Welcome to issue #5 of Everyday Journeys by Norbert Woehnl, your friendly photography newsletter from Japan.

I hope that 2026 has been shaping up nicely so far for my readers. I myself can't really complain, although I have to say that in general, the time from mid-January to late February is among my least favorite of the year. In the last few days though, the first early signs of spring have clearly been emerging here in Tokyo: plum blossoms and cedar pollen.

Also, it is now just one more month until I am about to reach the 20-year anniversary of my first trip to Japan. There will be more to write about that in a future newsletter issue - for now, let's take a look at some posts from the last few weeks.

A selection of recent posts from my website

• Regarding the plum blossoms mentioned in the introduction, here is a nice specimen from my neck of the woods, taken at Ryufukuji Temple in the Itabashi Ward of Tokyo (posted 2026-02-18).
• However, this Tokyo winter wasn't completely without its snowy episodes, as evidenced by this panoramic photo taken in early February (posted 2026-02-08).
• On a cobblestone alley in the historic city center of the southwest-German town of Tauberbischofsheim, a single cafe table is waiting for the next customer (posted 2026-02-20).
• Okusawa is a pleasant neighborhood in the Setagaya Ward of Tokyo. Three years ago in early March, I took a few photos while walking around the area (posted 2026-02-24).
• Taking pictures of city streets at night isn't something that only interests me in my current Tokyo neighborhood. I also did it on a business trip to Lyon, France, in late 2017 (posted 2026-01-27).
• Since growing up as a child in Graz, Austria, I have a soft spot for trams. Here is a photo of when I ran into a crossing of Tokyo's longest tram line, the Toden Arakawa Line (posted 2026-02-09).
• I have resumed drumming lessons in the new year. Recently I came across a video by a Japanese YouTuber on how to build a drum practice pad from items found at a 100 Yen-store, so I followed suit and made one for myself. Pretty happy with the result (posted 2026-02-22).

Evergreen content from my website

• Kirigaoka Central Shopping Street, open since the 1950s, is located in the Kita Ward of Tokyo, Japan, inside an old Danchi (the Japanese word for a housing complex operated by the metropolitan government). This place is like a Showa-era time capsule. Few shops still operate regularly, and soon it might disappear for good. This blog post collects some photos shot there on medium-format film (posted 2025-07-05).

That's all for this issue. Thanks very much for being a reader, and see you next time! If you'd like to get in touch, just reply to this email.

Best wishes from Tokyo -
Norbert