10 March 2020 marks the 75th anniversary of 1945 Great Tokyo Air Raid, the largest conventional weapons bombing in human history. 100,000 people, primarily women, children and other civilians were killed and the entirety of East Tokyo was all but wiped out. Mac, our Founder and Lead Guide, attended two memorials to remember the victims […]
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Filmmaker Adrian Francis is currently in the final stages of producing ‘Paper City’, a documentary telling the story of three survivors of the horrific 1945 Tokyo Firebombing who are fighting to leave behind a record of this forgotten tragedy – before the last of them passes away. To finish the film in time for a 2020 […]
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Welcome to the final ‘This Week in Tokyo’ of January 2020. ‘This Week in Tokyo’ is a review of the Maction Planet week that was and a look ahead to what’s coming up in the city. Check out photos from our tours and read insights into our explorations as we get under the skin of the World’s […]
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His Majesty Emperor Naruhito of Japan spent the evening of 14 November until the predawn of 15 November performing the Daijosai ritual, completing the last rite before acceding to the Chrysanthemum Throne, in the Daijokyu complex. Mac, our Founder and Lead Guide, visited the Daijokyu during its limited opening to the public. As a bonus, […]
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The latest edition of This Week in Tokyo – a review of the Maction Planet week that was and a look ahead to what’s coming up in and beyond the city. Check out photos from our tours and read insights into our explorations as we get under the skin of the World’s Greatest Metropolis, and beyond. This […]
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The latest edition of This Week in Tokyo – a review of the Maction Planet week that was and a look ahead to what’s coming up in and beyond the city. Check out photos from our tours and read insights into our explorations as we get under the skin of the World’s Greatest Metropolis, hosted […]
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Ema are small wooden votive tablets used by worshippers to write down their prayers, requests or gratitude and offer them up to the deities enshrined in the religious site. Ema provide a medium through which people can externalize and express their innermost fears and worries, and seek solace and support, ‘turning to the gods in times […]
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Hinamatsuri (雛祭り), literally the Doll Festival but commonly known as Girl’s Day, is held on March 3rd every year. It’s the day when families pray for and celebrate the happiness and prosperity of their girls. We take a look at the history, customs and foods surrounding this colourful day. The History of the Hinamatsuri Like […]
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Blossoms are one of Japan’s most iconic images. Though the sakura cherry blossoms are the most well known, they aren’t the only trees to produce beautiful flowers for a brief but lovely time. Dakota and Mac wax lyrical about the joys of ume – plum blossom. [All photos taken by Mac on his trusty Samsung […]
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Mac here. I was honoured to be invited to the Roads of Arabia Exhibition press day at the Tokyo National Museum, held today. The exhibition presents treasures from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which span over one million years from the Paleolithic to the 20th Century CE, for the first time in Japan. However, […]
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