Craig Mod
craigmod.com · Personal blog · on HN since 2009
Craig Mod is a writer, designer and photographer who covers software design, publishing and long walks in Japan.
What HN saysCommenters recommend him for his writing and photography on Japan, and cite 'Fast Software, the Best Software' as a favorite essay.
117HN people shared it
37linked it in comments
191stories submitted
3.4Kstory points
2 months agolast shared
2009people per year2026
Most-shared posts
- 1Fast Software, the Best Software15 people · 703 points · first shared 2019 · 283 comments on HN
- 2Homepage9 people · first shared 2018
- 3Subcompact Publishing7 people · 119 points · first shared 2012 · 9 comments on HN
- 4On Building Flipboard for iPhone5 people · 128 points · first shared 2012 · 14 comments on HN
- 5Software Bonkers5 people · 5 points · first shared 2026 · 1 comments on HN
- 6Brilliant Hardware in the Valley of the Software Slump4 people · 186 points · first shared 2020 · 97 comments on HN
- 7Running a Successful Membership / Subscription Program4 people · 24 points · first shared 2021 · discussion on HN
- 8Hack the Cover4 people · 10 points · first shared 2012 · discussion on HN
- 9Electric Bike, Stupid Love of My Life4 people · 8 points · first shared 2022 · discussion on HN
- 10On Being a Good Newsletterer4 people · 7 points · first shared 2020 · discussion on HN
- 11Running a Membership Program: Four Years In4 people · 5 points · first shared 2023 · discussion on HN
- 12Oh God, It's Raining Newsletters3 people · 214 points · first shared 2019 · 143 comments on HN
- 13Walking Tokyo for Seven Days3 people · 160 points · first shared 2022 · 122 comments on HN
- 14Books in the Age of the iPad3 people · 68 points · first shared 2010 · 17 comments on HN
- 15@font-face makes the web pretty (or ugly). (Needs FF 3.5 or Safari)3 people · 51 points · first shared 2009 · 31 comments on HN
What HN people wrote when they linked it
simonebrunozzi · 2023-08-24
I follow Craig Mod [0], who regularly walks in Japan. You might find him interesting.
[0]: https://craigmod.com/
robertjwebb · 2026-04-14
Craig Mod is great for Japan https://craigmod.com/ !
philip1209 · 2025-07-30
Reminds me "Fast Software, the Best Software" by Craig Mod: https://craigmod.com/essays/fast_software/
criddell · 2025-06-23
I recently heard Craig Mod[1] in an interview. He has walked thousands of miles in Japan and has produced books that document some of what he has seen. The photographs he has published online are beautiful, but I've never seen any of his books so I can't comment on those.
Anyway, in the interview, he talked about places that sound like what you are describing in the first paragraph but he called them kissas.
[1]:https://craigmod.com/
pinkmuffinere · 2023-12-26
I would not have the patience to spend years organizing “walk and talks” and experimenting with the format. But I’m glad that somebody does —- it sounds meaningful for participants at least. I wonder if my opinion will change as I age; perhaps when I’m 40 I could be motivated to organize something like this myself.
The linked article that touches on the sandwiches in England made me laugh, I love the opening: https://craigmod.com/ridgeline/167/
cmod · 2023-07-05
https://craigmod.com
Wow, just realized it passed its 21st anniversary last month. A few iterations throughout the years, but the current form is basically 13-ish years old, regularly updated.
Tempest1981 · 2022-11-13
Mentioned in this trending post:
Fast Software, the Best Software
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33584958 -> https://craigmod.com/essays/fast_software/
yitchelle · 2021-03-21
If reading a newsletter is also your thing, I recommend Craig Mod's newsletter on his walks around Japan. Quite refreshing.
https://craigmod.com/ridgeline/
flobosg · 2020-12-30
Glad to see Torres del Paine there. I did the W Trek a year ago and can’t recommend it enough. Absolutely breathtaking.
Also recommended: Craig Mod’s Ridgeline newsletter about walking in Japan[1]. He recently completed the Tōkaidō road.
[1]: https://craigmod.com/ridgeline/
wildmindwriting · 2019-04-09
I like your site design (and the most recent article), particularly the side/margin notes. I had done a similar thing on a previous incarnation of my own site but eventually decided to keep them in the footnotes section so that the focus would be kept on the essay. But seeing them here makes me rethink that decision.
