Diving into Hiroshima’s Sakes
Apr 23, 2019 By Matt Mangham
If you’ve only recently moved to Hiroshima, you may not yet be aware that you are in one of Japan’s three great centers for sake production, the other two being in Kobe and Kyoto. Of the three, Hiroshima is both the youngest and, by some metrics, the most innovative. Until...[ Click to read more ]
Horsing Around at Tado Festival in Mie
Apr 16, 2019 By Bert Wishart
Japan has so many strange, eccentric and exciting festivals every year that it is sometimes difficult to keep track. However, few festivals are exciting and dramatic as Ageuma-Shinji, held every year in Tado, Mie. Also known as Tado Festival, Ageuma-Shinji has been held in this sleepy little town since the Nanboku-chō...[ Click to read more ]
Things to do in Tokyo For Golden Week 2019
Apr 15, 2019 By Bert Wishart
Golden week is the longest public holiday period in Japan, and many residents make a trip abroad, or to a tourist area like Kyoto over the break. Trains and airports can be crowded, and the traffic into any area worth a visit is going to be heavy at best, standstill...[ Click to read more ]
Ten Nagoya Suggestions for the Ten Days of Golden Week (Part One)
Mar 28, 2019 By Bert Wishart
You may have noticed, that people are starting to get excited about Golden Week. Of course, people always get excited around Golden Week, when some public holidays combine to make an extended block of time off, but this year it's even better. With Emperor Akihito abdicating this year, another holiday...[ Click to read more ]
Art Museums around Hiroshima
Mar 26, 2019 By Matt Mangham
I wrote elsewhere this month about where to look for live music in Hiroshima. Now let’s talk a little about the visual arts. Again, if you count galleries and exhibitions in coffee shops and other venues, the possibilities immediately expand to fill more time than you probably have. For the...[ Click to read more ]
Iwate’s Great Buddha of Morioka
Mar 22, 2019 By Jade Brischke
Nara has one 15m high, Kamakura has one 13m high, and the city of Morioka, the capital of Iwate Prefecture, has one 10m high...What am I talking about? A Daibutsu (大仏), or Big Buddha, of course! It comes as quite a surprise that a city not typically on the tourist...[ Click to read more ]
Do You Know Nags? Nagoya’s Hidden Gems – Part 3
Feb 27, 2019 By Bert Wishart
Whether you have been here for a few weeks or know the city like the back of your hand, Nagoya is a city that is full of surprises. New restaurants and bars pop up all the time, and you can be strolling down a familiar street and suddenly notice a...[ Click to read more ]
Must See Shrines and Temples of Nagoya
Feb 26, 2019 By Bert Wishart
Japan is served by two predominant religions: Shinto and Buddhism. Shinto is a form of ancestor worship and is the traditional religion of Japan - though it was codified in the eighth century it had been around for many centuries before with evidence that it was around during the pre-historical...[ Click to read more ]
Aqua Net Ferry from Peace Park to Miyajima
Feb 25, 2019 By Matt Mangham
Two of the best things about Hiroshima are its rivers and its proximity to the UNESCO World Heritage Miyajima. Unfortunately, many visitors to the city take no more than a passing, sidelong glance at the rivers, and board crowded trains to the JR Miyajimaguchi station to take one of the...[ Click to read more ]
Things are Hotting up at Toba no Himatsuri Fire Festival
Jan 28, 2019 By Bert Wishart
Aichi sees a fair number of harvest festivals around the start of the Chinese New Year, with communities praying that their crops in the coming year will be bountiful and generous. However, very few of them are quite as, without wanting to seem disrespectful, terrifyingly crazy as The Toba no...[ Click to read more ]
