Simon Rowe on Muck Rack

Simon Rowe

  • Freelance Writer and Book Author, Freelance
Australia, Japan, Melbourne, New Zealand
As seen in: LinkedIn, Medium, The Independent (UK), TIME, Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Brisbane Times, WAtoday
Covers:  Travel, culture, literature, Japan
Antipodean author in Japan | Mami Suzuki: Private Eye (Penguin Random 2023) | Repped by Priya Doraswamy @ Lotus Lane Literary
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In Search of the Sublime - A Journey through Western Japan

In Search of the Sublime - A Journey through Western Japan

Inside Sport — Far from the urban crush and madding crowds of Japan's great metropolises, the rural hinterland of Honshu beckons travellers with its promise of adventure. The western Honshu prefectures of Tottori, Hyogo, and Tokushima, on the island of Shikoku, offer a less frenetic way to experience the countryside, blending local charm with culinary traditions and spiritual antiquity which all adds up to an authentic taste of Japan.
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Pirates and Pearls: Adventures in Japan's Deep South

Pirates and Pearls: Adventures in Japan's Deep South

Medium — The helmsman has a scar on his forehead and his "Welcome aboard" is as worn as the seat of his canvas shorts. Business is brisk for this 'old pirate', whose glass-bottom boat tour departs hourly from the pearl farming town of Kabira, on Ishigaki island in southern Okinawa.
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Windows on the World: The View from Himeji City, Japan

Windows on the World: The View from Himeji City, Japan

The Paris Review — In the final entry of our long-running "Windows on the World" series, Matteo Pericoli illustrates Simon Rowe's view in Japan.
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Truth by the Barrel: In Search of Kobe’s Finest Sake

Truth by the Barrel: In Search of Kobe’s Finest Sake

blog.gaijinpot.com — A look into Nada Gogo’s centuries-old rustic wood warehouses that have turned into museums, shops and restaurants to tell the public the whole story of sake making.
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Peak Performance

Peak Performance

Time — Mention mountain climbing, and most people envisage an exhausting clamber up sheer rock faces or dangling from a nylon rope in all weathers. That's absolutely true of some peaks, but Asia also offers less taxing alternatives. You don't need a Sherpa's lungs to scale some of the region's best-loved mountains, and you can get to the foot of many of them by public transport.
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Snakes, Squalls, and Doctor Seuss

Snakes, Squalls, and Doctor Seuss

Medium — Midnight on Fish Town Street in Himeji city is no place for a sober young person. Which explains why Lars and I didn't meet any as we made our way through a canyon of neon sign boards in search of...
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TW Creatives: "West Wind" - A Short Fiction Story by Simon Rowe | Tokyo Weekender

TW Creatives: "West Wind" - A Short Fiction Story by Simon Rowe | Tokyo Weekender

Tokyo Weekender — Welcome to Tokyo Weekender's new monthly series, TW Creatives. In this series, we will feature various works by Japan-based writers, photographers, videographers, illustrators and other creatives in a bid to provide one additional platform for them to exhibit their talent.
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TW Creatives: "The Convenience Store Ballerina" - A Short Fiction Story by Simon Rowe | Tokyo Wee...

TW Creatives: "The Convenience Store Ballerina" - A Short Fiction Story by Simon Rowe | Tokyo Wee...

Tokyo Weekender — Tokyo Weekender's series TW Creatives feature various works by Japan-based writers, photographers, videographers, illustrators and other creatives in a bid to provide one additional platform for them to exhibit their talent. The works submitted here belong entirely to the creators - Tokyo Weekender only takes pride in being one of their most passionate supporters!
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On a Quest for the Quetzal

On a Quest for the Quetzal

The Independent — On a quest for the quetzal: Simon Rowe saddles up for a dizzy ride in search of Costa Rica's rarest rainforest bird
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Japanese find liquor's more their cup of tea

Japanese find liquor's more their cup of tea

Australian Financial Review — While the average Japanese working man might dole out between ¥15,000 and ¥20,000 a week drinking with his colleagues, foreigners also spend significantly. Full-time English teachers earn up to ¥400,000 a month and, for many, a considerable chunk of that is spent on booze.
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All that glitters is not true geisha in Kyoto - NZ Herald

All that glitters is not true geisha in Kyoto - NZ Herald

New Zealand Herald — Around sunset, you might glimpse her. In the laneways of Pontocho district, where red lanterns bob beneath the eves of pub-restaurants, called izakaya, and hostesses in soft-coloured kimono usher diners into their traditional ryotei restaurants, she may be seen scurrying to her first appointment at a nearby tea house.
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Sure it's tiny, it has no view, but hey, it's home (Published 2002)

Sure it's tiny, it has no view, but hey, it's home (Published 2002)

The New York Times — 'Less is more" say the Japanese of their minimalist theatrical art called Noh. Completely the opposite applies to capsule hotel accommodation in Osaka and Tokyo: less is really less. A plastic cubicle, no larger than 150 by 200 centimeters, might not
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