The original article was first published in this blog in July 2021.
I have always been happy to visit small towns when travelling. Unguided with maps or GPS , I enjoy simply walking around with no fixed plans, exploring and taking in the experiences and chance encounters that come my way.
While in Tokyo in 2017, I decided to take a side trip to Nakano, a ward of Tokyo which is just a 10-minute train ride from crowded and busy Shinjuku. I discovered a gem of a town, one filled with cherry blossoms trees in full bloom (my trip was in early-April), tranquility and most of all, the charms that come with travelling without any pre-planned itinerary.
Instead of a lengthy article struggling for words to fully describe my side trip to Nakano, I decided that a short video is a more appropriate medium to share my experience of the magic of Nakano.
******************
I visited Nakano as a side trip while in Tokyo in the spring of 2017. Just minutes away from Shinjuku, Nakano is a world away from the hustle and bustle that defines Shinjuku.
Here, serenity reigns. Being a rural area, the ambience is all about being slow paced and quiet. This is also an amazing place to catch sakura blooms (cherry blossoms) away from the crowds of central Tokyo.
This video consisted of photos I took of Nakano. From the moment I alighted from then train at Nakano Station, walked around and enjoyed the surrounding areas and finally returning to the Station for my trip back to Shinjuku.
These photos are presented in this short video in chronological order, based on my walking tour of Nakano.
Chinese New Year 2026 ....... February typically marks the month when Chinese New Year (CNY) is celebrated. Also known as the Spring Festival and Lunar New Year , this is the time when people of Chinese ethnicity celebrates the "New Year". Here in Singapore , we will have 2 days of public holidays as usual, on the first and second day of CNY. As this year's CNY public holidays fall on a Tuesday and Wednesday, many people can simply apply for annual leave on Monday for a 5-day "super long weekend" starting from Saturday, 14 February. And if one has enough annual leave days and is able to also apply for annual leave on Thursday and Friday for next week, then this will result in an even longer stretch of holiday from 14 February to 22 February, a total of 9 days off work in exchange for 3 days of annual leave. Naturally, plane tickets to popular holiday destinations such as cities in China and Japan, will also be rather expensive. Myself? No, I will not be tra...
Singapore , where I was born and grew up in and still live in, has always been compared to Hong Kong . While both cities have their similarities, they also have their unique differences which defined each city it each own right. I was first "introduced" to Hong Kong as a kid when I watched Hong Kong-produced TV dramas with my family. Then, I started listening to Canto-pop, basically pop songs by Hong Kong artistes. While I was not conversant in the Cantonese dialect then, I did slowly picked up the language due to constant exposure. Today, I still do not consider myself conversant in Cantonese. But I can at least understand the dialect when someone speaks to me in it. I will try my best to reply in Cantonese, peppered with Mandarin of course. For the record, I am an ethnic Chinese with Hokkien ancestry . However, I have no known living relatives in China or the province of Fujian , just to digress a bit from the focus of this blog post. Back to why I love Hong Kong and fin...
I have "met" Godzilla many times in Tokyo! The last meeting I had with the famous and colossal legend was in November 2024. Godzilla, Godzilla Store Tokyo , Shinjuku Marui Honten Annex , Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan (2024) I had specifically reserved almost one whole day of my Japan trip just to seek out Godzilla at all the locations it has been known to appear. These include Shinjuku Tôhô Building , Hibiya Square , and of course, Godzilla's very own Shinjuku Marui Annex (Shinjuku Marui Honten Annex). I also bought a Godzilla-themed t-shirt at Don Quijote Akihabara . Here are some "proofs" of my meetings with Godzilla! Godzilla, Hibiya Square, Tokyo, Japan (2024) Myself with my Godzilla merchandise paper bag, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan (2024) A Hobonichi X Godzilla Weeks Diary for 2025 bought at the Godzilla Store Tokyo, Shinjuku Marui Honten Annex, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan (2024)
Comments
Post a Comment