Did you all have a lovely King’s Day? I did! Yes, even in Japan, Wim-Lex’s birthday was celebrated. On Saturday, I visited the Dutch café in Kokubunji for an evening with Dutchies, faux Dutchies, kapsalon, and bitterballen. On Sunday, I went out with a group of girls to take photos. Orange photos, that is…
King's Party
Café The Lighthouse in Kokubunji is a special place. Although the name doesn’t sound Dutch (no idea why, actually), being inside really feels like coming home. From the music to the posters on the wall, the food and drinks, and of course owner Hana (Hannah) and her staff: everything is Dutch. Around the café, a kind of loose community has formed, and by now I’ve come to know many of the people there as well. Still, it’s not only other Dutchies who visit the café; many Japanese people come too, either because they see the Netherlands as the promised land, or simply because they live nearby.
Photowalk
On Sunday morning, a group of girls gathered around Ebisu Station. My French friend Dora (Cassandra) had organised a photowalk! Twenty-two girls had signed up for the meetup, where we went in search of “our” color. Dora had prepared a lucky dip for anyone who wanted fate to decide, but I already knew right away: I was going for orange.
Together, we walked from Ebisu to Yoyogi, taking photos along the way of everything we came across in our colors. I was hunting for orange, just like two others, but we also helped each other out: “Look, this is a nice pink one!” Halfway through, Dora had planned a coffee break at a local spot. The man from the shop took our group photo, and, as it turned out later, also filmed a video that he posted on Instagram. I had no idea, until my friend Kei suddenly sent me a screenshot: “I spotted you!”
It was such a wonderful morning. To begin with, I felt incredibly inspired – it was like being back studying Communication and Multimedia Design, in the most positive way possible – and now I feel like having a themed photo walk every week. On top of that, I had such lovely conversations with the other girls, who had come from all over the world – from Colombia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hong Kong and also Japan. Afterwards, we had an improvised picnic in the park, after which I went home tired but very satisfied.
And now, behold: my orange discoveries!
That evening, I couldn’t sleep and lay in bed with a headache – sensory overload, you know – but it was more than worth it.
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Moving plans
“Geez, Toeps, can things never just be calm for once?” Ha, no. I’m Toeps, and I always need a project to sink my teeth into. It’s usually a project that improves my life, so that helps, but calm? No, that’s not really my thing.
A sports car, a Dutchie on a Japanese mountain and a Frenchie next to a Dutch windmill
François never really liked driving. He loves cars, sure, but the act of driving itself always made him nervous. When we visited Sakaiminato last year—a remote town entirely themed around an old anime—he was already sweating before we’d even made it out of the rental car parking lot. But that short trip through the Japanese countryside gave him enough confidence to try again. Since then, we’ve driven in Tottori, Nagasaki, Shikoku, and even once right here in the city, with a giant Ikea package I’d mistakenly ordered, crammed into the back of the rental.
A different pilgrimage through Shikoku – Part 2
Just like in Shimanto, I had booked two single rooms in Takamatsu. Not so much to recharge this time, but because most hotels near the station were expensive, and Toyoko Inn only had single rooms left. For smokers, no less. Luckily, when we checked in, it turned out that 1) this was a brand-new hotel that had only opened two months earlier, and 2) there were still two non-smoking rooms available, which they were happy to switch us to—especially for me, a loyal Toyoko Inn Club Card holder.
It was still too early to check in, but we were able to leave most of our luggage at the front desk, which let us head into the city a lot lighter. Our first stop was a udon restaurant. Udon is the local specialty in Takamatsu, after all. I had been to Takamatsu five years earlier too, and back then, I’d eaten udon at this very same restaurant.
A different pilgrimage through Shikoku – Part 1
Those who walk the 四国八十八箇所 (Shikoku Hachijūhakkasho), or Shikoku Pilgrimage, visit 88 temples in honor of the Buddhist monk Kūkai, covering a route of about 1,200 kilometers. Originally, the pilgrimage was done on foot, wearing a white jacket and a woven conical hat. Nowadays, pilgrims also take the bus or train—though we still occasionally saw a die-hard walking along the highway. The journey takes pilgrims through the four prefectures of Shikoku: Tokushima, Kochi, Ehime, and Kagawa.
We were not doing this pilgrimage, and only visited temple 84: Yashima-ji. Though that was for another reason, which we’ll get to later. While pilgrims collect a stamp at each temple in their booklets, we were collecting something else: Starbucks medallions. In the meantime, we also visited strange, abandoned places, and a castle that wasn’t there.
Snap visit
“You know what I’ve been missing?” I thought the other day. “Just running around Tokyo with Charlotte, taking photos, reels, or whatever other content I can use for my socials.”
Two Dutchies and a Shinto wedding ceremony
Some time ago, I got an email from Ingrid. She had been following me on Instagram for a while and now wanted to hire me as a photographer. At first, that sounded like a regular job—I often do photoshoots in Japan, usually of couples, families, or friends visiting on vacation. But Ingrid had a special request: in honor of her and her husband’s wedding anniversary, the couple wanted to hold a Shinto wedding ceremony. I immediately felt a little wave of panic.
Who wants to go back to Namie, Fukushima?
On the 15th of March 2011, four days after the devastating earthquake and tsunami, and the subsequent disaster of nuclear plant Fukushima Daiichi, all inhabitants of Namie that aren’t evacuated yet, are ordered to leave their town. The radiation levels in the village, just eight kilometers away from the plant, are way too high. A little […]