Continuing to Wander Tokyo
February 2025 Here are some more random things from Tokyo that caught my eye. Fifteen years ago, Tokyo architect Keisuke…
Japan
Wandering Tokyo Finding Shrines and Such
March 2, 2025 Kira Yoshinaka was a high-ranking samurai immortalized in Japan as the notorious villain in Chushingura, the story…
Sumo Practice
February 2025 I love Sumo and was able to visit the Tatsunami beya (stable) for a practice. It was 1…
Wandering Tokyo
February 2025 I have been to Tokyo several times, so this trip involved showing my sister and niece around, shopping…
Thirty-Six Hours at an Onsen
Hoshino Resorts Kinugawa Nikko, Japan February 27, 2025 Onsens are hot springs, often with bathing facilities and traditional inns, hotels,…
Jigokudani Snow Monkey Park
Kanbayashi – Nagono – Japan February 24, 2025 Snow Monkey Park was established in 1964 as a conservation area. It…
Going to the the Dogs and Cats
February 2025 Tokyo Toyokawa Inari Akasaka Shrine The Toyokawa Inari Shrine was established in 1828 at its present site. The…
Otaru Yuki Akari no Michi – Snow Light Path Festival
February 12 and 13, 2025 When I was in Otaru in 2017, I read about the Yuki Akari no Michi…
Hokkaido Chocolate
February 2025 Shiroi Koibito Park – Sapporo Aside from the world’s best cold water fish, milk, and chocolate are two…
Ice Carvings – 2025 Sapporo Snow Festival
February 2025 The Sapporo Snow Festival has three venues. The Suskino Site is lined with ice sculptures. This site is…
Sapporo Snow Festival – 2025
February 2025 The Sapporo Snow Festival is one of the largest snow sculpture festivals in the world. The Festival started…
Odds and Ends As I Leave Tokyo
January 2024 Chiyoda City, Tokyo All shrines are packed to the gills during New Year’s, and Hie is no different.…
Aoyama Cemetery
January 2024 It is my last full day in Japan, and I spent it at the Aoyama Cemetary. If you…
Japanese Fences
December 2023 I love the uniqueness of Japanese fences. Japanese-style fences, or “Sukiya-zukuri,” are rooted in traditional Japanese architecture—their origins…
Tokyo Architecture that has caught my eye.
November 2023 I love Tokyo for its rich history and cutting-edge modern architecture, and it is all jumbled together. Much…
Beauty and Uniqueness Everywhere You Look
December 2023 There are always things when you travel that catch your eye. In the garden at Nijo-jo Castle, there…
Happy New Year – 新年あけましておめでとう
Tokyo January 2024 New Year is the most important holiday in Japan. I have moved to the New Otani Hotel…
Tamozawa Imperial Villa
December 2023 Tamozawa Imperial Villa is one of the largest remaining wooden buildings in Japan. It was the largest mansion…
A Day in the Countryside
December 27, 2023 At the invitation of a Japanese friend who lives in Shimotsuke, Tochigi, my travel friend and I…
Kabuki and Sumo
December 2023 Kabuki is thought to have originated in the early Edo period, when the art’s founder, Izumo no Okuni,…
Kappabashi – Taito City – Tokyo
December 2023 I love the off-beat you find in our world, and Japan specializes in it. Here are just a…
Nikko Toshogu Shrine
December 25, 2023 Nikko is a two-hour train ride from Tokyo. Much of the town is a World Heritage Site.…
Edo-Period Architecture of Hama-Rikyu
December 2023 I have a passion for Edo Era architecture and gardens. Hama-rikyu Gardens has three beautifully restored Edo-period buildings.…
The Rivers of Tokyo
December 2023 More than 100 rivers and canals flow beneath Tokyo. According to the Government of Japan in 2015: “The…
Tokyo’s Fishmarkets
December 22, 2023 I had the privilege of visiting the original inner Tsukiji fish market fifteen years ago when you…
Kasuga Wakamija Onmatsuri
Nara Japan December 17th, 2023 I arrived in Nara with no idea that I had arrived for one of the…
Nara, Japan
December 17, 18, 2023 I have been to Nara before, as has my travel friend Susan, so here is a…
Saiho-ji Koke-dera
December 15, 2023 Saihō-ji is a Rinzai Zen Buddhist temple. It is famous for its moss garden and is commonly…
The Food and Osaka
December 2023 Long-standing stereotypes about Kansai (Western Japan) folks run as follows: Kyoto-ites spend their money on clothes, Kobe people…
Random Kyoto
December 2023 Chion-in ( Monastery of Gratitude) Yasaka Pagoda Yasaka Kōshin-dō The temple is dedicated to Shomen Kongo, a guardian…
