Oh, man. Our writers have no idea what they’re in for when they agree to a Tokyo Survival Channel challenge.
Experience
Wait, so Wolverine killed Bill, then Hawkeye came to avenge him, before he was confronted by Black Widow who stayed and got lost in translation? Or am I just furiously drifting between movies too fast? [Pause… Record scratch…] Let’s back up a bit, in a classic comedy movie fashion after a confusing opening. Tokyo Survival…
Experience
What’s better than watching anime? Living anime! Since I’m lucky enough to live in Tokyo, the setting for a lot of great anime series, Tokyo Survival Channel challenged me to find 10 real life locations of my favourite anime in just three days. Not only that, I had to recreate the exact shots from the…
Experience
Nothing says Christmas like ending up in a love hotel dressed as an elf As the holiday season approaches and the end of the apocalyptically ambitious 2020 finally draws to a close, many people around the world will be celebrating differently from normal, or perhaps not celebrating at all. For the first time in my…
Experience
When I was a kid, winter used to be a special time. It was when my siblings and I could wear personalized sweaters and accessories that were knitted by our mother and grandmother. Partly because of this, I developed an appreciation for handwoven fabrics, organic cotton, and natural dyes that not only contribute towards sustainable…
Eating & Drinking
De gustibus non est disputandum (“In matters of taste, there can be no disputes.”) — Latin maxim A shared love of coffee and a challenge is what brought Tetsu Kasuya, the 2016 World Brewers Cup Champion, and me, Zoria, a coffee-obsessed writer, together for an afternoon in Chiba. While Tetsu has turned coffee making into…
Eating & Drinking
Did someone say, “Thanksgiving?” Time for autumn leaves, family and friends, sweaters and wine, green bean casserole, and…no turkey. Sorry traditional Thanksgiving, but move over. It’s time to make way for vegan Thanksgiving.
Experience
I’m rarely spotted without at least one flower in my hair. I simply adore flowers. So, when Tokyo Challenge asked me to attempt ikebana — the Japanese art of flower arrangement — I can hardly say I was surprised. Their proposal, however, was a double-edged sword: it sounded both intensely fun and intensely frustrating.
Experience
Halloween is here! And with it a whole host of mainstream monsters descending upon us: vampires, werewolves, zombies… But did you know that Japan has its own bestiary of supernatural beings called yokai? These creatures range from cute to creepy, to downright terrifying. When Tokyo Survival Channel challenged me to make a yokai-themed haunted house this…
Eating & Drinking
We might have found the first-ever influencer here in Japan, in records dating back 1200 years ago, and images from the late 19th century. This long-haired, bird-beaked, scale-covered, three-legged yokai monster sounds like something you wouldn’t ever want to lay your eyes upon – but you totally should. Legend has it that seeing a drawing…
Experience
The change in the season from spring to summer in Japan is a celebration when people come together, eat together, dance together on Japanese folk tunes, play funfair games, and watch firecrackers while spreading summer cheer. Summer festivals (natsu-matsuri) are an ingrained part of the Japanese tradition and culture eagerly awaited each year. Last year…
Experience
The episode where Zoria gets overzealous to be Zen, from zero to a zillion Try a meditation app, they said. It’Ll bE fUn, ThEy SaId… All those apps promising peace of mind, and the first one I download had the audacity to tell me to accept that all the great civilizations are dead and downfall…
Experience
We’re now an unsaid and probably unforeseeable amount of months into COVID related restrictions, lockdown, travel bans, and general uncertainty. The novelty of zoom drinking parties has long been forgotten, in the memory bin along with dalgona coffee, DIY sourdough and the naive but admirable home-bound self-improvement projects. So what’s next? What can we do…
Experience
Broken things don’t have to stay broken. This is not a groundbreaking philosophy I’m just revealing to you, as we all own a stick of superglue, or a thread and a needle. Broken things can be mended. However, you don’t need to hide the evidence of the fractures. This is exactly where kintsugi stands out…