For 2025 I am taking some (much needed) leave, of an extended variety. Japan was the first destination, a country I've never visited. It's certainly the destination of choice at the moment with seemingly everyone I know having just been, about to go, already here, or planning to go!

I spent the first two weeks in Tokyo, a fraction of the time required to do the place justice for street photography, of which there seems infinite potential. The difficulty comes in choosing a location and trying not to cover too many different areas in a day. The distances between spots might not be large but it will require navigating the awesome yet complex and apparently full-of-stairs metro system. It asks much of your feet - I averaged over 20,000 steps a day.

While Tokyo hardly needs introducing, ChatGPT describes it as:

Couldn't have said it better myself, and I won't try.

The city is indeed a metropolis, yet very different to the likes of other megacities like London and Paris. I didn't feel any of the big city 'grit' that normally comes with such cities, which can be so exhausting. It's by far the cleanest (a nod also to Singapore here) and quietest large city I've visited, due to the very little road traffic and slow speed environments, plus the cultural focus on limiting noise in public. Both my unit stays were a few streets back from main areas and they were very quiet at night - didn't even notice that urban 'hum/droning' noise that normally comes with cities. Remarkable given the scale of the place - it seems to have no end when viewed from Sky Tree, the world's tallest tower.

I did see some elements of the city being tested, including the Japanese patience, as the country buckles under the weight of a tourism explosion that seems almost entirely concentrated on particular attractions (especially those popular on social media) within the golden triangle of Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka.

There's obviously a lot to do here and I didn't come close to seeing it all. I also chose a few places that don't really feature on most itineraries, as this is where I was hoping to get the best street photography of just general Tokyo life. It wasn't always successful, such is photography, but it was always worthwhile. Some highlights included:

• Shibamata - on the eastern outskirts of Tokyo, has old town vibes, a nice 17th century temple and a great former wealthy merchant's teahouse set in a Japanese garden.

• Koenji - laid back area with a focus on vintage.

• Jimbocho Book Town - streets full of eclectic bookstores, what's not to like.

• Tokyo International Forum - building with amazing architecture and you're free to wander the entire (very large) place.

• Golden Gai, Shinjuku - very popular area full of tiny alleys filled with bars, yet actually pretty quiet during the week.

• Senso Ji Temple - dates back to 7th century and apparently the most visited religious site in the world, was definitely heaving during the day but pleasant at night.

• Meiji Jingu Temple - the temple is nice, but the park it's in makes it a very relaxing place to spend a few hours.

• Shimbasi area - the streets adjacent the station have a lot going on, somewhat gritty, full of salarymen on various missions of business. Revisit required here.

• Shinjuki Chuo Park - watch locals do their thing and has an awesome view of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building (this building somehow has a Marvel comic vibe) and surrounding high rises.

• Sky Tree - while very crowded with tourists, the views across the vast city from the tallest tower in the world (yes in an earthquake zone) are ridiculous.

• Kamakura - requires a day trip or overnight, city with a very long history and some excellent temples, plus the Insta-famous sea side little train that you can ride between towns. Note it won't be like those quaint Ghibli films, sitting alone on train opposite a sprite spirit or quirky cat, it'll be packed to the seams sardine style tourist cram fest!).

While I struggled a bit photographically, below are some of my favourites photos. I've excluded most 'metro/rail' related photos as I'll dedicate a post to those.