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+ +

about

+ I am a software engineer based in Berlin. +

+ Come back later... maybe I have come up with something clever to put here + :) +

+ By the way... you can download a complete dump of this page: + here +

+ +

audio

Gear

OKM II
Rode AI Micro
EasySoundRecorder (Android)

Recordings

+ +

books

2024

+ i left my ereader at a cafe on the 1st of january of this year + while traveling in south korea. i only got a replacement in june. + that's why there is a 6 month gap where i did not read anything + this year. +

june

Breakfast of Champions, Kurt Vonnegut
Neuromancer, William Gibson
Convenience Store Woman, Murata Sayaka +
+
+ i admit, i probably started this out of nostalgia after + coming back from japan. it's a cute little story that + nicely shows how weird japanese society can be. +
+
+

july

Der stumme Tod, Volker Kutscher
At the Mountains of Madness, H.P. Lovecraft
Only Human (Themis Files #3), Sylvain Neuvel +
+
+ i did not like this compared to the other two entries + to the series. mostly takes place on the world of the + creators of the "mechs". the style feels off compared + to the first novel when we were seeing the story evolve + through the eyes of the unnamed character. +
+
+

august

DROPPED + Illuminatus! Part 1: The Eye in the Pyramid, Robert Shea +
+
+ I did not like the meandering writing and whacky + storylines that kept looping back onto each other. +
+
+

october

Busy Doing Nothing, + Rek Bellum & Devine Lu Linvega +
+
+ somehow i fell down the rabbithole (lol) of rek & + devine's world this month. their log is fascinating and + inspiring. much of their stuff makes you want to set + out to sail yourself, and much of this book does too, + but then there is also details (like the wave incident) + that make you say: hell no. +
+
+

november

Celestial Bodies, Jokha Alharthi +
+
+ read this while in iceland. basically a family history + focused on the women. i had no background on oman's + history or society. super interesting from that angle. + sometimes a bit slow and confusing, since it's jumping + around the timeline. +
+
+
Snow Country, Kawabata Yasunari +
+
+ i am a sucker for japanese novels and their erie vibe. + this one has it too. so many small details that feel + meaningless on the surface but add some much to the + experience of the book. +
+
+

december

Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson +
+
+ had I not read Ready Player One and Neuromancer before, + this would surely have left a better impression. + the part about the sumarian virus is creative but feels + forced at the end when it is used to resolve + everything. +
+
+

2025

now

Record of a Night too brief, Hiromi Kawakami

+ +

hokkaido

+ + +2023-11-05 (3 days) + +

sapporo, hokkaido-jingu + hitsujigaoka
shikotsuko
noboribetsu onsen
toyako night and morning bath
rainy drive home
rainy otaru

+ +

ibaraki

+ + +2023-07-08 (3 days) + +

drive through chiba
daibutsu
cheap hotel stay in oarai
kajima
stag-themed football team
first time seico mart
asking for a spoon for choco spread
old cherry blossom tree in chiba

+ +

japan

+ In 2023 I went to Japan for 12 months +

+ This was my third time going. In 2014 I spent a short week in Tokyo on the + way home from Australia and I came back in 2018, this time for 2 months, + covering the popular destinations across Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. +

+ From April 2023 to April 2024 I tried covering some regions that I had not + visited and returning to some places I liked the last time. + The linked pages document those trips: +

+ +

journal

+ +

journal

+ +

kamakura

+ + +2023-04-22 + +

I call this one “trip zero”, because it was very much a trial run for +me. The effects of having just moved to Japan for the year were still +fresh and I altogether didn’t feel like exploring quite yet.

Kamakura is a common day-trip from Tokyo and a short 1.5h train ride +from my home near Asakusa. The weather was pretty meh, very cloudy and +it looked like it would rain any moment.

+ +

I had left the house earlier without breakfast, so off I went to the +next Lawson to get myself some. For some reason I decided to get a +Katsu-Sandwich¹, which is out of character for me - +I usually go for Onigiri - and then to have it on the beach nearby. +Seeing as i was the only person eating anything there should’ve been +hint enough. As soon as I sat down to take a bite, something comes +dashing down past my head. I am obviously startled but not prepared for +the bird to come back to actually pick the sandwich out of my hand this +time around.

There were a few birds (crows in my interpretation) circling overhead +just waiting for me to unwrap more food. To have my breakfast in peace I +just walk off into town again. Staying away from open spaces for a bit +😄

On my way back to the centre of town, I find a bucket of see-through +plastic umbrellas ² outside what looked like a beauty +saloon, with a sign telling passer-bys to take one (in Japanese ofc). I +guess the visibly imminent rain made the shop keeper put them out there +for tourists (conveniently helping him get rid of what was probably +left behind by his own clients). Naturally I picked one up: This +umbrella would be with me for the next months.

