Flexbase Japan Reizen

14/10/2026

Over David Bowie en Japan…

In March 1980, David Bowie spent a famous 10-day interlude in Kyoto, Japan, where he collaborated with his long-time creative partner and photographer Masayoshi Sukita..

While this trip took place during the pivotal transitional period between his albums Lodger (released May 1979) and Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) (released September 1980), the primary reason for his visit was to film a series of television commercials for a Japanese sake/shochu brand called Crystal Jun Rock.

The Backstory of the Kyoto Shoot
Bowie had a deep affection for Kyoto and traditional Japanese culture. He had previously stayed in the city for several weeks in 1979 at Togendo—a house owned by American sinologist David Kidd.

When he returned in March 1980 to shoot the commercial campaign at the serene Shoden-ji Temple, he contacted Sukita to see if they could spend a day taking photos together. Unlike their high-concept studio sessions—such as the famous 1977 shoot that became the cover for "Heroes"—this Kyoto session was wonderfully informal and spontaneous.

Sukita explicitly suggested avoiding typical tourist landmarks or grand shrines. Instead, he wanted to capture Bowie against the backdrop of the everyday life of common people.

Bowie rented a car and drove Sukita around the city himself. Dressed sharply in a suit, black leather trench coat, and a checked scarf, he wandered around completely unbothered by crowds. Because he didn't have an active entourage, most locals had no idea who he was.

Sukita captured Bowie in distinctly mundane settings. Famous frames from this day include Bowie holding onto a strap inside a commuter train on the Hankyu Railway, waiting at Karasuma and Kawaramachi Stations, standing inside a public phone booth on an ordinary street, walking through the historic Nishiki Market, and visiting the traditional art supply store Saiun-do.

Though the photos themselves were not used for the Lodger or Scary Monsters album artwork (the Scary Monsters cover featured a painting based on a Brian Duffy photo session), the trip was deeply intertwined with the music of that era.

For the Crystal Jun Rock commercials he filmed on this trip, Bowie supplied an original, ambient instrumental track called "Crystal Japan." He recorded this track specifically during the Scary Monsters studio sessions.

Biographers and fans view Sukita's 1980 Kyoto photographs as a beautiful, reflective pause in Bowie's career. It caught him right as he was leaving behind the experimental isolation of his "Berlin Trilogy" (Low, "Heroes", and Lodger) and preparing to step into the massive mainstream pop stardom of the 1980s.

09/10/2026

Just FYI

In 2011, Somali pirates attacked 237 ships and were holding hundreds of sailors hostage at a time, waiting for ransoms in the millions.

Most Americans knew the problem from one incident — the 2009 hijacking of the Maersk Alabama and its captain, Richard Phillips, which ended with Navy SEAL snipers and became the Tom Hanks movie Captain Phillips.

Two years later, warships from the US, EU, NATO, China, India and Japan were patrolling the Gulf of Aden, and none of it had stopped the attacks.

Then a sushi restaurant owner from Tokyo went to the coast to talk to the pirates.

His name is Kiyoshi Kimura, owner of the Sushi Zanmai chain — the man Japan calls the Tuna King, who paid a record $3.2 million for one bluefin this January.

According to his own account, he went around 2012 and concluded the pirates were out-of-work fishermen whose waters had been emptied by foreign trawlers.

So he says he gave them four fishing boats, taught them to catch yellowfin tuna, built freezers to hold the catch, and promised to buy every fish.

"They didn't even like pirating," he said. "I suggested that they catch tuna instead, and make a proud living for their families."

Somali attacks fell from 237 in 2011 to 15 in 2013, and by 2015 the hijackings had stopped.

The International Maritime Bureau credits navies, armed guards, hardened ships and Somalia's government.

Kimura's name is not on that list, and no one outside his own interviews has measured what four boats on one stretch of coast actually did.

Which is how a sushi man from Tokyo came to be credited, online and forever, with "single-handedly ending Somali piracy."

08/10/2026

Dit bestaat al een tijdje … en kan gewoon prima van te voren geboekt worden. Wel op tijd doen! Bij Maaike Boots Travel Counsellor https://www.travelcounsellors.nl/maaike.boots/

02/10/2026

Volg jij al Op reis naar Japan by Tokiotours (reistips en Info)? Daar deelde iemand vandaag deze ‘weird spots’. De meeste kennen wij natuurlijk al, en we boeken het graag voor je!

Dank je wel

Here are the Top 6 Weirdest (but low-key amazing) Travel Spots in Japan! 🎌

From parasite-filled research jars in Tokyo to an entire coastal island ruled by cats, Japan’s alternative travel scene is packed with hidden gems, unique boutique hotel stays, and weirdly wonderful cultural heritage spots that standard travel guides won't tell you about.

