This Month on Maction Planet – November 2025

Remember, remember, the fifth of November – and all the other amazing days in the eleventh month of 2025. We continue…

Featured image: The main mountain near Ise is Mount Asama, the highest peak in the Ise-Shima National Park. The summit offers panoramic views of Ise Bay and the surrounding area, and on clear days, even Mount Fuji and the Japanese Alps can be seen. 

It can be reached by hiking trails or the scenic Ise-Shima Skyline toll road.

Or, grab a broomstick and fly there!

The month started off with me heading down to Kagoshima to attend Shochu Street, for the first time, for both days! Christopher Pellegrini, the world-renowned shochu whisperer who’s been banging on at me to go forever, was there with me from the start of the event on 31 October 2025, which is when this photo comes from. It was a huge success, and I was so happy to finally attend. It truly made me appreciate how important shochu is to the people and culture of Kagoshima.

It was an honour to be a part of the Online Scotch Whisky Awards 2025 as a contributor, something I’ve done for several years since the awards’ inception in November 2021. I sent in a little clip which was used as a vignette during the awards ceremony, which was broadcast on the evening of 1 November 2025 in the UK. I watched it in the morning of Sunday 2 November 2025 in Japan, while simultaneously paying attention to Game 7 of the World Series which saw the Los Angeles Dodgers triumph against the Toronto Blue Jays. Thank you to Roy, Ralphy, and the community for making this another historic event.

Later that day, I headed to Mars’ Tsunuki Distillery, with a group of friends including Momoko Kato, who is essentially the Mars CEO if rank at a company was measured by how much you care about the business.

We had a great time enjoying a small tour before trying all sorts of different drams at their bar at the former Hojo Residence. It’s actually been almost exactly four years since I was last down there. On my previous visit, I interviewed the master blender Tatsuro Kusano, and you can see that in my review of the Tsunuki 2022 below. 懐かしい:

No visit to Kagoshima is complete without a visit to Roku, the world-famous shochu bar, with Maya Aley behind the counter, pouring selections of their incredible assortment of Japan’s indigenous spirit. Always great to catch up with her.

I woke up on 3 November to the sounds of Kagoshima’s largest festival, the Ohara Matsuri. Walking up and down Tenmonkan, I saw all some sorts of different acts—marching bands, Aloha troops, and traditional Japanese dancing. The taiko drumming is one of my favourite things to see at any matsuri, including some groups with some very large drums, like the guys featured in the photo.

I really did have a productive time during my four days in Kagoshima. The final part of the fourth day of my trip was spent visiting my friends at Kanosuke, one of my favourite distilleries in Japan. It’s always good to have a few drams at the Mellow Bar, which truly is one of the best places to enjoy a tipple anywhere in the world. Just look at that sunshine through the bottles and my glass! Thank you to Master Distiller Taru Nakamura for the tour and taking the time to look after us.

The next day I was back to Tokyo and back in Maction. It was an absolute honour to tour Emily and Daniel for one day in the World’s Greatest Metropolis. This was one of those tours where we were having so much fun that we actually forgot to take a photo together until the very end, when they were about to get into a taxi back to their hotel!

Another iconic Maction Planet photo, taken beneath the lantern of the Kaminarimon at Sensoji, with Lisa. 7 November was the beginning of four days with her. This was one of those tours where we were having so much fun that we actually remembered to take many photos together!

For the final three days, we were joined by her husband, Doug, who you will see a photo of soon…

… but not before this! That same evening, I hosted Kimmy and Ryan on a curated tour through Tokyo’s most sought-after cultural experiences. Central to Maction Planet’s founding philosophy has been a commitment to providing guests access to precisely these kinds of events—the exclusive pop-ups, limited-edition experiences, and ephemeral gatherings that only those embedded within a city’s cultural fabric can truly identify and navigate. Upon learning of an exclusive pop-up hosted by my friend Brian MacDougson of Ramen Adventures, I immediately incorporated it as the culinary centrepiece of our evening itinerary, followed by a carefully curated selection of bars that showcased the city’s most compelling drinking culture. The evening’s highlight was an exceptional Portuguese canned fish mazasoba that exemplified the innovative creativity currently driving Tokyo’s food scene.

Here are Doug, Lisa, and me in Hakone, where we visited on Saturday, 8 November. Luckily, they had booked with me for both days of the weekend, and given the weather, I was able to switch to Hakone on Saturday morning. We enjoyed great weather – the day after was absolutely appalling. We had a wonderful day filled with art and great food and gardens and shrines and boat trips and many other l adventures, as you can tell by the smiles here.

It was an honour to spend Monday 10 November with Jason and his partner touring around Tokyo. I was extremely honoured that they, literally that night, wrote a review on TripAdvisor, which was very flattering, and I really appreciate it. All these reviews help future guests understand what we do, and we always appreciate them. And if you’re wonddering why I am wearing a Sado Island t-shirt…

That evening was the Gakkogura Reunion. Former alumni of Obata Shuzo’s sake training school, which I attended in 2021, gathered for our annual catch-up. Great to see some familiar faces and make some new friends, and also finally connect face-to-face with some people whom I’ve known online for a while. Click here to watch my experience at Gakkogura.

Thank you to Eddie and Ankie from the Netherlands for choosing Maction Planet. They emailed me after seeing a recommendation from author, model, and actress Daphne Dekkers, who kindly shared her experience on social media after her recent visit to Tokyo in September 2025.

It was an honour to explore off-the-beaten-track Tokyo with them.

