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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Sixteen years ago today, I moved to Tokyo. I celebrate my anniversary on the day I arrived, not the day I flew out. Damn timezones. On this day, 16 years ago, I landed at Narita Airport at 09:10, on a flight from London Heathrow paid for by my new employer. I had spent the previous […]
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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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15 years ago today, I moved to Tokyo. If we consider adult life starting from 18, the earliest point I could realistically have made decisions about my own residency, then I have now lived in Japan for 60% of that time. The majority of my adult experience, the period of my life that I have […]
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14 years ago today I moved to Tokyo. I launched the Maction Planet website in February 2017. Since then I have written an anniversary post on each year on 20 February which is business-oriented, and have saved the 4 August posts for reflections of a more personal nature. To say the travel and tourism industry […]
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On a sunny Saturday in December 2019, Mac embarked on a pilgrimage to Sengakuji Temple to pay his respects at the Ako Gishi Sai Festival of the 47 Ronin, the masterless samurai who embody the ultimate concept of loyalty… at least, that’s the story. We made a video of the festival! Learn more about this […]
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4 August 2019 marks 13 years since Mac, Founder and Lead Guide of Maction Planet, moved to Tokyo. He reflects on why he stayed here, despite initial plans to the contrary… I’ve been telling guests that I’ve been here for 13 years for a while now but today it’s officially true! When I first moved […]
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Today marks 12 years since Mac, Founder and Lead Guide of Maction Planet, moved to Tokyo. He reflects on this symbolic anniversary with a look at the concept of Hitomawari. Hitomawari: One rotation. One journey. One more go around. The word ‘hitomawari’ (一回り) is composed of hito = 1 and mawari = cycle. So, what […]
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Jonelle Patrick’s ‘Only In Tokyo’ mysteries raised the bar for Tokyo-based English-language fiction. A graduate of Stanford University and the Sendagaya Japanese Institute in Tokyo, and a member of the Mystery Writers of America, the International Thriller Writers, and Sisters In Crime, Jonelle gives her first ever in-depth interview exclusively to Maction Planet. Maction Planet: […]
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Today is Tokyo Day. Well, that’s what we are calling it here at Maction Planet. 3 September 1868 was the date that an Imperial proclamation changed the name of The World’s Greatest Metropolis from Edo to Tokyo. In honour of this, we look at the origins of the names Edo and Tokyo. Edo is often […]
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