The One about IZ*ONE’s “COLOR*IZ”

I’ve written about my love for the music show “Produce48”. In South Korea, there is a television show called “Produce 101” in which they get young women (season 1) and young men (season 2) from different talent agencies and they compete to become a 12-member Read More …

The One about Nezu Shrine Part 7: The red torii gates and Otome Inari Jinja

Last but not least, it’s going through the red torii gates leading to Otome Inari Jinja. As mentioned in the first post about Nezu Shrine, while slightly modeled after Fushimi Inari Jinja, it’s not as alluring as the Kyoto-based shrine but for Tokyo, it’s still Read More …

The One about Nezu Shrine Part 6: Outside the Honden, Karamon and Sukibei Wall

Leading directly to the honden right up front in the center is the Karamon (Chinese gate) which can be found at numerous Shinto shrines, Buddhist temples and Japanese castles. Connected to the Karamon is a Sukibei (lattice-windowed wall) wall surrounding the honden.  Both of these Read More …

Travel Guide: The One about the Sayonara Tax that starts on January 7, 2019

You probably heard that Japan will be kicking off a “Sayonara Tax” beginning in January 2019. With the increase of tourism in Japan (28.69 million international tourists in 2017) and Japan ranked #4 out of 141 countries in the “Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017”, Read More …