There isn’t really that much to say about the big Buddha³, in the end it’s just a large statue +(that you can go inside of for a fee).

Despite the weather there was a surprising amount of tourists and I +wanted to get out of the bustle, so I followed the street that had let +to the temple

area. A bit further I came to some stairs next to one of the tunnels +that lead out of the Kamakura city area, that cut through the +surrounding hills. OrganicMaps told me there was a hiking path up there, +which I could take to circle back towards the train station.

??? ↩︎
??? ↩︎
??? ↩︎

+ +

niigata

+ + +2023-06-08 (4 days) + +

shinkansen to niigata
rental car
eating seaweed soba
damaging the car at curb when leaving restaurant
gorge + tunnel
instagram spot w/ circular window
footbath w/ circular ceiling window
guy falls asleep in his car in the middle of the road
bath hunting in the morning
empty sky resort
awesome little bath next w/ view on shinkansen tracks
onigiri snacks in lawson parking lot

+ +

nikko

+ + + +2023-04-30 (2 days) + +

getting there

Before leaving home I had gotten myself an international Drivers +License, that gives you a permit to drive in many countries (outside the +EU) for up to 3 years. It only costs 15 EUR in Berlin and I had set the +soft goal of driving in Japan at least once.

+ +

For my first destination I chose Nikkō, another +common day trip destination from Tokyo that I had not done and +conveniently located along the Tōhoku Shinkansen line. My plan was to +take the train to Utsunomiya, rent a car from there and continue towards +Nikkō, with the eventual goal being a hotel at the shores of Chuzenji-ko.

So I start the day nice and early on one of the first trains out of +Ueno terminal. It’s another grey morning in Tokyo with the weather +forecast promising sunshine for the next day at least. When I arrive in +Utsunomiya though, none of that is in sight at all. Quite on the +contrary it is pouring down as I leave the station building. Luckily I +have my umbrella from the last trip with me, so I quickly orient myself +and find the tiny Toyota Rent-A-Car office not far from the station.

At this point my biggest fear is the interaction with the staff +there. I am very much aware that I don’t speak enough Japanese¹ and they won’t be super competent in +English² for us to be much of any help to +each other, should there be issues with my reservation or documents.

So I enter the store and approach the woman at the counter with my +phone in hand to show her the reservation code. I was not aware at the +time, that Toyota also has a version of their website in English, but +because I booked through the local version the emails I received were +all in Japanese as well. She confirms my booking through her computer +and asks me for my passport and license, so I confidently give her +those, including the International license. I know immediately that +something is wrong. Her expression of confusion when she sees the +admittedly pretty retro looking license says it all: This won’t do.

She goes to the back and after some back and forth she returns with +another woman, who I interpret to be her superior. She asks if I have a +translation of my drivers license into Japanese. Now it is my turn to be +confused. I simply point at the International license she is still +holding, but am well aware that it isn’t a Japanese translation +at all.

So rather than a car, I only receive a polite “sorry” and have my +booking fee refunded to me. I come back out into the rain with no idea +how to even get to my hotel later and if it even makes sense to go at +all.

I reconvene to the station Starbucks to do some research on what +acutally went wrong. I figure out that some countries (among them +Germany) don’t actually need anything more than a translation of the +local drivers license into Japanese issued by the JAF³. +This costs ¥4000 and takes up to 2 weeks (according to their website). +So there is no way I can work this out today.

+ +

Now that I am dependend on public transport my schedule is a lot more +constricting. The hotel I booked is served by a bus that runs every +hour, though only until 1800. This means I have to be careful how I +spend time around today’s destination: Tōshō-gū +et al

exploring nikkō

hotel

The bus ride to the hotel is a little event in itself. From the main +tourist area around the temple grounds there is quite the elevation +difference to Lake Chuzenji. The narrow road winds itself up into the +mountains as fog envelops the bus. I sit right at the front next to the +driver and am baffled by how much we block the road when taking the +serpentine turns, I dont’ think oncoming traffic (once they even see us +coming) would have anywhere to go.

Up on the lake plateau the fog lifts and I get another sunset over +the water this time. If the bus was already empty when I got on, when I +reach my stop I am the only passenger left. The hotel bus stop consists +of just a sign next to road and a driveway up into the hills.

