While walking through Yanaka, I passed by an area that I wasn’t sure if there was anything significant inside. Yanaka is so full of tradition like for every few feet you walk, there is a temple and a shrine that you will most likely visit. Read More …
In 1648 Misawa no Tsubone, the west nurse of Tokugawa Ietsuna, 4th Shogun of the Tokugawa Dynasty, founded Emmei-in Temple in Yanaka. The Nichiren Buddhist Temple was established as a bettoji, a temple attached to a Shinto shrine (typically in Japan, temples and shrines are Read More …
If you happen to be near Sumida Park near the river with the Tokyo Skytree in the background, you will see structures for the Geidai Taito Sumida Sightseeing Art Project. The project was created by students and professors at Tokyo University of the Arts and Read More …
In Japan, for those who have their own vehicles, all have to deal with the same things that we do in the United States and around the world. And that is automobile maintenance. And often, many people moving to Tokyo wonder where they can take Read More …
As peak travel season approaches, the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo is offering the following security tips to help visitors stay safe while enjoying Tokyo’s world-famous nightlife. The general crime rate in Japan is well below the U.S. national average, and Tokyo, like all of Read More …
Located in Cat Street in Harajuku is the store, SHIPS. With a history that goes as far back as 1970, SHIPS began as “MIURA” which sold imported casual clothing. In 1975, MIURA & SONS opened their Shibuya store which was followed by the SHIPS Ginza Read More …
In 2013, located in Cat Street in Harajuku is fashion designer, Marc Jacobs’ “BOOKMARC”. Designed by Stephan Jaklitsch, BOOKMARC sells books specializing in art, music culture and photography. And the concept of the store happened when bookstores began to disappear from the global landscape. Marc Read More …
In America, we think of pancakes as breakfast food and food we make at home early in the morning or go to a place like IHOP or Denny’s breakfast. Typically, we are used to the thin pancakes that we put butter and syrup. But in Read More …
I’m often asked about how safe Japan is but also get asked a few times if there is graffiti and if it’s as bad as how things are in the US? Well, graffiti does exist, but not in the same manner in the US that Read More …
It’s Obon Festival time!!! I have blogged in the past about what an Obon Festival is and covered various events. And now the first Obon festival that I attended in the Central Valley for 2017 took place in the city of Visalia, California in Tulare Read More …
In yesterday’s post, I discussed the Okakura Tenshin Memorial Site in Yanaka and how he started the Japan Art Institute (Nihon Bijutsuin). But not far from the Memorial Site is the Tomb of Kano Hogai, a famouse Japanese painter of the early Meiji era. A Read More …
Okakura Kakuzo (a.k.a. Okakura Tenshin) was a Japanese scholar who is known for the development of arts in Japan. Best known for his book “The Book of Tea”, Okakura was a scholar who learned English while attending a school which was operated by a Christian Read More …
When I was a college student, I surprised everyone in my class when I built a makeshift island. It was a lot of work, took a lot of time but I wanted to create something unique and different. Needless to say, it was heavy and Read More …
For those who are visiting the Meiji Shrine, sometimes you may find flower arrangements to village dioramas that were beautifully decorated. While I don’t know too much on the history of the actual dioramas, I do know that the chrysanthemum exhibition is often held in Read More …
You booked a flight and got it very cheap and you are now excited. But many travelers are learning that the cheap flight they paid for was “basic economy” and not regular “economy”. And for those who have read about the confusion, frustration or the Read More …
Located in Omotesando (Tokyo) and in Osaka is a specialty shop known as Crayonhouse. Created with children and also the disabled in mind, Keiko Ochiai wanted to create a company that was not male or adult-centered. She wanted a place where children can enjoy and Read More …
I have eaten at awesome sushi restaurants throughout Japan and in America, I’ve eaten sushi throughout California. So, whenever people tell me to try a restaurant out, I usually wait in three’s. That is if I hear three people telling me to check it out, Read More …