Revisiting Japan with my 19 year old

If your 19 year old is loving her monoculture, what do you do to open the gates? Take her to Japan. It was such a pleasure to see her experience Japan having never been there and it is so different to anything she’s ever known.

I started in Japan in 1975. Japan is like everything I’ve never seen.  In a sense, it is a monoculture, but  it is such a hugely diverse place. It’s full of hidden magic. Full of beauty. It is still a world of artisanship- they’re even taking on the Scots by making the best whiskey in the world.

Tokyo sunrise.  We stayed in the Park Hotel in their art rooms.

Uber in Tokyo was amazing. Give your location, a nice car comes, drops you off, no money no going around in circles. The subway was also invaluable. Do as the locals do and zone out for the ride.

Lost her soul in the subway.

Confused Carina hitching.

The Tokyo Station Hotel.

Tokyo winter fashion shoot complete with heater.

Antique textile shopping at  Morita.

A morning at the Tokyo fish market.

Trying the all-electric machines at the fish market. Turns on a dime.

The last tuna. After you eat sushi in Japan you’ll never eat it anywhere else.

Can you tell a city by its manhole covers? Only in Japan would a manhole cover be this beautiful.

The art of boro- Japanese patchwork.

A simulated firefly forest.

A sumo match. No one in the audience was under 50.

A meal in the sky.

We went up to Hokkaido. Hasn’t seen sun for months.

So close to Russia you could do a Palin.