Sharing favorite finds from across the archipelago
**Bear with me in this post, as I am trying to be respectful of the Namahage Museum's wish that visitors do not use photos taken inside their establishment for any sort of commercial or social media presence. I feel this sight is definitely worth highlighting, but my photos may not make it look as interesting... Continue Reading →
On our road trip to Tokyo the other week, we made sure our route meandered north a bit from the highway we normally would have taken to include a drive through Shimane Prefecture. I've already posted about seeing the garden that has been #! on my to-do list for quite some time, but the day... Continue Reading →
Beppu is one steamy city. Seriously. Poke a hole almost anywhere in the ground in this seaside city and you'll release a massive amount of hot air. Oita is considered the onsen capital of Japan and Beppu is arguably the place with the highest proliferation of hot springs per square kilometer. But the most famous... Continue Reading →
Last weekend, my family and I returned to Okinawa. It was a surprisingly emotional trip in a way. We left Okinawa when my daughter was 1.5 years old and returned twice when she was around two years old. But this was the first time that she could form actual memories of the island and she... Continue Reading →
What landscapes come to mind when you think of Japan? For me, mountains are the first thing that come to mind, followed by volcanoes and the ocean. And then gleaming megacities, of course. But caves? I know there are a few scattered around the islands but one worth visiting is Akiyoshi Cave and its nearby... Continue Reading →
While Japan boasts dozens of castles dotted around its islands, only twelve of them are considered "original". Of those dozen, four are located on the little-visited island of Shikoku. Matsuyama Castle (also known as Iyo-Matsuyama) is one of Japan's hilltop fortresses, perched on a peak in what is now the downtown area of the capital... Continue Reading →
Winter might be coming to an end down here in Kyushu, but further north - especially in the Nagano region - things are still snowy and white. But truthfully, that's the perfect time to visit the monkeys of Jigokudani Onsen. Chances are you've seen the pictures. The Japanese macaques (or "snow monkeys" as they are... Continue Reading →
The other weekend, I had the pleasure of making the journey into the heartland of Wakayama Prefecture to the snowy precincts of Koyasan. Koyasan, or Mt Koya, is home to a temple complex that is celebrating its 1200th year in 2015 and ranks among travelers' favorite destinations in Japan. The temples of Koyasan were founded... Continue Reading →
In 1549, the Portuguese missionary Francis Xavier landed in Kagoshima with one main mission - to spread the gospel to the inhabitants of Japan. In the next 100 years, Christianity flourished in various communities on Kyushu (Nagasaki, Hirado and Kagoshima, to name a few) but never seemed to spread much further. In the mid 1600s,... Continue Reading →
Some people atone for past deeds by finding religion. Others change their lives to help others. One monk in Japan decided to dig a two-hundred meter tunnel. By hand. Hey - to each his own. Before the arrival of Zenkai the monk, the people of Yabakei town in northern Oita prefecture had a problem. One... Continue Reading →
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