is as a good a reason to conduct this epic double header. We even combined it with Nijo Castle in Kyoto for a defensive dooible header!

13 June proved to be a sporty day for us. It began with watching morning Sumo Practise at Onoebeya, all the way out in Ikegami. I may look the part, but I will not be signing up any time soon. Those guys are TOUGH.

Later that day, we went to ZOZO Marine Stadium to watch the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in Away territory, taking on the Chiba Lotte Marines. It was an exceptional day, apart from the result. Every year the famous Narashino High School Marching Band comes to Zozoma. 13 July was 2025’s day!

Sadly, the game saw the Swallows lose 5-4 on a wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth. But, regardless, a fun time was had by all!

There are 5000 taxis in the Nippon Kotsu fleet, but only 7 have this pink “桜にN” topper! I rode in one of them on my way to pick up the guys on 14 June. I even have the congratulatory trading card, which says, “Fortunately, you are now on board the special taxi!”

Don’t mind me… just hanging out at teamLab Planets!

Despite the fact that Japan has not historically been a tipping society on the whole, some guests still like to show their appreciation in a way that reflects the customs of their own culture! Thank you to Dong, Lisa and family for two incredible days with the extended tribe!

Blast from the past! I toured with Michael and Varick in 2019 and now they were back! As I already had been booked on their requested dates, they even extended their trip to spend their final day with me. I am truly honoured when guests do that. Thank you always for choosing Maction Planet.

Together again for the first time! I first encountered this guy at the GODZILLA THE ART by PARCO vol.4 exhibition. Here are we at GODZILLA THE ART which ran at Mori Art Gallery from 26 April – 29 June 2025.

On 20 June, I was back at Onoebeya with Natalie and family!

You have to be very fast to snap at shot like this at Odawara Station. These Nozomi Shinkansen pass through QUICK!

What an incredible three days I spent with Natalie and family!

This has truly become a Maction Planet staple! If we go to Sensoji together, we are taking this photo!

After a successful knife shopping expedition, this was the final photo I took with Natalie and family.

What does one do on their first day not guiding in over three and half months? You go and represent your country of origin at the Shaun the Sheep/AArdman Animation exhibition!

None of my Tokyo teams are doing well this season. Luckily, FC Tokyo managed to bring an A-game of sorts to the Nissan Stadium on Wednesday 25 June and beat Yokohama F Marinos 3-0 away in a crucial victory as we look to avoid being anywhere near the relegation zone.

On 26 June I swung by Tokyo Comedy Bar to support, or perhaps protect the crown from, the comedic stylings of Sam B!

It is great to see the SEO of our Tokyo Art Tours working! On Friday 27 June I was able to take guests to Echoes Unveiled: Art by First Nations Women from Australia which runs from 24 June – 21 September 2025 at the Artizon Museum. This work by Yhonnie Scarce (1973–) was my favourite. Specializing in glassmaking at the School of Visual Arts, University of South Australia, Scarce is known for her blown glass installations that convey the colonial experiences of her ancestors, the use of her ancestral homeland as a nuclear testing site during the Cold War, and the ongoing excavation of the land through mining.

After all that, I needed a drink. Luckily, my friend and bartender, Yu, was around on the evening of 30 June for us to share a rare evening of reaction together. Who better to make me his signature White Lady than Hidetsugu Ueno, owner and Head Bartender of Bar High Five in Ginza.

Yu and I visited four bars and shared our final drinks with Suntory’s Global Brand Ambassador James Bowker and the inimitable Jonny McCormick from Whisky Advocate and Don Gatterdam from Wine Spectator!

And I still had time to drop a…

NEW KANPAI PLANET VIDEO: Join me at Tokyo’s legendary Aloha Whisky Bar for an incredible conversation with Dave Broom – one of the world’s most respected whisky writers and the man behind “The World Atlas of Whisky.” Dave drops an EXCLUSIVE bombshell about a final, “remarkable” whisky release coming later in 2025 – an ultimate farewell to a legendary Japanese Whisky distillery! This is a world media first, exclusively on Kanpai Planet.

Maction Planet runs bespoke Private Tours and Experiences in Tokyo, and beyond. To book yours, or to purchase a gift card, contact us at info@mactionplanet.com

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