????I was talking to a colleague today about tidying up, and she said that her secret to keeping things tidy at home was to keep only those things that did something for her, that awoke something in her, or, as she put it in Japanese, kokoro...
Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 26Ogura-yamamine no momoji-hakokoro arabaima hitotabi nomiyuki matanamu??????????????????????????If the maple leaveson the peak of Mt Oguracould have heartsthey would waitfor the Royal OutingFujiwara no... -
Kyoto is probably the only major Japanese city with so many standing wooden structures. And these wooden homes and offices called machiya are one of the main charms of strolling through the Old Capital. Starting in the 1960\'s, machiya... -
??Kibune, just a bit north of Kyoto city, is one of Kyoto\'s most popular summer destinations for a number of reasons. It\'s cool and green, and home to a number of amazing traditional inns that have over-the-river dining platforms.But Kibune... -
Mt Miwa, a beautiful conical mountain (467m / 1532ft) north of the city of Sakurai, at the eastern edge of the Yamato basin in Nara Prefecture, is an important sacred mountain, home to one of Japan\'s earliest Shinto shrines, called Omiwa or... -
?????Japan Says Deadly Ship Collision Happened Earlier Than ReportedNew York TimesIreland score seven tries in thumping 50-22 win over Japan BBCKake scandal continues to plague Abe administration with discovery of new doc The MainichiTokyo\'s... -
Akita Prefecture, in the far north of Japan on the west coast, is full of culture, history, natural beauty and friendly people. As our flight from Tokyo to Akita descended for landing, an endless snow covered mountain range welcomed us to this... -
Minshuku Urashima is a traditional minshuku located on the coast in Muroto City on the Muroto Peninsula.Minshuku Urashima is very popular with those walking the Shikoku Pilgrimage as it is situated at the base of the mountain on which temple 26,... -
???? NiecheWharf Cafe Nieche just a couple of minutes from Taiji Station is a friendly and economical guest house in Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture.The rooms are fairly basic, but comfortable tatami and futon squares and there is very little noise at... -
Reading about Japan is one of the best ways to get excited and prepare for your trip to Japan!
Japan guidebooks can be a great resource for research and travel planning, but it?s also incredibly fun ? and often enlightening ? to read fiction and... -
????Kurotani is well-known for its wagami (\'rice\' paper) production. Appreciation for this lifetime-absorbing craft has led to the paper art of Kurotani being designated an Important Cultural Property of Kyoto.The history of Kurotani village... -
???? In the wide garden of Mimurotoji Temple in Uji there are 30 different kinds of hydrangea some of which seem to have the shape of a heart. June and early July is the perfect time to see these beautiful flowers in bloom.Known also as the "flower... -
When we think about traveling somewhere, certain questions are obvious. Where should I go, and when" Where should I stay" What should I see"
To these clearly important starting points, we might add: What should I listen to"
For many of us,... -
??????The Japan-China Friendship Garden, near the south bank of the Nagara River, just north of Gifu Park (Gifu Koen) in Gifu, was built in 1999 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the friendship partnership between Gifu and Hangzhou.The... -
Kyoto Prefecture is in volume the second sake producing prefecture in Japan (71,286kl or 16.0% - figures 2015) - after Hyogo (28.5%) and before Niigata (8.4%). That is thanks to the breweries in the southern part of Kyoto city, in Fushimi, which are... -
Remember your first impression of the Japanese, packed in tourist buses and racing through Europe in a cloud of \'Sorry, sorry, so sorry!\'"Now that you\'ve come to Japan, you can observe first-hand the national pastime of making constant... -
Much has been written in praise of the Kyoto woman: her beauty, her grace, her charming and distinctive speech. Indeed, throughout Japan the Kyoto woman\'s way of speaking has long been considered the embodiment of femininity. Today, however, the... -
