began in the midst of the pandemic peak, when overseas travel was impossible and Japan’s borders were shut, as a way to keep myself occupied as we were spending an inordinate amount of time at home due to the restrictions and rules.
I thought to challenge myself to write & blog again.. Though the first initial writings were consistent, the unusual circumstances saw the blog started but then fall to the wayside, as we all began to adjust to these new restrictions and changes. However over time I kept coming back to it and now it’s grown into an intimate account of my endless travels through this beautiful country,
Having lived in Tokyo for now over 15years, my time is now split between working in my studio on my boutique slow & sustainable fashion label TOKYOKALEIDOSCOPE which reconstructs vintage kimonos into bespoke pieces for individuals and occasionally travelling around Japan helping to showcase the lesser known beauty of onsen ryokans, and further flung destinations, along with our own countless personal adventures.
I love to write about off the beaten path locations and people’s stories. You can find some of my writing here : PORTFOLIO
2023 saw my husband and I bought an old mountain house in the Japanese countryside, you can follow our journey on YouTube renovating it into our mountain abode over at YUKKURI SANSOU
RYOKAN WANDERINGS
HOW DID MY LOVE OF ONSEN RYOKANS BEGIN?
I became enamoured with the traditional beauty of Ryokans when I first came to Japan as a tourist circa 2005/2006. The love affair began with my first ever Ryokan experience at the infamous IWASO MIYAJIMA in Hiroshima.
Founded in 1854 (Ansei First Year), this beautiful and probably one of the most famous Ryokans known locally & overseas is like a scene out of a Ghibli movie, with its prime location overlooking the gorgeous UNESCO World Heritage Itsukushima Shrine & Tori Gate.
For a young Aussie girl of 19 /20 years old to step into this establishment revered for its traditional Japanese hospitality was like entering another world. You could feel the history all around you, see the craftsmanship in every little nook & cranny, hear the whispers of travellers that came before you.
It was also my first time to experience bathing nude in IWASO’s public onsens with complete strangers! I of course knew that it was going to have to happen because the room we had booked was their standard room with no bathroom facilities besides the toilet.
At the time, I was a young working University student & my boyfriend back then had only started working full time; so we booked the most basic room and 12+years ago it was not easy to find Ryokans on the internet to stay at! IWASO was the most well known tourist wise. It was the splurge of the trip and we both had wanted to experience a traditional Ryokan which of course comes with the public bathing element.
Back then I definitely had to psych myself up a bit for it, but hey when you’re in Rome do as the Romans do - so I just went with it and honestly it makes you so comfortable with your own body. I think everybody who visits/lives in Japan should push themselves out of their comfort zone and do a dip in a public onsen if you haven’t already. Be proud of your body and those onsen waters are so fantastic
When I eventually moved here, it blew my mind that you could actually reserve private onsens in some Ryokans for an hour or so and then it blew my mind even more when I first discovered that I could get an private onsen in my room! So I began to focus on discovering onsen ryokan that possessed rooms with private outdoor onsen (i.e rotenburo) and onsen ryokan that were secluded/hidden deep in nature with glorious beautiful nature views from their outdoor onsen.
I hope that my musings and experiences found on this blog of a lesser travelled Japan will inspire you to head to the further flung, off the beaten path of this amazing country
“Be fearless in the pursuit of what sets your soul on fire”