Komaki Air Base Open Base
Feb 20, 2018 By
Do you know how it feels to perform death defying stunts in the air, to have the power of some of the world's most sophisticated artillery at your finger tips, to have the wind rushing through your hair? Well the brave men and women of the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force...[ Click to read more ]
Tondo Festivals in Hiroshima 2017
Dec 22, 2017 By Matt Mangham
Across Hiroshima Prefecture, early to mid-January involves one final, festive bit of housekeeping with regard to the year just passed. Part of ‘Koshagatsu,’ which marks the traditional lunar new year, it’s called the Tondo festival. In public parks, school grounds and shrine courtyards, people gather around towering bonfires of bamboo,...[ Click to read more ]
Chinese New year Festival Nagoya 2018
Dec 20, 2017 By Bert Wishart
Although Japan adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1873, celebration of the Chinese year is still an important cultural event in the country. This year (2018) the Chinese New Year falls on February 16, however Nagoya wants to get in on the fun a little bit early. Chinese New Year Festival...[ Click to read more ]
Whisky Lovers Nagoya
Nov 22, 2017 By Admin
Recently, whisky is much more popular here in Japan than it was a decade ago. The TV drama “Massan” (story of Nikka whisky) is perhaps the key to this whisky boom, and the reason why there are now so many whisky events in Japan... but not Nagoya. (Mostly Tokyo, Osaka and...[ Click to read more ]
Nagoya’s German Market
Nov 21, 2017 By Bert Wishart
With its strawberries on cakes, love hotels and KFC, Japan gives Christmas a good try, but it doesn't quite come out right. What we need at this time of year is some real, good old fashioned tradition, and nothing quite screams 'IIIIIIIIIT'S CHRRIIIIIIIISTMAAAAAAAAAAAAS' like handmade wooden toys, excited children and...[ Click to read more ]
Koyo, or Fall Colors in Japan
Oct 15, 2017 By Ray Proper
[caption id="attachment_851" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Korankei Gorge near Toyota City, Aichi[/caption] Viewing the changing colors of fall leaves or foliage, called koyo in Japanese, is autumn's answer to spring's more famous cherry blossom viewing; a traditional opportunity to get outdoors to live in the moment of the season and reflect on the impermanence of it all....[ Click to read more ]
The Danjiri Matsuri in Osaka is a Multi-Generational Thrill Show
Sep 14, 2017 By Justin Hanus
Autumn means the biggest event of the year for the southern Osaka city of Kishiwada - the Danjiri Matsuri. Danjiri are large wooden carts inside which religious tenets declare gods reside. The point of the festival is to honor the gods by having fleets of neighborhood men pull the carts...[ Click to read more ]
Daisho-In Temple: the alternative to Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima
Sep 13, 2017 By Jade Brischke
It may not be as famous as Itsukushima Shrine, but Daisho-In Temple on Miyajima is just as beautiful and to let you in on a secret, it’s actually my favourite. When I go to Miyajima, I bypass Itsukushima (and the crowds!) and head straight for Daisho-In. Unlike shrines, which are...[ Click to read more ]
Hatchiman Matsuri, One of Japan’s Most Beautiful Festivals in Enchanting Takayama
Sep 12, 2017 By Bert Wishart
Located in Gifu Prefecture, and surrounded by some of Japan’s richest natural areas just below the famous Northern Alps, Takayama is some what isolated and distant. This isolation allowed the city to develop its own distinct culture that combines that of nearby Edo (modern day Tokyo) and Kyoto’s into a new...[ Click to read more ]
Gozan no Okuribi – Kyoto’s Obon Fire-Fest
Jul 11, 2017 By Bert Wishart
The festival of Obon, a buddhist celebration of ancestors, is celebrated across Japan from the 13th-15th of August (excepting some regional variants). During Obon, the spirits of ancestors return to this world to visit family altars, though they are not limited to that location! At the culmination of this festival,...[ Click to read more ]
