I GO! | Edition 21: Tokyo, Part I — Serendipity, Kawaii, Underbelly: Japan Shared

This week: London → Tokyo → Kamakura → Kyoto

Writing this newsletter on the Shinkansen, racing at world-record speed through the Japanese countryside en route to the imperial city of Kyoto after a packed few days in Japan’s capital.

We landed Tuesday in a rainy, glistening Tokyo — Godzilla himself looming above us in Shinjuku, as if to say: "Welcome to your big, fat, monstrous holiday in Japan, folks!"

Yes, this week marked the start of our one-month Japan & Korea odyssey 🇯🇵❤️🇰🇷, and I’m still buzzing with excitement… and maybe a touch of saké!

This trip has topped my dream list for years. After several solo journeys to Japan — where I fell head over heels for its rich, refined culture, its contradictions, gastronomy, and spirituality — I finally get to live it with my family. Together. In neon alleys, ancient temples, and smoky izakayas. In the sublime and the utterly silly.

Of course, we ticked off a few items on the tourist circuit:

Sipping drinks in a tiny, filthy bar down one of the shadowy alleys of Golden Gai,

Sampling yakitori skewers washed down with fresh Asahi at Omoide Yokocho (a.k.a. “Memory Lane”),

Not paying close to $100 to stroke a piglet at the new pig café on Takeshita Street in Harajuku (hard pass),

Paying our respects at Meiji-Jingū and Sensō-ji (Tokyo’s oldest temple and the most visited religious monument on Earth),

Staring out across a metropolis of over 40 million people (!!) from the dizzying heights of the Tokyo Skytree,

And devouring more conveyor-belt sushi in Shibuya than I care to admit.

But the best part? What happens off the itinerary. Tokyo is a city that unfolds best when you're not looking for it.

Like stumbling into Takagi Shrine in Hikifune — a hyper-kawaii ("cute") Shinto shrine devoted entirely to... onigiri. Yes, rice balls.

Tiny, handmade offerings — knitted, sculpted, painted — lovingly placed by locals. A gentle nudge into the depths of Japanese spirituality, that unique syncretism of Buddhism and animistic Shintoism, where even the humblest snack can be sacred.

And then: a spontaneous day trip to Kamakura

Just an hour from bustling Tokyo, Kamakura — the capital of Japan until 1333 — is a lively seaside town with a deep spiritual undercurrent. Once home to warriors, monks, and poets, today it's also filled with surfers and sun-seekers. A coastal escape where the sacred still lingers in the sea breeze.

We stood in awe before the Great Buddha (Daibutsu) — cast in bronze in the 13th century, seated in gentle meditation at Kōtoku-in, a temple of the Jōdo sect of Buddhism. It’s a Buddha for all: saints and sinners, rich and poor, weary and hopeful — all welcome on the path to the Pure Land. An equal-opportunity Buddha, if you will.

My favourite stop was Hase-dera Temple, home to a majestic wooden statue of Kannon, the 11-headed goddess of mercy. (Each head represents a different stage on the journey toward enlightenment — and, if I’m honest, I think I’ve made it to level two or three since my own spiritual awakening a few years ago. Long way to go!). Awakening is a profound shift — a deeper connection to self, others, and the universe. A loosening of ego’s grip. A reminder that joy and purpose lie in presence and not being too attached to outcomes.

We chose to spend most of our time at Hase-dera — avoiding temple fatigue before Kyoto — and it truly had it all: peaceful mini Zen gardens with koi ponds, a hillside trail leading to a panoramic viewpoint above Kamakura’s rooftops, and a magical cave lined with glowing miniature Buddha statuettes, reached by ducking low into the earth.

We ended the day with a swim in the gentle rolls of the Pacific Ocean — the kids laughing, the locals lounging, the sun dipping slowly.

I was surprised by how un-Tokyo it felt. Easy. Relaxed.A little coastal dolce far niente, Japanese-style.

We’re just getting started.

With love, serenity, and salt still in my hair, wishing you all a wonderful summer, Charlotte x