Nature

Mount Yoshino Cherry Blossoms, Nara Prefecture., Japan

This Week in Yoshino – 12 April 2022

This week, my Japan adventures took me to Yoshino in Nara Prefecture, one of the most spectacular Cherry Blossom viewing spots in the entire country. Yoshino is a town in Japan’s Kii Mountains, east of Osaka. It’s the gateway to Mount Yoshino, best known for its 30,000+ cherry trees which colour the mountain and surrounding […]

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Tokyo Yakult Swallows win the 2021 Central League Cilmax Series

This Week in Tokyo – 16 November 2021

Welcome to ‘This Week in Tokyo’, a review of the Maction Planet week that was and a look ahead to what’s coming up in the city. Hosted by Mac, our Founder and Lead Guide, you can check out photos from our tours and read insights into our explorations as we get under the skin of the […]

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Sasebo Port at night

This Week in Sasebo – 9 November 2021

It’s been another cross-country week on Maction Planet. In this week’s edition of ‘This Week in’, I’m showcasing Sasebo in Nagasaki Prefecture. I was there on a travel consulting mission, to help improve the tourism offering in the area. If you’re reading this and we can help you and your region, get in touch! Sasebo (佐世保) is […]

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Rice harvesting with Baba-san

This Week in Tokyo – 12 October 2021

Welcome to ‘This Week in Tokyo’, a review of the Maction Planet week that was and a look ahead to what’s coming up in the city. Hosted by Mac, our Founder and Lead Guide, you can check out photos from our tours and read insights into our explorations as we get under the skin of the […]

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Plum blossoms in Okurayama

This Week in Tokyo – 16 February 2021

Welcome to ‘This Week in Tokyo’, a review of the Maction Planet week that was and a look ahead to what’s coming up in the city. Hosted by Mac, our Founder and Lead Guide, you can check out photos from our tours and read insights into our explorations as we get under the skin of the […]

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Manta Ray diving in Ishigaki Island, Japan

This Week on Ishigaki, Iriomote and Taketomi Islands – 10 November 2020

Mac here. I spent the last week on Ishigaki, Iriomote and Taketomi Islands part of the Yaeyama Islands, and it definitely wasn’t sedentary. For this week’s ‘This Week in’, I’m going to highlight five active experiences I enjoyed – diving, cycling, hiking, canoeing and, most relaxing of all, stargazing.  The Yaeyama Islands are both the […]

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Yubu Island Water Buffalo Taxi

This Week on Yubu Island – 3 November 2020

Mac here. This week I had the honour of being a guest of the Japan Association of Travel Agents and Okinawa Prefectural Government on a tour of Ishigaki and Iriomote Islands, two of the southernmost and westernmost islands in the Japanese archipelago.  There are so many highlights that it would require several ‘This Week in’s […]

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キンシバイ St John's Wort in Sangenjaya, Tokyo

This Week in Tokyo – 9 June 2020

Mac, Founder and Lead Guide of Maction Planet, shares his adventures on his Maction-sanctioned socially-distanced walk around Sangenjaya on Wednesday 3 June 2020 in this week’s ‘This Week in Tokyo’!  Located in Setagaya ward in south-west Tokyo, Sangenjaya means “three tea houses” in Japanese. Two popular Edo-era pilgrimage routes diverged at Sangenjaya and it became […]

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Bamboo Grove at Todoroki Valley (Todoroki Ravine)

This Week in Tokyo – 26 May 2020

Mac, Founder and Lead Guide of Maction Planet, shares his adventures on his Maction-sanctioned socially-distanced walk around Todoroki in a greenery-filled edition of ‘This Week in Tokyo’!  In 2019 I guided, on average, for 10 hours per day, 6 days a week. From that perspective staying in, as all the Maction Planet team have been […]

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Maction Planet at the Daijokyu, scene of the Daijosai, and at Inui Street in the Imperial Palace

The Daijokyu and Inui Street at the Imperial Palace

His Majesty Emperor Naruhito of Japan spent the evening of 14 November until the predawn of 15 November performing the Daijosai ritual, completing the last rite before acceding to the Chrysanthemum Throne, in the Daijokyu complex. Mac, our Founder and Lead Guide, visited the Daijokyu during its limited opening to the public. As a bonus, […]

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