Rent yourself a pedal-powered swan and float around Shinobazu pond in Ueno Park – it’s a bit kitschy but still a somewhat graceful way to spend a half hour on a sunny afternoon in Tokyo.
We rented our swan boat during the peak cherry blossom viewing season which offered a break from the crowds admiring [...]

Wandering through a cemetery on a chilly Saturday afternoon might not be at the top of most people’s lists of things to do when visiting Japan but that’s just what I did this past Saturday.  The cherry blossoms were just beginning to bloom along the windy paths through Yanaka Cemetery as I headed for Tennoji [...]

The Narita Taiko Matsuri is the largest drum festival in the Kanto region and is held each April at Naritasan Shinshoji Temple.  The matsuri features two full days of taiko drumming, dancing and parades.
Literally, taiko means “fat drum”, and the art form can be traced back the the sixth or seventh century in Japan, perhaps [...]

Put two foreigners with limited Japanese language skills into a taxi in Tokyo and frustration is almost certainly coming along for the ride!
One evening, after a relaxing dinner at a great restaurant, my husband and I decided that rather than take a bus or train back to our home we would splurge on a short [...]

Kids playing along a meandering stream under the cherry blossoms with families picnicking nearby.  It’s a common pastime during spring in Japan and TokyoDan, today’s guest photographer, captured the feeling beautifully in this shot of Negawa Stream in Tachikawa.

In his own words:
“One afternoon during Hana-mi (Cherry Blossom Viewing season) My wife took me along a [...]

A young women in a lovely spring kimono decorated with cherry blossoms at Shinjuku Gyoen.

Just last Saturday, I made my first visit to Shinjuku Gyoen and found the spring flowers of Japan starting to bloom.  The grass hadn’t even turned green but  photographers surrounded the few cherry blossom trees that had overcome the cool spring [...]

ShiShi, Guardian Lions, are often found guarding either side of a Shinto Shrine but they are commonly used a decorative elements for homes and businesses as  they are believed to protect against or ward of evil.  The Guardian Lions are just one way of determining the difference between a temple and a shrine – do [...]

There are eleven cultural and three natural  UNESCO World heritage sites in Japan.  All of them offer visitors the chance to learn about the culure, ancient architecture, lifestyles and beliefs of the Japanese people.  At the same time their breathtaking beauty will take leave you in awe – enjoy these images from Japan’s UNESCO World [...]

Yokohama is home to one of the world’s largest Chinatowns with over 500 restaurants and numerous shops selling furniture, spices, ceramics, clothing, trinkets and pretty much anything else you can imagine.

You can’t miss the entrance to Yokohama’s Chinatown, there are 10 colorful gates to choose from that are built based on the Chinese horoscope and [...]

Today Honor (UKTokyoite) from Tokyotopia winds up her series of guests posts on Tokyo in our Japan: A Closer Look Series. Last week she shared some fun things to do and see in northhern Tokyo and today she she shares some of the more unusual things things to do and see in Japan’s capital city. [...]