In September and October 2024 I traveled around Japan with a friend. We landed in Tokyo with our only plan being to explore Hokkaido but ended up also visiting Osaka, Hiroshima, Fukuoka (Hakata) and Beppu.
Some days were more eventful than others. We oscillated between exploring, resting and working. Our time in Osaka was allocated mostly toward the latter.
For the photos, I used a Sony A7R3 with a Tamron 28-75mm lens, along with an iPhone 13 Pro. Photos shot on the iPhone are marked as such with rounded borders. After Osaka I didn't use the Sony much, so the photo quality is much worse from that point on.
Click on any image to open its full-resolution version.
Overall, I opted for a documentarian style of photography with straightforward compositions and minimal editing. Japan is in many regards a fantastic country and there is no shortage of content showcasing its flashy and impressive aspects—the neon lights, the architecture, the conveniences, the orderliness, even the toilets—however, like anywhere in the world, in Japan there exist also mundanity and decay and I would rather present that honestly than try to embellish the dull through flattering framing and editing or overly selective photography. Therefore, I've photographed and curated the photos in a way that I hope neither flatters nor slanders the country and the experience I had.
The first time I visited Japan was during December of the previous year which meant a nice cool temperature. This time, arriving almost two months earlier, it was a sauna.
Earlier in the year I read in one of architect Christopher Alexander's books about a certain building he and a few others designed and constructed in Tokyo, so I went and took some photos of it. It's a nice building that blends in well. Behold the Emoto Apartment Building, constructed in 1987. The exact location was incredibly hard to find and I had to use the Google Maps 3D view to search for it.
I wonder if the bike has stood here all these years.
After the walk to and from the building in the humid and sunny 35°C weather I was drenched in sweat and overheating and so decided to have the first bowl of ramen in a year.
A bowl at Ramen Hidamari (麺や ひだまり) in
Sendagi.
Pretty building outside the hotel.
I spent the rest of the day recuperating from the flight.
My airplane neighbour had been a Norwegian who was also into programming so naturally we talked a bit and decided to hang out the next day. We had Japanese curry in Jimbocho and peeked around the bookstores. There's a large one there called Kitazawi which has a ton of old books on topics ranging from history to political science to philosophy to fiction and everything inbetween. I didn't buy anything because I didn't want to lug around books for the rest of the trip, but if you ever go to Tokyo I highly recommend visiting it.
As the sun set, my travel buddy L arrived and we went straight for our most coveted restaurant in all of Tokyo, which is Ramen Ibuki in Itibashi. It was a 40 minutes metro ride plus a short walk, each way, from our nearest station in Nippori, but worth it. They serve an extremely thick and powerful broth made from dried sardines.
Sardine broth noodle (Niboshi) bowl at Ramen Ibuki.
Now the real journey, the reason why we came here, was about to begin. A four hour ride on the bullet train north and we arrived late afternoon in the port city of Hakodate. Hungry as we were there was not much to do except eat.
On the Shinkansen (bullet train).
Oysters and, as shameful as it is to admit, whale meat.
Crab over rice.
Not quite satiated after the meal, we went to a wildly themed hamburger restaurant called Lucky Pierrot. There are a total of seventeen Lucky Pierrot restaurants in Hakodate, each with a different theme. Ours was clown themed. I'll let the photos speak for themselves.
Not a great burger if I'm being honest.
Still in Hakodate, we explored the city during daytime by visiting the ferry museum and local markets.
Overgrown grass as a sign of abandonment and rural flight was something we would see even more later on.
Breakfast from the convenience store. Sadly the old BOSS latte flavor has been replaced by a weaker one.
The same Lucky Pierrot restaurant as before but during daytime.
I'm going to bet that they sell whale-derived food products here.
Before the Shinkansen was expanded to cross the strait separating Hokkaido from Japan's main island, Honshu, the Seikan ferry would carry passengers between Hakodate and Aomori. One of those ships has been repurposed into a museum.
Here comes more ship than you probably care about. Feel free to skip to the next section.
