We Are Aliens
We are aliens.
Placing slices of raw fish atop vinegared rice.
Planting groves of trees that bloom in pink for only seven days a year,
just to drink beneath their fleeting death.
Bathing naked with strangers. On purpose.
If these sights defy your logic, let them.
Because we are aliens.
Beyond the Terminal Doors
The moment the sliding doors of a Japanese airport open, a wall of humid air wraps around you. Japanese summer is about 1.6 times more uncomfortable than whatever you’re imagining right now.
Step into an airport convenience store and you’ll notice products arranged with the precision of a luxury showroom. Board a train on your way to a Zen garden, only to discover that the train itself already feels like one — quiet, composed, and almost unreal. Public restrooms are often cleaner than operating rooms.
Outside the window, students walk past in uniforms that seem lifted straight from the anime and films you grew up watching. You may find yourself wondering, “Am I still on Earth?”
It’s a reasonable thought. You haven’t simply arrived in another country — you may feel as though you’ve stepped onto another planet.
The Japan I hope to share exists within these contradictions.
It’s the takoyaki in Dotonbori that burns your tongue even though you knew it would. It’s the single piece of sushi placed on a hinoki counter — so precise and beautiful that you hesitate before eating it. It’s the scent of tatami as you lie on a fresh futon, awakening a quiet, childlike comfort before sleep.
I’ve spent years crossing borders, and in all that time, strangers have been quietly generous with me. This site is my way of returning that debt — by decoding my home for you.
Welcome to OtherPlanetJapan.
I hope this journey reshapes how you see this country — and perhaps the world itself.