Just like back in 2024, I’ve been traveling for 2 months after finishing visual effects work on an upcoming Netflix animated film, spending a few weeks in my hometown of Singapore and then 2 weeks in Tokyo.

Having studied and worked in Tokyo for 6 years (2004-9), my annual trips to the city involves very little sightseeing and more of catch ups with friends as well as visits to as many cool art, anime and manga/illustration exhibitions as I can squeeze in wihin the 2 short weeks. This time round I got to see some really good ones like the Shirow Masamune genga art exhibition as well as The Boy And The Heron background art exhibition held at Ghibli Museum, among a few others.

Alas, as if the dreadful jetlag that always accompany my return to the western hemisphere isn’t bad enough, I was also immediately wiped out by a bad bout of flu that left me pretty much incapacitated for the past few days. I’m still not feeling super, but I’ve started to slowly go through the photographs that I’ve taken during my time in Tokyo, as well as the pile of art books that I lugged back in preparation for the reviews that I’ll be writing, all coming soon, so stay tuned !

In the mean time, below are some snapshots of my trip on Twitter, most of which I will write more about in the coming week/s.

Landed in Vancouver after my Tokyo trip and was immediately wiped out by a nasty flu for 2 full days. Still not feeling super but I'll be going through my photos soon and sharing some cool things I saw on the trip. And here's a small pile of art books I bought back. Stay tuned. pic.twitter.com/ixcaoP6ICu

— blauereiter (@blauereiter) May 21, 2025

Colorful ema (??) wishing boards and omikuji at a local Shinto shrine near my hotel in Shirokane Takanawa, Tokyo. Across a vast expanse of ocean there is a whole different world, with people living utterly different lifestyles, with utterly different aspirations and dreams. ? pic.twitter.com/1j5wi1ndxN

— blauereiter (@blauereiter) May 18, 2025

Visited Erostica in Harajuku/Jingumae, the shop of naughty art illustrator Rockin’ Jellybean, a contemporary of Terada & Sorayama. Lots of wicked cool posters. Yes, the shop took my money ? @EROSTIKA_info pic.twitter.com/lavztJhbKM

— blauereiter (@blauereiter) May 16, 2025

Went walking around the area of my old anime studio in Ogikubo/Koenji and stumbled upon this amazing Japanese style fried chicken cutlet place near Koenji station. These off the beaten path neighborhood eateries are the best. #??? #??? pic.twitter.com/PYcko7qppS

— blauereiter (@blauereiter) May 15, 2025

Having myself a refreshing Kaze No Tani ( Valley Of Wind ) beer at the Ghibli Museum. ?? Bringing the bottle home of course. pic.twitter.com/CU5LEShKW5

— blauereiter (@blauereiter) May 8, 2025

Picked up the AKIRA REMIX vinyl ( with illustration by Otomo ) earlier this week after visiting the pop-up store in Shibuya. Perhaps this would encourage me to get a vinyl player… pic.twitter.com/vIlY6GkFu6

— blauereiter (@blauereiter) May 10, 2025

Thank you for the support all this time as always !