I am slowly working my way through Web Typography by Richard Rutter (http://www.book.webtypography.net/) as I redesign my website. You may find it helpful as well. Another inspiration is Craig Mod's (https://craigmod.com) site (of which I took more than a few suggestions from).
Looking forward to reading your other articles! Good luck with the writing practice.
Edit: Change 'first article' to 'most recent article'.
Bartweiss · 2017-11-14
> only those which access the Play Store
I'll bet this means an enormous number of outdated devices outside the first world are missing. In particular, any area without cheap and reliable data access is probably eschewing the Play Store for some kind of local-area app sharing like Zapya.
Not your fault obviously, these are fascinating stats as is. But I'm also really curious how many smartphones have gone "off the grid" without being retired. Generalizing from Myanmar [1], I suppose Facebook's internal device data would be the best source.
[1] https://craigmod.com/sputnik/smartphones_in_myanmar/
tel · 2010-01-16
Performance and evaluation of the Lumix GF-1, the EVIL pictured in this article.
http://craigmod.com/journal/gf1-fieldtest/
It's not aimed as a gadget review but instead a caring review of the camera across one photographer's grand adventure. The photography and review are both excellent.
mbforbes · 2023-11-15
I like this author's idea of curating bookmark lists, but I think they are most effective when two criteria are followed: (1) keep the list small, (2) write small notes about each entry.
For example, the bookmarks list the author links to (https://www.marginalia.nu/links/bookmarks/) has 48 URLs annotated only by category. That's too many for my tiny brain to handle and I move on.
A webring like Hundred Rabbits' (https://webring.xxiivv.com/) has 203 entries. For me, this is in the same category as 48. (It also reminds me of those "Awesome X" lists on GitHub that end up flooded with hundreds of links.)
To attempt an example of what I mean, here's the bookmark list I publish on my website:
- Bret Victor (http://worrydream.com/) • interaction and abstraction
- Craig Mod (https://craigmod.com/) • long walks, atmospheric photos
- Hundred Rabbits (https://100r.co/site/home.html) • physical and digital minimalism from first principles, extensively documented
- Mu-An Chiou (http://muan.co/) • rhythm, space, movement, color
- Steven Wittens (http://acko.net/) • 3D sorcery
(edit: formatting)
harr_ison · 2021-05-27
Anything from Craig Mod - https://craigmod.com
lastofthemojito · 2021-05-20
For me, the Leica Q camera. I've fallen in and out of love with photography over the years and it (along with a toddler who makes for a great subject) has certainly rekindled things for me.
I took a (film) photography course as a teen that initially sparked this interest, and received a secondhand Canon AE-1 film SLR camera as a gift from a relative. I had fun experimenting with this for a while, but when I went to college, I guess it didn't make the cut of things to bring with me.
While I was in college, I was somewhat aware that digital photography was emerging, but it was expensive and I was broke, so the photo thing was just shelved for a while. A couple years out of college, digital camera prices had come down and I had a good job so I treated myself to a Canon Rebel XT digital SLR. Having infinite film was amazing for experimentation and I got really into nature photography for a while.
Then, like everyone else, the camera that was always in my pocket (attached to my smartphone) improved to the point that I didn't find myself reaching for a dedicated camera very often. I got a Sony and then a Fuji mirrorless camera with the goal of getting something smaller than the SLR that would still produce noticeably better photos than the smartphone. They did, but I still didn't find myself using them often, and I sold them off.
Then, I guess it was 2016, I read Craig Mod's review of the Leica Q camera[0]. I become borderline obsessed. His description of "delight" in…
danielna · 2013-05-07
I enjoy photography but not enough (at the moment and foreseeable future) to sink a lot of time/money into it. I don't even consider it a "hobby" as much as I just like to carry a camera around with me when I know I'm going somewhere interesting.
Marco mentions them towards the end of the post but I absolutely love my mirrorless, micro 4/3s camera (Panasonic GF-1). [1] It's small/light enough that it's not a burden to carry (form factor is somewhere between a point and shoot and dSLR) and the picture quality, at least to a novice like myself, is excellent. I'm a big believer in the idea that "the best camera to own is the one you have in your hand" and I really wouldn't want to lug around anything bulkier/heavier, despite the added functionality.
