Twenty years ago today, I stepped off a plane at Narita Airport and began a chapter of my life that I assumed would last two or three years. I was wrong, in the most amazing way possible. The humidity hit me the moment we landed. I travelled into central Tokyo, collected my keys from the […]
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Nineteen years. The number ‘hits different’ than its predecessors – not quite the symbolic weight of eighteen’s coming-of-age or the soon-to-be round number of twenty, nor the cultural resonance of twelve’s hitomawari. Yet nineteen carries its own quiet significance: it’s the final year before another decade marker, a moment of pause before the next major […]
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18 is a significant milestone—it’s the age of adulthood in many cultures, a time when individuals step into new responsibilities and opportunities. For me, these 18 years in Tokyo represent 40% of my total life, and 66.6% of my adult life. At 45, I look back with awe and gratitude at the journey that has […]
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Seventeen years ago, I moved to Tokyo, embarking on an incredible adventure that re-shaped my life and allowed me to share the wonders of this great metropolis with people from all over the world. The journey began four years earlier. From the first instant I arrived in Tokyo to watch the World Cup in June […]
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Welcome to ‘This Week in Tokyo’, a review of the Maction Planet week that was and a look ahead to what’s coming up in the city. Hosted by Mac, our Founder and Lead Guide, you can check out photos from our tours and read insights into our explorations as we get under the skin of the […]
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Sixteen years ago today, I moved to Tokyo. I celebrate my anniversary on the day I arrived, not the day I flew out. Damn timezones. On this day, 16 years ago, I landed at Narita Airport at 09:10, on a flight from London Heathrow paid for by my new employer. I had spent the previous […]
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Welcome to ‘This Week in Tokyo’, a review of the Maction Planet week that was and a look ahead to what’s coming up in the city. Hosted by Mac, our Founder and Lead Guide, you can check out photos from our tours and read insights into our explorations as we get under the skin of the […]
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15 years ago today, I moved to Tokyo. If we consider adult life starting from 18, the earliest point I could realistically have made decisions about my own residency, then I have now lived in Japan for 60% of that time. The majority of my adult experience, the period of my life that I have […]
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14 years ago today I moved to Tokyo. I launched the Maction Planet website in February 2017. Since then I have written an anniversary post on each year on 20 February which is business-oriented, and have saved the 4 August posts for reflections of a more personal nature. To say the travel and tourism industry […]
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On a sunny Saturday in December 2019, Mac embarked on a pilgrimage to Sengakuji Temple to pay his respects at the Ako Gishi Sai Festival of the 47 Ronin, the masterless samurai who embody the ultimate concept of loyalty… at least, that’s the story. We made a video of the festival! Learn more about this […]
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