In the summer of 2016 I joined my good friends Takeshi and Kojima on a road trip from Tokyo ( Saitama actually, close to the outskirts of Tokyo ) to Tottori, a quiet coastal city in southwestern Japan. We had done something similar 2 years prior when we drove to Kyoto.

My primary objective for the summer trip was the Ghibli Expo, but my hosts, incredibly hospitable as they always are extended the trip invitation to me.

(above) Mist shrouded mountains, taken when we were about halfway to the destination. I think it was somewhere close to Nagoya.

(below) One photo for the road; my hosts were clearly in high spirits. It was right in the middle of Tokyo’s sweltering summer, a stark contrast to the winter subzero temperatures during our Kyoto trip.

(above & below) Part of the Iwami coastline. Iwami served as the model for the fictional town of Iwatobi, the setting for the anime series Free!.

(above) Who won’t want to live in a nice little house by the sea ?

(above & below) Stopping by a rice(?) plantation one day I was intrigued by the numerous contraptions used to ward off crows and other birds; a rudimentary scarecrow, and fences topped with inverted, empty pet bottles – apparently when the birds try to perch on them the movement rattles the bottles and the resulting sound scares off the birds. A simple and elegant solution.

(above) A cage for wild boars or maybe even a small bear – I was quite shocked to learn that some farmers in Japan use bear meat for stew.

More pictures coming in Part 2; also check out our visit to the Zodiac figurine artist.