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 ]
Nara, the Original Capital City of Culture
Aug 24, 2017 By Bert Wishart
Some 1,300 years ago the Empress Genmei established the seat of power in the mountainous area of Heijō-kyō, and in doing so created the country's first ever permanent capital. With the nation being ruled from the city (present-day Nara) this time has come to be known as the Nara period. Today Nara is a...[ Click to read more ]
Need for Speed: a Day at The Suzuka Circuit and Motopia Amusement Park
By Bert Wishart
Japan is a nation for which the production of automobiles has driven (pun intended) its development and economy for generations, and as of 2014 there were more than 75 million cars owned, nearly 60 cars for every 100 people. And that's before we include the 11.2 million motorcycles. It should...[ Click to read more ]
Experience a Taste of Traditional Japan at a Tokyo Ryokan Guesthouses
Jul 18, 2017 By Bert Wishart
Sometimes, when living in the capital, it can be easy to get wrapped up in the cosmopolitan atmosphere of globalization. Of course there are neon kanji signs flashing wherever you look, but you are never far away from a Starbucks, a McDonalds, an Italian restaurant or an Irish bar. In...[ 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 ]
Magome to Tsumago: Walking the Nakasendo Way
Jun 29, 2017 By Bert Wishart
During the Edo era the Tokkaido and the Nakasendo roads were the two main routes that connected the new capital of Edo (now Tokyo) and the old Capital of Kyoto, with the latter, as the name suggests, passing through the mountainous centre of Japan and the former following the coast....[ Click to read more ]
There Is No Other Place in the World Like Tottori’s Sand Museum
Jun 28, 2017 By Justin Hanus
At Japan's one-of-a-kind Sand Museum, the art has as much in common with the sand sculptures built at the beach with a plastic bucket as the works of the great masters do with children's finger paintings. The Sand Museum is located in Tottori across the peninsula from Kobe, known for...[ Click to read more ]
Tomonoura: The Seaside Village of Wolverine and Miyazaki… and Medicinal Sake
Jun 26, 2017 By Jade Brischke
Summer has officially arrived and the beach and all things cool and refreshing are the flavours of the month. The days are long and the blue skies and sunshine combine to create the perfect conditions for a trip to the seaside. Nowhere is more perfect or picturesque than the sleepy...[ Click to read more ]
Sanno Matsuri, One of Tokyo’s Three Most Important Festivals
May 30, 2017 By Bert Wishart
When it comes to festivals (matsuri), nothing can quite beat Japan in the summer. Pretty much every town and city will have one, and Tokyo, being the cultural (and pretty much geographical) epicenter of the country, has more than its fair share. One of the capital's three most important matsuri...[ Click to read more ]
