Colours and Light created by Alex Wain

Japan Tour – VIDEO

On the 10th March 2011, Dan Reyes and Jesse Perez and myself went to Japan for the trip of a lifetime. The day after we landed, a 9.0 earthquake struck off the coast of Sendai, triggering a tsunami that would go on to leave over 20,000 people dead.

Japanese Dragons & The Unexpected

It was our last full day in Kyoto, with two outstanding items on our ‘must-see’ list jostling for attention. The first was a visit to the Golden Pavilion (it’s local name is ‘Kinkaku-ji’), the 2nd was a trek up into the mountains to experience the Kiyomizu-dera Temple

My Top 10 Music Videos Of All Time

Here in Australia, there's a late night TV show which has been running for literally decades called 'RAGE'. Every night, in the twilight hours they play music videos on repeat, spanning all the way back since the dawn of time. I've discovered some really great artists just by watching that show, but in recent months they seem hell bent on constantly playing hipster bands with animal names - which is mildly frustrating. But it did get me thinking, if I had to put together a top 10 list of the best music videos of all time - who would I pick, why would I choose them and how on earth would I narrow it down?

New Friends, Cartoon Girls & Kyoto

It was now our second day in Osaka and inside of heading out into the more regional areas as we did the day before, we decided to go and explore a little more Osaka city itself. Having arrived 2 days before, Dan & Jesse had already located a few landmarks for me to check out, they’d previously seen them at night, so seeing them during the day was a new experience for them, just as it was for me.

Ninja’s, Deer & Things On Fire

This was the first 'real' day with the three of together and it was shaping up to be a big one. We’d done some research before leaving and found that a suburb called Iga Uneo was home to the origins of the traditional Japanese ninja. The area itself not only housed a ninja museum, castle and booby-trapped house – every 2 hours they even had a real ninja fight taking place.

My One Night Stand w/ Japan

Before I delve into a retrospective look at our time in Japan, it’s worth noting that whilst we were there the nation itself had been violently shaken by an 8.9 earthquake, it’s villages to the North washed away in a sweeping and merciless tsunami (taking 16,000+ lives), the Shinmoedake volcano decided it would be the ideal time to erupt, oh and then the Fukushima Nuclear Powerplant went into meltdown mode, leaking radiation into the capital Tokyo – which by then had descended into a city rife with food shortages, countless aftershocks, residents fleeing and constant power blackouts.

Introducing: Smoke & Silver

Fast forward since those early days 2 years ago, and it's here that we arrive in the present day with their first video and debut track. If I had to draw a comparison, it's a little reminiscent of Queens Of The Stone Age’s "Lullabies to Paralyze" era. It’s called "On The Riverside" and really, rather than try and describe it using various adjectives that don't nearly do it justice, it's probably best if you just hit play on the video people and soak it in.

W.T.F. Japan Tour: Tokyo Preview

Tokyo is not only the capital of Japan it's also the world's most populous metropolitan area with 35 to 39 million people (depending on definition) and the world's largest metropolitan economy with a GDP of US$1.479 trillion - surpassing even New York City. Along with 39,000,000 everyday folks, Tokyo is home to the seat of the Japanese government, The Imperial Palace and indeed the Japanese Imperial Family.

W.T.F. Japan Tour: Kyoto Preview

Kyoto is a city located in a valley which forms part of the Yamashiro Basin, in the eastern part of the mountainous region known as the Tamba highlands. It's surrounded on three sides by mountains known as Higashiyama, Kitayama and Nishiyama, with a height just above 1,000 metres above sea level. This interior positioning results in hot summers and cold winter.

W.T.F. Japan Tour: Osaka Preview

Osaka is Japan’s 3rd largest city by population after Tokyo (and Yokahama) and it's located at the mouth of the Yodo River on Osaka Bay. It use to be referred to as the "nation's kitchen" because it was the centre of trading for rice, creating the first modern future exchange market in the world.