In 2025 I took a 6 month sabbatical. I’d spent 9 years living in London. The city can kind of convince you that it’s the centre of the universe and i was starting to suspect that wasn’t the case. So I took myself to Japan (and some other places) and I wandered around for a really long time. I wish I could say it was a proper north to south well thought out journey. It wasn’t. I dotted around the country, following my nose and recommendations and friends of friends.

 

I mucked out at a dairy farm, restored some akiyas (abandoned/vacant houses), worked at a ramen shop, trained as a Yamabushi (ascetic Shinto/buddhist mountain monk), did a bunch of pilgrimages, slept in huts and temples and couches. I had moment of euphoria (the world is an incredible place!), overwhelm (what the hell am I doing?), confusion (why am I even doing this? That was great, now what?) and contentment (oh, I get it now).

 

Throughout my time I leant heavily on travel blogs and the lovely people behind them that have taken the time and energy to help people like me figure out what to do next or how to navigate these novel places. I’m very grateful for this. Thank you.