In ancient times, people would make pilgrimages to different shrines and temples all over Japan. The goal of these pilgrimages was to worship the kami in their many homes, then collect the goshuin, or simply shuin, of these many shrines … Read More
The streets of Yokohama are cornucopias full of foreign influences ranging from the Yokohama Christ Church (Catholic Yamate Church) to the Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery right down the street, to the American Yama Park. If you are in the Yokohama … Read More
The same day that we visited the Tenryuin and participated in the zazen lesson, we also made a few side trips around Yanaka Town. The day was the right mix of cloudy and sunny, where it was warm enough to … Read More
Blue is undoubtedly the most popular color. Blue skies, seas, eyes, and clothes have all been admired for centuries. It is not surprising then, that art makes use of this beautiful color and all its shades. Today, it is easy … Read More
Today, we visited our district’s protectorate shrine. As we made our way through the busy streets of Minato-ku, we passed office buildings, hotels, small restaurants, and familiar fast food chains (I’m looking at you McDonald’s), there was no greater surprise … Read More
The Japanese Tea Ceremony is a traditional practice in which green tea called matcha is made and served to guests, all in a set ceremonial fashion. The ceremony dates back the 9th century CE during the Heian period in Japanese … Read More
When entering Akasaka Hikawa Jinja Shrine. Akasaka district is how the trees seem to envelope you and take you away from the concrete jungle of urban Tokyo. At the entrance you will encounter the first large stone torii gate, flanked … Read More
Hama-rikyu is a public garden located on the shore of Tokyo Bay in the Shiodome District in Central Tokyo. It is a massive complex, with saltwater ponds that rise and fall with the tides of Tokyo Bay. Various paths and … Read More
You can experience traditional Japanese culture at 「Tokujuji Temle」in the island of Miyajima that is famous for “Itsukushima Shrine” floating on the sea. It is called okeiko Japan! Do you know おけいこ(okeiko)? To translate it directly, it means a lesson. … Read More
Readers whom have been following my “Can a feudal era General and famed military strategist act as a modern-day Cupid?” series of articles know I have a fairly close tie to the town of Tarui. During my frequent visits there, … Read More
Readers whom have been following my “Can a feudal era General and famed military strategist act as a modern day Cupid?” know I have a close tie to the town of Tarui. During my frequent visits there, I kept on … Read More
December 14th, 2017: As Yousuke’s car started climbing the mountain pass leading into Akou proper, Mrs. Terumi Kawatobi mentioned how she always cried whenever she saw any of the popular 47 Ronin/Akou Incident based TV show and movie reruns, so … Read More