From Akita Selion Port Tower Looking North West over the sea and on a clear day you can almost imagine seeing Russia on the other side (Photo: Bonson Lam)

Akita City Port Tower Selion

Storm chasers & Spycatchers

Bonson Lam   - 1 min read

The Akita City Port Tower Selion is a bit of a mystery. A sleek glass tower rising 141 meters above a freight port in a desolate looking part of the city, the contrast between slick and decrepit could not be greater. The warehouse district and rail yards to the east look like a scene from a spy movie, and many people come here to re-enact the scenes from Iris, a TV series with an espionage theme. Likewise the tower has a sense of abandonment, which means you can fully take in panoramic views from Mount Chokai to the seas heading to Siberia. The atmosphere is charged with emotion when a storm is brewing. It is the feelings welling up inside you from the dramatic scenery that does it for me.

Bonson Lam

Bonson Lam @bonson.lam

I knew my future was destined to be with Japan the moment I flew from Sydney to experience the atmospheric laneways of Kyoto last century.  I am humbled to have met many distinguished people during this time, especially the national living treasures of Japan, such as the doll maker to the Imperia...