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 ...
Category: Tokyo
Ukiyo-e Tour to Kameido Tenjin ShrineUkiyo-e Tour to Kameido Tenjin Shrine
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 ...
Facades of Kanban KenchikuFacades of Kanban Kenchiku
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. ...
Viewing Last Cherry Blossoms in TokyoViewing Last Cherry Blossoms in Tokyo
Cherry blossoms in Tokyo start blooming at the end of March. In Japan, each prefecture has its “sample tree” and when five flowers bloom, the Meteorological Agency officially announce the flowering of the cherry blossoms. This is because the timing of the flowering of cherry blossoms is very important for ...
Le Corbusier and the Age of PurismLe Corbusier and the Age of Purism
EOAs of 25 March, 2019, there are still 8 more weeks to go until the exhibition of Le Corbusier at the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo will finish. This is the exhibition to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the museum which was designed by the world renown architect, ...
The Arrival of Plum Blossoms SeasonThe Arrival of Plum Blossoms Season
It’s the season of plum blossoms! This year, the Plum Blossoms Festival of Yeshima Tenjin Shrine started on 9 February. The festival lasts until early March so I though going there now would be a little too early to enjoy the flowers. But it was not. ...
Strolling Around Alleys in ShinjukuStrolling Around Alleys in Shinjuku
Narrow alleys, in my opinion, are typical Tokyo streetscape. They are sometimes straight, sometimes winding but always narrow. And they often have many small shops, restaurants and houses along the alleys. Shinjuku has several such alleys. The street scene often reminds Japanese people of good old days. ...
Night Visit to Autumn FoliageNight Visit to Autumn Foliage
In Japan, some gardens may open at night during the peak time of autumn foliage. Such gardens are usually packed with people and it is often prohibited to use tripods. You know, taking photos at night without a tripod is extremely difficult. But I found that Higo Hosokawa Garden in ...
Garden in the SkyGarden in the Sky
These days, roof-top garden is not so surprising. But I happened to visit a “garden in the sky” which was quite unique. It is Meguro Sky Garden. This garden is over Ohashi Junction which connects Metropolitan Expressway and Central Circular Expressway (Chuo Kanjo-sen). Whaaaat? The garden over the expressways? What ...
Cycling along the RiversideCycling along the Riverside
The weather was not particularly good today but it was not hot anymore. As far as it is not raining, it’s good for cycling. So I decided to go to the riverside. Starting from Monzen Nakacho, I headed towards the Tokyo Bay. The good thing about cycling along the riverside ...