All you can drink and a view of the sun setting over Tokyo for free! OK, this view is free but the drinks will cost you – Y2,900 for women and Y3,800 for men! The Fours Seasons Hotel in the heart of Tokyo’s bustling Marunouchi district is offering an “Ekki Summer Sunset” all-you-can-drink plan until […]
A bullfight in Okinawa is quite the spectacle – unlike bullfighting in Spanish speaking cultures, there is no Matador to face the bull; it is one bull challenging another and neither will be seriously injured or die in the event. The bullfighting arena is a dome-shaped structure with open sides providing air circulation. A circular […]
Separated by the milky way, two star crossed lovers are only able to meet once a year on the seventh day of the seventh month based on the lunisolar calendar. The legend of Hikoboshi (the star known as Alter) and Orihime (the star known as Vega) has roots in China but has been associated with […]
Japan is in the middle of its spring matsuri – festival – season, and the summer fireworks (hanabi) are soon to come. All over the country people flock to the shrines to pay homage and watch the spectacle as the portable shrines – mikoshi – are paraded through the streets by colorfully dressed and shouting […]
A variety or rituals and rites are performed at Shinto shrine throughout Japan each year. Many are associated with good luck, good health, prosperity and longevity. Two such rites can be witnessed in Tokyo at the Torigoe Shrine on June 30th and July 1st. Chinowa Kuguri This tradition of passing through a straw or reed […]
June is for brides – it’s a common saying in the west that is also applicable in Japan but not in the way you might think. Every June with the blooming of the irises the tradition of Yomeiri-Fune, also know as marriage boats or wedding ships, take to the waters in Japan. It is a […]
Whether your taste in music tends towards traditional rock & roll, soul, alternative or contemporary Japanese you are sure to find one of your favorite artists or discover a new favorite when you attend a summer music festivals in Japan. The line up of artists from the gamut at these three great music events. Fuji […]
Are you planning a trip to Japan and have questions about what to do or where to go? Do you want to get real-time answers from two women who have made Japan home for a combined ten plus years? Honor Dargan of TokyoTopia and I have teamed up to create the first ever weekly Japan […]
The Soga Kasa-yaki Matsuri is held annually each May and is a festival that honors an act of revenge by the Soga brothers that took place in May 1193, over 800 years ago. In 12th century Japan, territorial battles were commonplace and were often bloody affairs. Warlords enacted elaborate military attacks with the sole purpose […]
Meandering rows of irises, known as ayame or shoubu in Japanese, bloom each June in the garden located with the precincts of Meiji Jingu Shrine. The vibrant purple and white of the flowers are set off beautifully by the the verdant green of the grass and trees along a creek that seems to go on […]
