Nihonbashi used to be a starting point of travel routes. During Edo period when Shogun ruled Japan, there were several routes which people used for traveling and transporting goods. And the origin of these routes was Nihonbashi. Tokaido Way is one of those traveling routes. It is the longest route ...
Kameido Tenjin Shrine in Tokyo has beautiful wisteria racks. If you visit there in late April or early May, beautiful purple flowers cover the whole area inside the shrine. And they annually hold Wisteria Flower Festival. However this year 2020, due to the spread of COVID-19, the festival was unfortunately ...
Traditional Japanese shops have unique facades. Among many kinds of interesting facades, I like “Kanban Kenchiku”. Kanban means billboard and Kenchiku means architecture. The architecture itself becomes a tool of advertisement. ...
Let’s try virtual tour to the pilgrimage routes in Kii area. Last time, I tried virtual visit to Shuri Castle in Okinawa. This time, another virtual tour in Central Japan. If you read Japanese guide books, you may find many pilgrimage routes. But this one in Kii Peninsula has unique ...
I decided to visit Shuri Castle in Okinawa. But as of 8th April, 2020, due to the spread of Corona Virus, the Government warned not to go outside. So why don’t we visit there by a virtual tour? ...
Ohanami or the flower viewing is the most popular spring activities in Japan. Unfortunately, this year 2020, due to the spread of the COVID-19, we are advised not to do flower viewing. But we can still enjoy flower viewing on the website. ...
Japanese families with daughters celebrate Girls’ Festival on March 3rd. The origin of the festival is not very clear but it was started over one thousand years ago. They started celebrating Girls’ Festival in March at around 16th century. ...
Ritsurin Garden is a must-visit Japanese garden in Kagawa Prefecture. Ritsurin, written in Chinese characters, means “chestnuts woods”. But interestingly, there is no chestnuts trees in this garden. Instead, the garden has many pine trees and other various greens and flowers. ...
Pilgrimage to Kotohira-gu Shrine in Kagawa became popular during Edo Era in 18th and 19th Century. Pilgrimage in Japan is the origin of tourism in Japan. Other famous and historic pilgrimages include Mt. Fuji, Ise Jingu Shrine and Kumano Kodo. ...
Sado Island has many old temples and shrines. This must be partly because many noble people came to this island. But these people came here not because they wanted to live in this northern island with cold and severe weather during winter. On the contrary, they were sent here as ...