This sketchbook is my travelogue from May 15-26, 2025, to Japan—a country I have always wanted to visit with pen and paper.
This travel sketchbook is divided into two parts: contemporary sketches from Tokyo and classical sketches from Kyoto.
In Tokyo, I witnessed an annual festival at the Senso-ji temple in Tokyo, crossed the famously crowded Shibuya pedestrian crossing, saw a 360-degree panoramic view from dusk to night from Tokyo Tower, travelled with the Tokyo subway with a Swica card, ate with chopsticks, the secret to longevity'—Natto beans with local Japanese men. In Kyoto, I travelled on the hop-on-hop-off bus for almost ten hours each day, trying to soak in the history. And then on a bright day in May, I saw Mount Fuji, smoking white clouds from its crater, with its lips apart. I have tried to place these experiences in this book, like in a bento box. A bento box offers a variety of Japanese food, arranged in a packed box, ready for fresh consumption. This book is similar, with fresh sketches and anecdotes packed together; it is ready for you to read and experience Japan.
I hope you will enjoy reading this book. The sketches are not my best work, as they were created on the go, but they do convey the time and temperament of an urban sketch.
Perhaps one day this book will inspire you to jot down your travelogue or pick up the long-forgotten wooden pencil to sketch or write, or inspire someone else to do the same.
Thank you for joining me in this journey.