Good afternoon,
I hope you are having a lovely June, and that your country`s team is doing much better than mine in the ongoing Football World Cup, which is honestly not a difficult feat, as we managed to become one of the first two countries to be eliminated.
Apart from my country`s miserable World Cup performance, which I had the great misfortune of witnessing in a pub in Kyoto at midday, where dozens of other Turks seemed to materialize out of nowhere, along with a group of Australians who understandably put more energy into teasing us than into watching the game, this must be the most pleasant June/rainy season that I have had in Japan in the last five years.
There is the occasional rain, as if to justify the season’s name, and a persistent breeze that momentarily fools you into thinking Tokyo is one of the most liveable cities on Earth, before the news reminds you of the upcoming “double typhoon”, which will serve as a brutal transition to July, when even a triple typhoon will sound like a blessing compared to the traumatizing combination of heat and humidity that awaits us for months to come.
Encouraged by this brief, misleading phase of lovely weather, my original intention for this month`s letter was a photo-heavy Tokyo edition featuring select walking routes, similar to the recent Walking Nagasaki one. But in all honesty, I could not take enough photos (or good enough ones) to justify such a post, which will require a bit more time and dedicated effort.
So, instead, inspired by all the helpful summer reading lists circulating online, I thought this month’s letter might be a fitting moment to bring back one of the most-read letters from almost a year ago, especially as many new readers have joined Letters from Japan since it was first published: a literary journey across Japan through books, arranged geographically from Hokkaido to Okinawa.
But, before we get into it, here’s a quick mid-year look back at what was covered in the newsletter over the past six months.
The year began with a love letter to the harsh but beautiful winters of Hokkaido, soon followed by a Hiking Japan edition listing some of my favorite trails across the country, starting in Okinawa and ending in Hokkaido. March was devoted to Japan’s onsen culture, exploring the concept while introducing some of my favorite hot springs. The April letter took a more destination-focused approach, inspired by a recent hike along the Nakahechi Route of the Kumano Kodo, while May was dedicated to one of Japan’s most fascinating cities, Nagasaki, and the islands off its coast.
For paid subscribers, there were also several itinerary-focused guides, including one centered on Snow Monkeys and Shibu Onsen, and another featuring three historically themed walks through Nagasaki. Elsewhere in the paid archive, you’ll also find an autumn walking tour of Tokyo, a collection of favorite Tokyo eateries (to read at your own risk, as I am about as far from a gourmet as one can be), a detailed diary from a four-day journey through Tohoku, staying in four different rustic onsen, and a number of other itinerary-focused posts.
On the website, there have also been several planning-focused additions, including Japan Travel: Frequently Asked Questions, an index that brings together all Japan trip planning posts, and the frequently updated "Where to Visit in Japan Other Than Tokyo and Kyoto."1
As always, thank you for being here and for your interest in the newsletter. After this brief mid-year pause, I’ll be back with fresh content in July.
Reading Japan: From Hokkaido to Okinawa
Link to the original letter:
