My Tokyo on Film

On my last trip to Belgium in December 2019, I discovered my mom still had her old Canon 35mm camera. Most of my childhood memories were recorded with this little machine. I have many fond memories of going through the newly developed photos together with my mother. She was not planning to use it again any time soon, so I thought I’d give it a go at being its proud new owner. And as more than often happens with new found hobbies, they end up in the back of a drawer, to be rediscovered once more at a later time.

Finally, after gathering dust for many months (not really because I’m a a cleaning maniac), I decided to give film photography a try. Already I found these two words really daunting: film photography. It’s like proclaiming to be an expert at something, when in reality I had to ask Google-sensei “how to put film in a film camera”. Film photography is now cool and vintage, whereas this just used to be normal. I have a few friends who take photos on film as a hobby or career, and they are really good at it, to say the least. Their photos are beautiful, artistic yet candid, and they even know how to use a dark room. I don’t think I’ll ever reach that level, but I just think it’s fun to try. I live for nostalgia, for that moment when the envelope with freshly printed photos touches my hands. I love knowing that every photo counts, that I will not be scrolling through the hundreds of nearly similar shots on a phone screen. I don’t proclaim these photos to be anything extraordinary, but they are one moment captured on a piece of ribbon, and that moment will forever be mine.

These photos were taken in Shibuya, Harajuku, Shimokitazawa and Jimbocho.

On a Sunny Winterday

I wanted to share this outfit Cat and I shot last week in the side streets of Omotesando and Harajuku. If I ever feel uninspired, I walk down these streets and feel my energy come back to me. The white pristine walls and the clean empty streets resonate well with this outfit I have been living in for the past month. I bought this &Other Stories blazer and knit during the holidays in Belgium and I haven’t felt so much like myself in an outfit in a long time. I finished the look by adding an incredibly soft Muji scarf. The absolute simplicity yet chic vibe is what truly attracted me to this, and is reflected even better in these surroundings. (Sorry, I can rave on about these gorgeous streets forever.) Cat and I literally had no plans, except for having a little fun shoot, so we slowly walked for hours on end, talking about all kinds of things and taking on this cold yet sunny day.

What to do in Kansai that is not Osaka

The year started off good. My first weekend back from the holidays, and fully recovered from jet lag, I hopped on the Shinkansen to visit one of my best friends in Osaka. She has been living in Osaka for the same amount of time as I have in Tokyo, so whenever I go there, I leave the planning and scheduling to her. This time I had only one request: not Osaka. Don’t get me wrong, I like Osaka with all its delicious food and crazy Dotonbori area, but I had already seen it on multiple occasions and I really wanted to explore the rest of the Kansai area. So, we got in the car and on Saturday, we ventured to Shiga-ken 滋賀県.

I had never heard of Shiga-ken before. It’s quite a rural area, and we passed by at least a dozen fields. Wherever you looked, there was green and nature. The Shiga prefecture is known for its Lake Biwa 琵琶湖, and especially the activities around the lake area. Our main goal of coming all the way out here, was taking the ropeway to the top of Mt. Hōrai 蓬莱山 to have a breathtaking view of the area. Unfortunately, the ropeway ticket sales closed at 3:30pm, and we arrived at 3:35… The frustration was real. But we tried to make the most of it. We walked around the foot of the mountain and paid a visit to the Shirahige Shrine 白鬚神社 to admire the torii gate that seemed to be floating in the middle of Lake Biwa.

On Sunday, I really wanted to go to Kyoto and find spots that were quite special and out of the ordinary, as I had already seen most of the famous tourist attractions. We arrived in Kyoto, and after devouring a delicious bowl of udon and paying a visit to a local jewellery store, we took a cab to Mt. Yoshida 吉田山 and hiked to the top to find this cafe called Mo-An 茂庵. We arrived at the top as the sun was already starting to set over Kyoto. I ordered matcha and we just stared in silence at the stunning view.

• 

Two weeks in Belgium

I just got back to Japan from two blissful weeks in Belgium.

I went back to my home country for two weeks to spend the holidays with my family and friends. I’m currently sitting here at my dining table in my Japanese apartment looking over my holiday photos and can’t help but feel truly refreshed after that vacation. It was 100% what I needed. Christmas Eve and Day was spent with my close family, NYE was spent with some of my best friends at the Belgian coast, and on New Year’s Day, I was surrounded by my loving family again. Two weeks was the perfect period to see everybody I wanted to see and do as much as possible without exhausting myself. I took the train more times than I can count, I had more coffees than was good for me, travelled to a province I hadn’t been to yet and even spent a day in the Netherlands. I even had a few days off in between to regain some energy. All in all, it was a lovely trip.

I have to admit, I was scared that I would not want to go back Japan, after being surrounded again by all that is familiar, but honestly, I just regained a new sense of confidence and motivation. I am so happy to be back in my lovely apartment, in this more-than-life-city, get back to it and make 2020 my year!

• 

• 

• 

• 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Hanna (@hannatopia)

• 

• 

• 

• 

Seoul moments

In August, me and Sara ventured on whim to Seoul. We were stressed and had enough of our busy day-to-day lives here, so we had a late night call, booked our flights (during that same phone call) and the next week we were in our beautiful apartment in Seoul for the three days. We had both been to this city before, so we weren’t too anxious to see it all. It had been a while since I had such a let loose – don’t think about anything – sleep in until noon – taste all the delicacies – drink beer on the river side at midnight with a live band in the background – kind of vacation.

To celebrate the end of summer (which in Japan basically means that instead of it being 38 degrees every day it’s only 32 – chilly, I know), I will share a few photos from this trip where I switched off like it was nobody’s business.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Chasing the Sakura in Tokyo

Spring has finally come and Tokyo is in full bloom.

If you have ever been to Japan or have an interest in the Japanese cherry blossoms, you will probably have heard of the word hanami. This can literally be defined as “looking at flowers”. When Japan makes a seasonal change from winter to spring, the sakura will start to bloom. In whatever direction you look, cherry blossom trees are thriving. Unfortunately, their blooming period is only very short, which makes it the perfect opportunity for the Japanese to celebrate the beginning of spring. Whether this be among friends, family or as a company event, people will come together, spread out mats under the sakura trees, bring typical hanami food and drinks (usually some kind of bento-lunch box, dango-rice cakes and beer). As this period is quite short, it’s hard for tourists to plan their trip around this time. You just have to be lucky. Tokyo is usually in full bloom by the end of March, but due to whatever environmental reasons, this could differ. Famous hanami spots in Tokyo are Yoyogi park, Shinjukugyoen and Ueno.

Since my company held a hanami event last week, and the weather forecast said it was going to be cold and rainy, I did not plan on going outside during the weekend. But lucky me, the weather on Sunday got warm and sunny, so Dion and I went for a long walk and were able to take many photos.

Have you ever been to Japan during cherry blossom season? Let me know what you thought!

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

•