Enough of the ferry.
At last, here's a practice which I find absolutely disgraceful and that should be abolished along with whaling: keeping octopuses in small boxes until they get butchered.
Moving northward to the capital of Hokkaido, we arrive at Sapporo.
I'm not a train guy but I have to admit it's a very nice train.
We had a fantastic view from the twelfth floor.
Hunger and the excitement of being in a new large city dragged us out of our tower onto the streets of central Sapporo.
Most of the activity takes place in Susukino.
Coming from a Sony Alpha 6000, I'm astonished by how good the Sony A7R3 is in low light conditions.
Don Quijote, everyone's favorite store.
Susukino.
Early dinner or late lunch at Ebisoba Ichigen.
I love the simple colors of most of the signage here.
Now entering Nakajima Park.
Hōhei Kan opened in 1881 as a hotel but now hosts events and tours.
Situated in the mountains just west of Sapporo, Jozankei is a hot spring (onsen) town struggling with decreasing tourism. Several onsen facilities here are abandoned and left to decay. The ones still being run are splendid however.
Someone walking in front of us.
Toyohira river cuts through the Jozankei onsen town.
We ended up going to Yunohana Jozankeiden (定山渓温泉 湯の花定山渓殿). It had a serene outside area with a pretty view toward a mountainside.
Photo not mine.
I could drink the strawberry milk by the gallon.
A rather uneventful day.
More photos of Nakajima park.
In the evening we visited a popular yakiniku (barbecue) place, 極み超熟成炭火焼肉しぶき.
We went somewhere by metro to try to find a sushi place, but it was unfortunately closed. The area was nice though.
In the evening we went up the mountain by cable car.
Arriving in Asahikawa.
View of Asahikawa from the station.
Asahikawa station.
Day trip to a neaby botanical garden.
Waiting for the bus at 9 AM.
Cable car up to the start of the hike.
View from the cable car. Foliage is turning orange already.
Map of Asahidake and nearby mountains, all part of the Daisetsuzan National Park.
The fog hides the mountain.
Looking back toward the cable car's end station.
More mountains to the north; Asahidake lies east.
Asahidake, enveloped in fog and sulphur gas.
Further up the mountain.
As we entered the fog, a surreal feeling began to set in.
At the top.
2291 meters above sea level. The hike itself was much shorter, of course.
Went back down the same route.
On the train back to Asahikawa.
Nothing in particular happened on this day.
Early dinner at Ramen Santōka. The waitresses were
eager to practice English with us.
It was now time to venture further into Hokkaido. After lunch we got on the train east headed for Kitami, a 3 hour ride.
Now, Kitami isn't rural per se, but there was a noticable difference from, say, Sapporo. Even right around the central train station and mall, there were few people around and many stores had been closed and abandoned.
In the evening we took the bus to an onsen.
On the northeast coast of Hokkaido we find Abashiri, famous for Abashiri Prison. Population decline due to rural flight is noticable here.
I took a lot of photos here, so curating them will take some times...
To be continued... Osaka Castle etc.
Sardine broth ramen at Torisoba Zagin Niboshi.
I don't think we did much today.
Malfunction.
Ramen at Menya Hyottoko Yurakucho.
Dinner at Yakiniku Okideli.
In a below-ground restaurant in Jimbocho, Sumatra Curry Kyōeidō (スマトラカレー 共栄堂>) serves a strong curry with an almost burnt taste. Not everyone may like it but if you're in the area I recommend trying it. For dessert you can order a very sweet baked apple.
Day spent eating. For lunch we had ramen at Ramen Nishino in Bunkyo and for dinner we had burgers at Shogun Burger in Akihabara.
Ramen Nishino.
Ramen Nishino.
Shogun burger in Akihabara.
Akihabara.
Sumida.
At 634 m, Tokyo Skytree is the tallest tower both Japan and the world, and the third tallest structure in the world. Its primary role is television and radio broadcasting for the Kantō region, but there's also an observatory deck near the top.
Thank you for your time and I hope you enjoyed the post!