TL;DR – I continue my time in Hiroshima by visiting Itsukushima.
Disclosure – I paid for my flights, accommodation, entry, and everything you see purchased in this article.
Exploring Japan –
I had always planned to go back to Japan one day, and had started making plans to go back in 2020. Then, well, 2020 happened. But late last year, I finally had the chance to put those plans back in motion as I flew out of Melbourne for Osaka, and thus my time in Japan began.
After my morning in Hiroshima City visiting the Peace Memorial, I walked back to the tram station to take the leisurely trip through the city down to the ferry to Itsukushima. I think the train would have been quicker, but I like the vibe of the tram, getting to see different parts of the city as you drive through.
TL;DR – I spent a day in Hiroshima on my way to the south of the country.
Disclosure – I paid for my flights, accommodation, entry, and everything you see purchased in this article.
Exploring Japan –
I had always planned to go back to Japan one day, and had started making plans to go back in 2020. Then, well, 2020 happened. But late last year, I finally had the chance to put those plans back in motion as I flew out of Melbourne for Osaka, and thus my time in Japan began.
After spending my first five days based out of Osaka, it was time to begin my trip down to the south of the country. I didn’t want to spend a whole day travelling down to the south, so it was time to make a pit stop in the middle, and for me, that would be Hiroshima. Okay, I say pit stop, I was always going to spend some time here.
TL;DR – I join some friends in Nara and bow to some deer.
Disclosure – I paid for my flights, accommodation, entry, and everything you see purchased in this article. [Other than the delicious lunch]
Exploring Japan –
I had always planned to go back to Japan one day, and had started making plans to go back in 2020. Then, well, 2020 happened. But late last year, I finally had the chance to put those plans back in motion as I flew out of Melbourne for Osaka, and thus my time in Japan began.
TL;DR – I take a walk through Kyoto. There were many, many steps.
Disclosure – I paid for my flights, accommodation, entry, and everything you see purchased in this article.
Exploring Japan –
I had always planned to go back to Japan one day, and had started making plans to go back in 2020, and then 2020 happened. But late last year, I finally had the chance to put those plans back in motion as I flew out of Melbourne for Osaka, and thus my time in Japan began.
TL;DR – I take a walk through Osaka and find a Pokémon Center.
Disclosure – I paid for my flights, accommodation, entry, and everything you see purchased in this article.
Exploring Japan –
I had always planned to go back to Japan one day, and had started making plans to go back in 2020, and then 2020 happened. But late last year, I finally had the chance to put those plans back in motion as I flew out of Melbourne for Osaka, and thus my time in Japan began.
TL;DR – I visited one of the Wonders of the World at Himeji Castle.
Disclosure – I paid for my flights, accommodation, entry, and everything you see purchased in this article.
Exploring Japan –
I had always planned to go back to Japan one day, and had started making plans to go back in 2020, and then 2020 happened. But late last year, I finally had the chance to put those plans back in motion as I flew out of Melbourne for Osaka, and thus my time in Japan began.
TL;DR – Time to fly and begin my visit in Osaka by going under the sea.
Disclosure – I paid for my flights, accommodation, entry, and everything you see purchased in this article.
Exploring Japan –
I had always planned to go back to Japan one day, and had started making plans to go back in 2020, and then 2020 happened. But late last year, I finally had the chance to put those plans back in motion as I flew out of Melbourne for Osaka.
TL;DR – This is a stunningly beautiful portrait of a man’s life that feels both deeply personal and universal in what drives him. It is profoundly moving and full of narrative grace that could have been all melancholy but is instead full of heart and joy.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.
Disclosure – I was invited to a screening of this film.
Touch Review –
I know this is only August, and there are many films I will see this month, let alone by the end of the year, but today, can I say that we are looking at one of my films of the year. If not, the film of the year. This is such a stunning work that it has sat with me the whole time since I first watched it. I mean, Touch is such a beautiful film that I am getting emotional from writing about it now.
So, to set the scene, Kristófer (Egill Ólafsson) is going through the motions of his life in Iceland at the start of the COVID pandemic. He is a famous restaurateur on the island, but he has now closed his restaurant and is spending time at a local choir and trying to invoke his past diaries. But as the world starts to close up, Kristófer sets on a mission to answer one of the great questions of his past when he (Palmi Kormakur) was a young student in London and one day, he walked into a Japanese restaurant and met Miko (Kōki).
TL;DR – This is a polarising show in that it will either suck you into its world or create barriers that make it hard to be connected. I was the first, but I could understand why you could be the latter.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service that viewed this series.
Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.
Shōgun Review –
When you hear that an American studio is going to take on a Japanese story, that raises some alarm bells, but then it is a story about Japan written by an Australian in the 1970s. Well, you take a moment to have a grave concern. However, the more I heard about the series and the role of Japanese creatives like lead Hiroyuki Sanada, the more I had to check out, and I am glad that I did.
So, to set the scene, it is the year 1600, and only Portugal has been able to make inroads into the closed society of Japan. But there is a change in the air, with the reigning Taikō dying and not clear succession. This is an opportunity for both those within and those without to change up the status quo. But in all times of change comes chances for great riches and terrible defeats. One such entrant into this Dutch merchant led by Englishman navigator John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis), whose convoy was hit with storms, starvation, dehydration, and despair when it crashed into the Japanese coastline, with only one ship of five remaining. But Blackthorne arrived in the Japans at an exciting time. For there is a power vacuum, and many people are trying to fill it, one of which is Lord Yoshii Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada), the local bushō and lord over Kantō. Blackthorne cannot speak a word of Japanese, but he is fluent in Portuguese. This is good because Lord Toranaga has a Portuguese speaker in his entourage, Lady Toda Mariko (Anna Sawai). The bad news is that the Portuguese are Blackthorne’s enemies. In religion, in regional competition, and can control if Blackthorne lives or dies. Now, from here, we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.
TL;DR – We chart all of Jet Lag as they galivant across the globe.
Mapping Jet Leg –
As we continue our project to Map Pop Culture, I thought I would step away from the video games and movies of the past and into new territory. One area of Pop Culture that we have yet to explore is the world of Internet Culture. However, what would be the first step into this new space? Well, it needed to be something that respected maps, and I knew 100% who that would be.
If you have never watched Jet Lag, can I tell you that you are missing out on some joy as Ben, Sam, Adam, and often a guest run across the world playing games like tag across Europe. There is a frantic, joyous energy to everything when someone looks dead into the camera and states, “Of course I brought a disguise!” It is that joy that we present our maps today.