1️⃣Meguro Parasitological Museum (Tokyo)

👉Educational, quirky, and surprisingly fascinating science display.

Founded in 1953, this compact two-story facility showcases over 300 preserved specimens, including an 8.8-meter (28.8 ft) human tapeworm and the actual string used to measure it.

📍12 to 15 minute walk from the West Exit of JR Meguro Station.

2️⃣Mara Kannon Temple (Yamaguchi)

👉Sacred heritage site meets unique local folklore.

Established in 1552 near Tawarayama Onsen, this small Buddhist temple features hundreds of wooden and stone ph***ic sculptures where visitors pray for fertility, safe childbirth, and marital harmony.

📍20-minute bus from JR Nagato-Yumoto Station to Tawarayama Hospital Mae, then a 15-minute walk.

3️⃣Unko Museum (Tokyo)

👉Bright pop-art, interactive games, and pastel aesthetic photo spots.

Located inside DiverCity Tokyo Plaza in Odaiba, this pop-up style museum turns cute, stylized "p**p" culture into an interactive photo playground with arcade mini-games.

📍3-minute walk from Tokyo Teleport Station or a 5-minute walk from Daiba Station.

4️⃣Tashirojima / Cat Island (Miyagi)

👉Peaceful coastal getaway for animal lovers.

A rural island where feline residents outnumber humans! Historically protected by local fishermen who believed cats brought good fortune, the island features an official Cat Shrine (Neko Jinja) and minimal vehicle traffic.

📍45 to 60 minute Ajishima Line ferry from Ishinomaki Port (Kadonowaki Terminal) to Odomari or Nitoda Port.

5️⃣Henn na Hotel (Multiple Locations)

👉Futuristic, high-tech hotel booking experience.

Certified by Guinness World Records as the world’s first robot-staffed hotel chain. Check-ins and customer service are operated by multilingual animatronic dinosaurs and humanoid robots across Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, and near Tokyo Disneyland.

📍Station access varies by location, but most branches are a 3 to 8 minute walk from central train or subway stops.

6️⃣Zao Fox Village (Miyagi)

👉Nature sanctuary and mountain wildlife destination.

An open-air mountain sanctuary housing over 100 free-roaming foxes across six species (including red, silver, and arctic foxes). Observe them up close along designated walking paths!

📍20 to 30 minute taxi ride or local shuttle bus from JR Shiroishi-Zao Station (Tohoku Shinkansen).

29/09/2026

James Bond in Japan… ‘You only live Twice’

Sept. 27, 1966 - Production on “You Only Live Twice,” the fifth and most expensive entry in the James Bond screen series, is wrapping location filming in Tokyo following seven weeks of unexpected difficulties ranging from timid extra actresses to structural damage at an ancient castle.
Local models and background performers brought in for scenes along the Sea of Japan a had no objection to being filmed in bikinis but balked at appearing in the gauzy shifts which are traditional for the job. Furthermore, numerous extras could not swim or dive and resisted entering the water.
Filming at 14th-century Himeji Castle ran into trouble when Japanese extras threw target spikes that chipped off pieces of stone structure. Appalled preservationists of the historic site, a rare survivor of World War II destruction, raised sharp objections. Producer Cubby Broccoli said it was a restored wall anyway and promised the damage would be made good. Authorities subsequently restricted the film crew to garden locations on the castle grounds.
Crowd interference also prevented production crews from filming Sean Connery, starring as Agent 007, on busy Tokyo streets, even when employing hidden camera setups. Fans swarmed the actor whenever bystanders spotted him.
Logistical costs mounted when production teams required helicopter transport up a southern Japan volcano, a landmark later recreated at Pinewood Studios near London at a cost of $1 million.
Producers calculate the overall budget will reach up to $10 million. Previous screen adaptations of the Ian Fleming spy novels ran between $1 million and $6 million.
A representative for the film crew described the delays and difficulties as “normal.”
Connery has vowed that this will be his last James Bond film.

25/09/2026

Vanavond: moon viewing party!

Hoe vier jij het? 🎑

24/09/2026

60 years ago… https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1CQn87NsJq/?mibextid=wwXIfr

23/09/2026

De Japanse bad scene.. in de James Bond film
‘You only live twice’…

was dus in de studio opgenomen.

Wil je een keertje een echt Japans bad bezoeken? Dat regelen we!

You Only Live Twice, 1967, the Japanese bath scene.

On September 24, 1966, director Lewis Gilbert filmed the scene of James Bond and Tiger Tanaka with the bathing girls.

While a lot of filming took place in Japan, the scene was actually shot at Pinewood Studios. Sean Connery, Tetsurō Tamba, Yasuko Nagazuni, Yee Wah Yang, along with uncredited bathing beauties filmed in a set designed by Ken Adam made to look like a traditional Japanese bathhouse.