I have been a fan of Japanese creative works (anime, manga and recently other forms as well) for almost as long as I have been writing. In the early years I was not able to appreciate Japanese culture and history and its depth. That has changed as I matured and dived into more advance themes in stories and into stories that require knowledge of Japanese realities. In 2015 I had an opportunity to visit Japan. I have already gained some appreciation of Japanese culture at that time and after this trip it was clear to me that I still have much more to explore (both in Japan and in the culture/history) and that in that I can find great inspiration there for my writing.

The magic of Japan stems from how different it is to what I'm used to. This comes mainly from its 300 years isolation during Tokugawa Shogunate (military dictatorship) which allowed to develop unique aspects of Japanese culture. Add to that the difference between European and Chinese/Japanese/etc. cultures in general will result in such differences that it took me by surprise. These new experiences were great material for my imagination. Needless to say that this lead to creation of a lot of new material for my creative works. Next year I have finished the first version of Literary Universe that you know today and made it goal to visit Japan at least once a year to relax, explore and look for new inspiration. Since my works focus on future Japan is a great place to get a view into the future while also enjoying the best things from the past.

I have traveled Japan from north to south in 2017 and now has come time for my 2018 trip which is a mix between well known Japan and less known places. In the coming weeks I will provide you here with my travel diary and other things that I find interesting to comment on while I travel.

I will arrive on Thursday, so till then let me know if there is some specific topic you are interested in hearing about!