East Asia · Visited March 2025
Thirteen days across four cities. From the infinite density of Tokyo to the contemplative stillness of Kyoto — Japan rewards the patient traveller in ways that are hard to articulate and impossible to forget.
The first thing you notice is the precision. Trains that run to the second, food that takes thirty years to perfect, gardens pruned with mathematical care. It would feel cold if it weren't so clearly an expression of deep respect — for the craft, for the visitor, for the act of doing something well.
I spent three days in Tokyo without a plan beyond a vague intention to walk until my feet gave out. The city absorbed me completely. Every neighbourhood is its own world: Yanaka still smells like incense and old wood; Shimokitazawa belongs to the young and second-hand; Tsukiji moves at the speed of pre-dawn commerce.
Kyoto in March means plum blossoms just beginning to open. I arrived two days before the cherry season and felt unreasonably lucky. The temples were quiet. The light was soft. I drank too much matcha and slept better than I had in months.
