About US

Every city possesses a “depth” that no map can ever fully capture.

At The Japan Voyage, this is our guiding philosophy.

Tokyo is a colossal metropolis, endlessly scrutinized by the global gaze. Yet, a journey that merely skims its glittering surface will never touch the true heat it holds, nor the multilayered stories woven into its fabric. What is needed is not mere tourism—which simply consumes information—but a true “Voyage”: a dive into the city’s abyss to resonate with its authentic breath.

Why We Begin in Nakano

Our voyage embarks from Nakano, west of Tokyo’s center.

Why here? Simply put, this is where we, SAO and HIRO, actually live and breathe every day. It is our home.

Nakano is a city where chaos and sophistication, the extraordinary and the everyday, intersect in a miraculous balance. It is a globally recognized sanctuary for subculture, yet just one step into its back alleys reveals the rich, unbroken scent of daily life dating back to the Showa era.

The true face of this city cannot be fully grasped in a mere few days as a visitor. We are convinced that it is precisely because we have made our home here—dining daily in its eateries and feeling the midnight silence and dawn’s clamor as part of our everyday lives—that we can convey its true “depth.”

From Points to Lines, to the Whole

While our journey begins at our own feet in Nakano, it will eventually expand to encompass all of Tokyo.

The experience of digging deep into one city from a resident’s perspective becomes a new lens through which to view others. As dots connect to form lines, the full picture of this massive living organism called Tokyo will emerge with a resolution unlike anything seen before.

The Japan Voyage aspires to be a beautiful and trusted pilot for highly attuned travelers.

Welcome to the depths of the Tokyo we love.

The Japan Voyage

SAO / HIRO