Dawn and the Fetchling
I commissioned this sketch of Dawn from an artist I found online. Dawn is the lead character in the book I’m working on now- Dawn Rising, set in my Jabbler’s Mons fantasy universe. The artist took a few passes at…
Japanese Bread Vending Machine
You can buy a lot of things out of vending machines in Japan. Vast ranges of tiny plastic toys, Calorie Mate snacks, hot drinks, cold drinks, hot soup, cooked food (chicken and chips at motorway services), oxygen canisters (at the…
searchers after horror
Searchers after horror haunt strange, far places. – H. P. Lovecraft, The Picture in the House Tachikawa Air Force Base in Tokyo. Standing there breathless, wondering if at any moment a security guard will pop his head through the door….
The Butcher’s Milk Carton Stationery
Nogata is a little town in the west of Tokyo famous for two things: 1- The train station Gundam statue is near it in Kami-Igusa. 2- The father of the butcher down the street by the police box across from…
you know I love you still
Who knows how long I’ve loved you, you know I love you still. Will I wait a lonely lifetime? If you want me to I will. – The Beatles Akeno Gekijo Strip Club Far too many mosquitoes in here, buzzing…
Kichijoji Japangrish Mats
While meandering through Kichijoji recently I spied these cute Japangrish welcome mats. Outside a cello shop. Outside a tanning salon. See more of my Strange Japan content here.
the last dream of my soul
. . . I wish you to know that you have been the last dream of my soul. In my degradation I have not been so degraded but that the sight of you with your father, and of this home made such a home by you, has stirred old shadows that I thought had died out of me. Since I knew you
Pumpkin Pudding Yoghurt Drink
I had never drunk pumpkin in my life before today. I wonder if anybody else has? If you’ve spent any time in Japan there’s a good chance you’ve eaten a fair bit of it, both savory and sweet. You may…
sound in an empty house
Leave sound in an empty house in its own room there. . . . – William Stafford Gunma Motor Lodge I stood in the room silently and wondered; are these shadows the same shadows I’ll see in five years, in…
Hulk Want Cut
In the window of a hairdressers in Kichijoji, Japan. Because even the Hulkster needs to get a cut. Though he has more hair in the cartoon. See more of my Strange Japan content here.
Okamoto’s Myth of Tomorrow in Shibuya Station
The Myth of Tomorrow is an epic painting by renowned Japanese painter Taro Okamoto. It is massive, 30 meters long and 5.5 high, painted some 43 years ago, lost for 31 of those, and now on permanent display in Shibuya…
a cloud of yellow dust flew
In the dark room a cloud of yellow dust flew from beneath the tool like a scatter of sparks from under the hooves of a galloping horse. The twin wheels turned and hummed. Binet was smiling, his chin down, his…
the catacombs of Ptolemais
For them are the catacombs of Ptolemais, and the carven mausolea of the nightmare countries. They climb to the moonlit towers of ruined Rhine castles, and falter down black cobwebbed steps beneath the scattered stones of forgotten cities in Asia….
