Jordy Meow
For those who enjoy driving and don’t find cliffs and mountain switchbacks too scary, the Iya Valley offers magnificent landscapes and dozens of remote little villages, each one more piquant than the last.
April 4, 2021
Inami: Yokamachi-dori (Cat Street)
Still dusty from exploring an abandoned clinic, on the way back to the car I chance upon a very pretty little street.
January 25, 2021
Itaibara : Tottori’s Forgotten Hamlet
Quitting the autoroute that leads to the town of Chizu, I take a mountain road. It’s typical of this terrain where you often come across deer, foxes, monkeys, sometimes even bears, especially early morning just before...
March 14, 2021
Tomonoura : The Village of Ponyo
I’m going round in circles. Where on earth is it? After searching far and wide for the way up, a steep flight of steps appears in front of me.
January 25, 2021
Rebun: The Flowered Floating Island
Frantically I put my foot down, driving along the incredible Route 106 (the last stretch of road to the north of Hokkaido) through a storm where the sky and the ocean are as one.
January 25, 2021
Aogashima: Double Volcano Island
Aogashima is a very mysterious island. Online, always the same photos taken from a helicopter, sometimes photoshopped. But what’s really hidden behind these lava walls?
July 2, 2020
The Snow Monsters of Mount Zao
It’s not an easy encounter. I’d already visited a few years ago, but a gathering storm made it impossible for me to approach these monsters and stroke their silken fur.
January 25, 2021
Naruto Whirlpools
Find yourself in the middle of the Naruto Strait where the tidal currents slosh against each other.
September 17, 2019
Makomanai Takino Cemetery
One day, or maybe one night, near a cemetery, I fell asleep ...
September 17, 2019
Futuro House in Japan
I just had to get close to the rusty old flying saucer spotted from above.
July 7, 2020
The Abandoned Wakagawa Power Plant
Let's go discover this very special haikyo with a man who is equally special, or maybe not.
September 17, 2019
Best Abandoned Places in Japan (2017–2018)
"Jordy, did you give up the haikyo?" Here’s my answer, distilled into a new Best Of covering the past two years.
June 6, 2019
Super-Kamiokande: The Neutrino Detector
Located in the cool depths of a mine, in the heartlands of central Japan, the design of this neutrino detector is mind-boggling.
May 25, 2019
Oki Islands: Nishinoshima
I love the Japanese islands. They seem uninhabited and yet, there’s always … something. On Nishinoshima (Nishino Island), it’s wasn’t just the stunning landscapes, freely ranging animals, or a 800-yen oyster, I...
April 29, 2019
Totoro, Totoro! Satsuki and Mei’s house
Welcome to Satsuki and Mei's house, in Aichi. This is the only reconstitution based on My Neighbor Totoro.
April 29, 2019
Ginzan Onsen : Silver Mine Hot Springs
Ginzan Onsen takes you back to the Taisho Era, warming your toes in an ashiyu – a piping-hot footbath – while enjoying an idyllic view of falling snow.
April 29, 2019
Aragijima : The Island of Rice Paddies
After visiting the lovely Wakanoura district and two magnificent temples in Wakayama (I’ll come back to those another time), I take a wide detour on the way back to Nara. Direction the terraced rice fields of Aragijima...
July 26, 2018
G-Cans : Japan’s Underground Temple
Hidden below the Tokyo streets is a true superhero – a bitumen-washed facility with state-of-the-art technology and an architectural beauty to put a Corbusier or two in the shade. This is G-Cans, also known by the...
April 26, 2020
Niijima: The Island of Lava Cascades
After a pleasant overnight ferry trip from Tokyo, it’s 6am, and the outline of Niijima is already on the horizon. So here’s the famous Easter Island of Tokyo! The distinctive feature of the island is that it...
September 16, 2019
Bijin Bayashi: The Forest of Pretty Women
Where are these pretty women? In the forest of Bijin Bayashi! And they’re everywhere! Above, below, and all around you.
April 27, 2019