[1] http://craigmod.com/journal/gf1-fieldtest/ - epic craigmod post that sold me on my camera, and has by his own admission given him a good chunk of money/exposure.
tolerance · 2026-07-07
This link is more informative.
https://craigmod.com/roden/102/#the-good-place
Craig Mod is an interesting example of someone who makes a living online through "ethical" content production.
gavinhoward · 2026-04-22
Because Git was faster.
This mattered because speed is the killer feature [1], and speed is often seen by users as a proxy for reliability [2].
[1]: https://bdickason.com/posts/speed-is-the-killer-feature/
[2]: https://craigmod.com/essays/fast_software/
timdiggerm · 2023-12-12
He is almost certainly writing about the laktest Walk and Talk from Craig Mod and Kevin Kelley (https://craigmod.com/ridgeline/043/); Jason Kottke was also on that trip (https://kottke.org/23/11/please-welcome-edith-zimmerman-to-the-site)
vishnumenon · 2023-10-27
The Magical Japanese Art of Luggage Forwarding: https://craigmod.com/ridgeline/170/
(iirc this was on HN front-page a day or two ago, which might be why its top of mind)
runako · 2022-02-01
There's a bulleted list of what you get on the membership page. I'm not in the target audience, but he does make pretty clear what I would expect to receive if I were a member.
https://craigmod.com/membership/
ghoward · 2021-09-11
Yes, do it! Hugo is great because it's fast. [1]
Fast software is the best software. [2] (Comments: [3])
Speed is the killer feature. [4] (Comments: [5])
Slow software is an opportunity for competitors. [6]
[1]: https://gavinhoward.com/2019/12/performance-matters-jekyll-vs-hugo/
[2]: https://craigmod.com/essays/fast_software/
[3]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20517144
[4]: https://bdickason.com/posts/speed-is-the-killer-feature/
[5]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26312516
[6]: https://fabiensanglard.net/silicone/index.html
bengtan · 2021-05-28
Hi,
I come across a lot of blogs when I curate for my newsletter Interesting Things [1]. Just looking through the links that have been curated in the past month or so, I would suggest:
Tech
- https://wasteofserver.com/
- https://tonsky.me/
- https://brianschrader.com/
- https://blog.thea.codes/
- https://fasterthanli.me/
- https://jvns.ca/
- https://blog.royalsloth.eu/
Non-tech
- https://www.drorpoleg.com/ - About work and society
- https://staysaasy.com/ - About tech work
- https://www.nateliason.com/ - About life in general
- https://andymatuschak.org/
- https://craigmod.com/
- https://perell.com/
And, of course, shameless plug: https://bengtan.com
----
[1] https://bengtan.com/interesting-things
jkestner · 2021-04-27
Speed is a feature, said well: https://craigmod.com/essays/fast_software/
jackcarter · 2019-08-23
I learned about Figma recently, in this HN-frontpage article about fast software: https://craigmod.com/essays/fast_software/
It really is delightfully fast. It's no surprise that the team behind it is producing this caliber of content.
blub · 2019-08-07
I'm not a scientist, so I did not measure it, however my empirical analysis suggests that this is indeed the case. Non-native UIs are noticeably slow. They don't have a monopoly on being slow, but they are slow across the board.
You might want to read this ode to fast software: https://craigmod.com/essays/fast_software.
matallo · 2018-08-02
Here's my personal website:
https://matall.in
I'm a fan of personal sites, too. Some of the ones that I like most, in no particular order:
https://macwright.org
https://zachholman.com
https://warpspire.com
https://paulstamatiou.com
http://francisco.dance
https://craigmod.com
vitovito · 2018-05-03
"Reader analytics" is the term you're looking for. There have been several startups in this vein over the years, but only Jellybooks is still going. I don't know if they support the writing process, though; I've only seen them discuss completed books being tested. You should ask them.
https://www.jellybooks.com
I haven't seen an equivalent of a subcompact publisher (https://craigmod.com/journal/subcompact_publishing/) that provides reader analytics and supports authors as they write.
keithpeter · 2012-04-04
Like this?
http://craigmod.com/journal/digital_physical/
(was on daringfireball the other day)
melissamiranda · 2012-03-31
Ha. Craig would probably do this, and then say "Hold on" while he plunks down his book on Tokyo Art Galleries: http://craigmod.com/journal/kickstartup/
What can I say? The man is prolific.