Ōkōchi Sansō
December 2o23 While the Bamboo Forest and other attractions of Arashiyama are jam-packed, Okochi Sanso is a serene oasis and…
Higashi Hongan-ji and the Fires of Edo
December 10, 2023 Higashi Hongan-ji Higashi Hongan-ji, the head temple of the Ōtani-ha branch of Jōdo Shinshū, was most recently…
Architecture of The Imperial Palace
December 3, 2023 You can not enter any of the buildings on the Palace grounds, but you can stroll to…
The Garden of the Imperial Palace in Kyoto
December 3, 2023 I have a passion for Japanese Gardens that verges on obsession. As one would expect, the garden…
Kennin-ji and Sor-ren-in Temples of Kyoto
December 2, 2023 The one thing you can get overwhelmed with and then exhausted from is the vast amount of…
Strolling the Streets of Kyoto
December 2023 I spent this morning just doing a Sunday Saunter. It was nice to see a side of Kyoto…
A Rant Regarding Over-Tourism
December 2, 2023 I have discussed the fact that it is Momiji-gari season in Japan. I have attributed a large…
Kyoto, Japan – Kinkaku-ji and Ryoanji
November 30, 2023 I was in Kyoto with my late husband in 2009, and I have nothing but wonderful memories.…
Momiji-gari at Nanzenji Temple
December 1, 2023 The tourists are rather overwhelming in Kyoto at present, and the reason is Momiji-gari. Momiji-gari literally means…
Momiji-gari at Eikando Zenrin-ji Temple
December 1, 2023 I would have loved to have taken photos of the structures and walkways of this temple. However,…
Ginkakuji – the Silver Pavillion
December 1, 2023 Walking the Philosopher’s Path between Eikando Zenrin-ji Temple and The Silver Pavillion The Philosophers Path The Philosophers…
The Art Island of Naoshima
November 2023 I have been on the art islands before and have written extensively about it. However, there are a…
Inujima Art Museum
November 26, 2023 Sometimes, you trip upon a magical space and relish in its uniqueness. I am at Nashima for…
Art around the Island of Inujima
November 26, 2023 Inujima, while centered on the museum, also has a few scattered “art houses”. This is, after all,…
Reflections of Naoshima, Inujima and Teshima
November2023 I have been to Naoshima and Teshima before, and this visit was to explore Inujima. Here are some photos…
Tokyo Tower
November 19, 2023 This is not my first trip to Japan. It is one of my favorite countries to explore.…
Finding the Ancient Among the Modern
November 19, 2023 Zojoji was founded by the priest Yuyo Shoso in 1393 as the first Jodo Buddhist practice hall…
Ueno Tokyo
November 2023 For my first week in Tokyo, I am staying in the Ueno district in Taito Ward. The biggest…
The Hotel New Otani Garden of Tokyo
January 2018 Most large, high-end, hotels place a Japanese restaurant near some form of Japanese Garden, the Hotel New Otani…
The Art Houses of Naoshima
January 2018 The Art House Project was a large leap into the lives of the locals of Naoshima Island. There…
An Art and Architecture Heaven on Earth – Benesse Art Site
January 2018 Benesse – To Live Well The biggest employer on Naoshima is a Mitsubishi metals processing plant, but due…
New Years in Japan
Like many countries, New Years preparations begin before the actual day. There is a very large Shinto Shrine, also called…
The Island of Teshima and Art
December 2017 Teshima is a rural island in the Seto Inland Sea that, with the nearby islands of Naoshima and…
Teshima Art Museum: an Indescribable Experience
December 30, 2017 Teshima is a small island in the Inland Sea of Japan. It had suffered economically until the…
The Older Architecture of Sapporo
December 2017 Getting around Hokkaido in the winter is not the easiest of tasks, so this trip is limited to…
Things to do in Sapporo
December 2017 Sapporo is a very walkable city, and what you will notice is the lack of automobiles, most likely…
Otaru on the Sea of Japan
December 2017 Otaru is a lovely little town situated on Ishikari Bay of the Sea of Japan. It was an…
Sapporo Beer Garden and Museum – Sapporo, Japan
Christmas Day – 2017 The Sapporo Beer Museum and Bier Garten are a fun way to spend an afternoon. The…
Christmas Eve in Sapporo, Japan
December 24, 2017 It is Christmas in Japan, and Sapporo does it big. Today we spent the day walking the…