I was honoured to attend the JSS Sake Media Gathering on 12 November 2025, where the focus was on “the cultural value of drinking warm sake.” The event featured renowned sake service professional Joe Takasaki (Takasaki no Okan) as the guest speaker. Born in Fukushima Prefecture, Joe trained at Tokyo restaurants before opening his izakaya JOE’S MAN in his hometown. After the Great East Japan Earthquake forced its closure in 2011, he later opened JOE’S MAN No.2 in Tokyo in 2014. With a deep passion for serving the finest warm sake, he closed that establishment in January 2021 to reconsider its direction, and in December of that year launched his new restaurant Takasaki no Okan. Since then, he has been energetically promoting the charm of warm sake through various activities. It was a privilege to learn from such a dedicated advocate of Japan’s unique sake culture.

I was honoured to be invited to provide travel consulting services in the Ise region of Mie Prefecture. Ise Shrine, one of Japan’s most sacred Shinto sites, is home to a remarkable tradition called the Shikinen Sengu. The shrine buildings are rebuilt every 20 years as part of the Shinto belief in tokowaka, which means renewing objects to maintain a strong sense of divine prestige, and as a way of passing building techniques from one generation to the next. The buildings are dismantled and new ones built on an adjacent site, with the two sites alternating with each rebuilding cycle. In this photo, I’m standing in front of one of these sacred sites where this ancient renewal tradition continues to unfold.

Bar NON Peat in Nagoya may just be my new favourite whiskey bar in Nagoya I had a great evening and was very much looked after. I tried some absolutely fantastic drams from their selection of around 400 malt whiskies, and I am very much looking forward to my next visit. I also enjoyed exploring their sister bar, Bar Rosebank, located next door.

The next day, I headed down to Omihachiman for the Biwako Biennale. This Biennale is held across three main areas: the centre of Omihachiman’s historic old town, Chomeiji Temple (the 31st temple on the Saigoku Thirty-three Kannon Pilgrimage route), and Okishima Island in Lake Biwa.

My first stop was Okishima Island, which has around 200 inhabitants, where I encountered this artwork at their main shrine.

On Sunday 16 November I explored the atworks in Omihachiman’s historic old town. I encountered this beautiful artwork by Akihito Okunaka titled Inter-world/Sphere (2024). This sculpture celebrates air, water, and sunlight, with the artist describing it as a piece that shimmers and captures the grace of its natural setting. The colours and light diffuse softly, and as the waters flow, the piece evolves and shifts, revealing itself through the constant interplay of the elements. It stands as a testament to the mirrors of Earth, a shifting dialogue between art and nature. He’s a lovely guy too!

It was an honour to tour Tokyo with Megan and her family and friends for a day. We had lots of fun, as the smiles here show. It was one of those tours where there is so much energy and enthusiasm that afterwards I felt pretty deflated after we parted!

Great to have Rita back in town. I first guided her in December 2018, and now she’s returned with her partner, Mikel, who loves ice cream. I guided them for two days in Tokyo, as well as planing their trip around the country.

Here’s a fun fact: I finished my ice cream faster than Rita finished hers.

*Mikel also loves many other things which I always able to deliver!

and speaking of back… Here are Jamie and Renata, who should be familiar to regular readers of This Month on Maction Planet and its precursor, This Week in Tokyo.

We are all smiles as they have returned to the World’s Greatest Metropolis and are about to board Gran Class. Gran Class is available exclusively on JR East’s Tohoku, Hokkaido, Hokuriku, and Joetsu Shinkansen lines. Comparable to first-class travel on an aeroplane, each Grand Class car houses only 18 seats with a seat pitch of 1,300mm, providing ample legroom to recline in the plush chairs. Passengers can enjoy complimentary meal service [on most trains] featuring seasonal light meals created with the finest ingredients, alongside unlimited beverages and personalised hospitality. It’s the ultimate way to experience Japan’s legendary high-speed rail.

We were on our way to see the famous snow monkeys of Jigokudani, nestled in the mountains of Nagano Prefecture. These Japanese macaques, known scientifically as Macaca fuscata, are the northernmost-living non-human primates in the world, perfectly adapted to survive in regions where snow covers the ground for months at a time.

The Jigokudani Monkey Park, whose name translates to “Hell’s Valley” due to the steam and boiling water that bubbles up from the frozen ground, has become world-renowned for its population of wild monkeys that bathe in the natural hot springs. Located in the Yokoyu River valley, within the larger Joshinetsu Kogen National Park, the area sits at approximately 850 metres elevation and is blanketed in snow for nearly a third of the year.

What made our visit particularly special was that we managed to actually see the monkeys – a stroke of luck, as the previous two days had yielded no sightings at all. These are wild animals, after all, not performers on a schedule. They come down from the forested mountains to bathe in the warm waters when they choose, and some days they simply don’t appear!

The Sukajan, or souvenir jacket, emerged in Yokosuka, which I guided in on 24 November, during the post-war American occupation of Japan. American servicemen stationed at the naval base sought personalised mementos of their time in Japan, and local craftsmen began embroidering elaborate designs onto satin jacket shells – often repurposing parachute silk. These vibrant jackets featured dragons, tigers, eagles, and maps of Japan, blending Eastern and Western aesthetics. The name ‘Sukajan’ itself combines ‘Suka’ from Yokosuka and ‘jan’ from the katakana for “jumper”. What began as military souvenirs evolved into an iconic symbol of Japanese street fashion, experiencing revivals in subsequent decades and remaining popular today as both vintage collectables and contemporary streetwear.

On 25 November 2025, I joined a select group of whisky lovers at a private tasting in Ginza, Tokyo, for a moment I will never forget: the first public serving of three-year-old whisky from the Rishiri Distillery. Located on Rishiri Island, it is Japan’s northernmost and most remote whisky distillery. Incredibly, founder Casey Wahl experienced this whisky FOR THE FIRST TIME alongside attendees. So, what did I think? Watch to find out.

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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