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Category: Travel
Why do Japanese people sleep on futons?
The experience of sleeping on a futon (布団) is one of the most attractive activities for people who come to Japan. This typically happens when staying at a ryokan (旅館, traditional Japanese hotel) or guest house, where Japanese-style rooms, called washitsu (和室), tend to be the norm. (You can watch the video of this post… Read more
Giant Straw Creatures – Wara Art Annual Festival
If you visit Niigata Prefecture during the region’s annual rice harvest, you’re likely to find huge tarantulas, eagles, and dinosaur-like creatures stalking the landscape. The towering sculptures are part of the Wara Art Festival , a summer event that displays huge animals and mythical creations all made from straw left over from the rice harvest.… Read more
Osaka, The Historic Mercantile and Cosmopolitan Center of Japan
Osaka is located in the geographic center of Japan’s main island, Honshu. The composition of the city of Osaka as we know it today, was incorporated in 1889, has a population of 2.69 million inhabitants, with an area of 225.21 square kilometers. Osaka Prefecture, which includes the city of Osaka (its capital) and 42 other… Read more
Ginza – Where Tradition and Innovation Meet in Tokyo
Part of the Center of Tokyo, or “old” area, it is currently considered one of the most elegant and commercial districts of the city. Originally built as a silver coin production area during the Edo era (1603-1867), Ginza is an area rich in history, with a strong personality and a well-deserved reputation for extreme elegance.… Read more
Art in the Rice Fields of Japan
Paddy Field Art, or Tanbo Art (田んぼアート) is the creation of images and/or letters by planting different types of colored rice in the rice fields. It originally started as a way to promote the local Tsugaru Otome rice brand. It started in 1993 when the village office staff came up with the idea that it… Read more
Travel Back in Time to the Jōmon Period with Bōrō NOGUCHI Hakodate
As of July 1, 2021, the Bōrō NOGUCHI Hakodate luxury hotel in Yunokawa (famous Onsen area) started a plan or package that includes a visit to the Jōmon Archaeological Zone in Hokkaido Prefecture. Given the current situation with the global pandemic, it is better to avoid places with crowds and public transport, so the hotel… Read more
Emotion, Tradition and Archery at the Takadanobaba Yabusame Festival
If the horse riding events of the Olympics left you wanting more, you can treat yourself to a festival of Yabusame (流鏑馬), traditional Japanese horseback archery. Although it is possible to enjoy Yabusame festivals in various places in Japan, the Toyama Park festival in Tokyo is one of the most famous. Every year in mid-October,… Read more
Ginkakuji Temple- The Silver Pavilion in Kyoto
The Ginkakuji 銀閣寺is a Zen temple along the eastern mountains of Kyoto (Higashiyama). In 1482, the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa built his retirement villa on the grounds of the current temple, modeling it after the Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion), his grandfather’s retirement villa at the base of the mountains north of Kyoto (Kitayama). The village (Ginkakuji) became… Read more
Chingodo in Asakusa: a Shrine dedicated to Tanuki
Chingodō (鎮護堂) is a small Shinto shrine in Asakusa that is dedicated to Tanuki (狸), a small, furry animal that is a pillar of Japanese folklore, considered a sacred animal. Such is the reverence accorded to these animals that the shrine is sometimes called Otanuki-sama, (お狸様, Honorable Mr. Tanuki). Tanuki are a small, short-legged animal… Read more
RE: BREAD, Organic Beer Made with “Discarded” Bread
Inaugurated last March 2021, Bakery Square , in Yokohama Takashimaya, likes to focus on bringing us food in a sustainable way while keeping ecology in high regard. This business offers more than 500 types of products, and on a good day, it can sell up to 10,000 pieces of bread. Unlike most bakeries in Japan,… Read more