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. ...
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? ...
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. ...
I had a very unique experience of a tub boat in Sado Island. It is literally a tub boat made of a tub cut into half. That’s why they call it a “tub boat”. But you may wonder “why tub?”. The story goes back to the early 19th Century when ...
Itchiku Kubota Art Museum, located near Kawaguchi-ko Lake in Yamanashi, is an off-the-beaten-path architecture. Kubota was an textile artist who revived the old silk dyeing. And this museum was dedicated to exhibit his craftwork. The silk he dyed is of course beautiful but what I like most is the architecture ...
Yakisoba noodles are typical Japanese foods sold in food stalls. You can find them often in festivals of temples and shrines. With some reason, Fujinomiya City, a town at the foot of Mt. Fuji is famous for yakisoba noodles. Japanese people love yakisoba so much that there are championship tournaments ...
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 ...
Some old towns in Japan still maintain the traditional townscape of old Japanese houses along the street. Nonoichi City is one of such towns. But where is Nonoichi? Perhaps, many people even in Japan don’t know this town. This city locates next to Kanazawa City and it actually became prosperous ...
The origin of Japanese sweets has a deep connection with the history of the culture of tea ceremony in Japan. Where tea culture is rooted, there are a variety of traditional sweets. Kyoto is famous for the culture of tea ceremony as well as sweets. Another famous town is Kanazawa. ...
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 ...