Since I spent all day sight-seeing I had not had dinner, the first +thing I do after getting into the room was checking out my options for +food. The hotel has a menu, so I order Gyu-don⁴, +which is supposed to be delivered right into my room.

While waiting for the food, I get changed into hotel attire. I really +like that this is a thing. You really feel like changing pace when +getting out of your own clothes.

Since this is an Onsen hotel, the thing to do after dinner is +obviously the bath. I always like to go late, this is less effective +when going to Sentō in the city, because lots of poeple seem to go after +work or going out, but here it really makes a difference. I have the +place for myself (at least for a bit).

The indoor bath has a huge window out to the forrest but since it’s +dark and the room is lit up, that is not really useful.

There isn’t really much to do and I have a long day ahead of me +tomorrow, so I decide to just go to bed early.

After getting up, there is obviously breakfast first. The room fee +includes a full course Japanese breakfast, so rice and various side +dishes

At this point I still don’t know how to get to my planned destination +for today, the Senjogahara wet lands, 10km from the hotel.

The other problem I am faced with is how to make it back to the +station in time for the train back to Utsunomiya and eventually Tokyo. +At the front desk I get told that the hotel provides a free bus back to +Nikko at 11:00, but that is not helpful, since I have already seen the +sights around there and want to explore the area in the exact opposite +direction. After some research online I find that the same bus I came +with yesterday goes aroud in a loop. So I decide to take off on foot for +now and catch it on the trip back to the station later that day.

trails

So I begin walking at the lake shore alongside the road, follwing the +sign for the Lake Chuzenji Nature Trail. There are some larger +information boards that tell the histories of a small memorial garden +and the lake house. It doesn’t take very long before I reach +Shobugahama, where I start following the path towards Ryuzu Falls. +The waterfall is on the way to where I want to make it today, so I put +off my plan to find a bus stop that could take me to Senjōgahara +Marshland, and check them out first. I just follow the marked trail +which takes me up the hill next to the falls and into a web of paths +through a wooded area tracing the Yu river.

At this point my plan has shifted to walking all the way up to the +entrance of the wetlands walking trail, exploring there and then finding +a bus stop to take me back to Nikkō. The weather is great and it +surprises me how accessible the trails around here are. Although after +some kilometers I encounter a gate into the Senjōgahara park area, which +is apparently fenced off to keep deer in. I wouldn’t mind deer, +but the entrance is also plastered with signs warning the inclined hiker +of bears!

Once I arrive at the Senjōgahara Plateau Nature Trail, a raised +wooden walkway straddling the open grassland, I start my GoPro and put +in my OKM II microphones. ⁵

hardly any tbh↩︎
unless you are lucky, which I will be today↩︎
https://english.jaf.or.jp/driving-in-japan/drive-in-japan/about-dltas ↩︎
a rice bowl topped with braised beef↩︎
prior to leaving for Japan, I started experimenting with +binaural audio recording as a way to capture memories. I have a page +with some notes around the setup and some recordings here: audio ↩︎

+ +

shikoku

+ + +2023-10-01 (3 days) + +

shikoku loop
awaji
awa-ikeda
nagoro
kochi + castle
tengu-highlands
kanonji
takamatsu

+ +

toyama

+ + +2023-07-21 (3 days) + +

toyama
kurobe gorge
hida-takayama
shirakawa-go

shinkansen to kurobe-onsen
local train to kurobe-onsen (no IC)
local train to kurobe-onsen (no IC)
local train to toyama
car rental
drive to hida-takayama
drive to shirakawa-go
drive to toyama

+ +

yamanashi

+ + +2023-05-20 (4 days) + +

shinkansen to fuji
first time rental car
first time driving left-hand traffic
minobu(?)
climbing minobu san
down in cable car
drive into valley
blue lake + cable bridge
sleeping in the parking lot
other car makes me nervous
sleep rhythm adjusts to daylight
morning bath in empress bath
across to lake mototsu
???
mt fuji shows at sunset
sleeping with frog/circada concert in lawson parking lot
morning bath
maglev test track
70s playlist
yamanaka-ko + yuru camp spot
explosions or excavator?
gotemba katsu break
views of the rice fields
numasu
hustling along izu noth shore hunting sunset spot
refueling in the sticks
sleeping near llsunshine beach/ ministop parking lot
back to fuji in the morning
harassed waiting for bath time?
stuck in traffic
when did i visit the shrine in north fuji?

404

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about

audio

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Recordings

books

june

july

august

october

november

december

now

hokkaido

ibaraki

index

japan

journal

journal

kamakura

niigata

nikko

getting there

exploring nikkō

hotel

trails

shikoku

toyama

yamanashi