Have you discovered the the top 10 things that tourists do when they visit Japan? This is not be an article about what to do and see when you come to Japan but it will help you know what not to do when you visit and it may even make you chuckle. Consider it a […]
The past Saturday the Emperor and Empress of Japan celebrated 50 years of marriage. In honor of the occasion the front window of the Wako department store in Ginza held a photo retrospective of the royal couple through the years. The display held only five images but seemed to capture the spirit of the couple […]
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 […]
Nature lovers and environmentalists will enjoy visiting some of Japan’s remarkable water sources as designated by the Japanese Ministry of Environment in 1985. The list was generated to raise public awareness of natural water and nature conservation throughout the country and offers visitors to Japan an opportunity to see some ancient water sources and take […]
Dressed in a bright yellow kimono, toting a kasa (umbrella), and playing a drum with symbols perched on top, the young woman in the photo below was not doing so to further our education in all things Japanese. In fact she was part of an advertising campaign for a nearby store in the trendy neighborhood […]
Japanese men dressed in traditional hunting attire, thundering down a narrow dirt track on horseback, taking aim at small wooden targets with bow and arrow – that’s yabusame and you can see it in Kanagawa this weekend. Traditional Japanese archery on horseback, or yabusame, is impressive to behold. The riders, known as ite, display an […]
Mark your calendar for the third day of the third month so you’ll be sure to catch the Hina Matsuri, formerly know as Girl’s Day in Japan, where people pray for the happiness and health of the the young people in their life. To celebrate this day, beautiful displays of dolls are set up in […]
Spring training is well underway in Japan and the Chiba Lotte Marines are down in Okinawa preparing for the 2009 baseball season with Bobby Valentine at the helm. The team has said that this year’s campaign will be Bobby’s last year with the team, much to the disappointment of many fans who adore the man […]
In the shadow of the Ryogoku Kokugikan, better known as Tokyo’s Sumo Stadium, and near the Edo Tokyo Museum you will find Tokyo Metropolitan Yokoamichi Park. This is a small park and doesn’t get mentioned in many Tokyo guidebooks but is an interesting stop for those interested in the history of Tokyo during and after […]
Osamu Tezuku created one of the world’s best know manga and anime characters in Astro Boy during the 1950’s. In Japan Astro Boy is better know as Tetsuwan Atomu, or Mighty Atom in English. Astro Boy was serialized in Japan from 1952-1968 and was the first domestically-produced animated program on Japanese television when it debuted […]
