Sharing favorite finds from across the archipelago
The days surrounding the New Year are a remarkably difficult time to travel in Japan and yet for some reason last month, I went ahead and planned a trip anyway. I really should have known better but I was certain that something would be open in the city of Niigata, where we were to spend December... Continue Reading →
I am sure that it comes as no surprise to anyone that my photo from this month is one of foliage. What IS it about that season that just makes my heart sing? Even from the time I was young, I always felt an affinity towards the months of fall and the idea of anything... Continue Reading →
Last year, my friend Felicity (constant travel companion and fabulous videoegrapher at Where Next Japan) invited my daughter and I to Kyoto for a visit to a rather special garden. Her Osaka-based photography club had gotten permission to visit a private garden in northern Kyoto and she wanted to know if I would like to... Continue Reading →
Aomori, on the northern part of the Japan's main island of Honshu, is not the most likely locale for one of Japan's top 50 traditional gardens. The Tohoku region is more known for its exuberant festivals and its wild ruggedness than any carefully cultivated beauty. Perhaps that makes a visit to the Fujita Teien in... Continue Reading →
We've just finished celebrating Silver Week and I have to say, mine was a tad disappointing. For a travel professional, that is. Even just for an avid traveller. Yes, sad to say, due to a variety of circumstances, I spent all of Silver Week at home. Thankfully, home has recently become the eternally-intriguing city of... Continue Reading →
The small town of Tsuwano at the edge of Shimane prefecture has a host of interesting sights - a stunning hilltop Inari shrine, a lovely old samurai district crisscrossed by canals, and a handful of unique museums. But far and away the best sight in town is one that didn't even have a sign. Or... Continue Reading →
Being an avowed garden lover, it is surprising to me that I had yet to come across (until last week that is) a list of the 50 most beautiful gardens of Japan as rated by the Journal of Japanese Gardens (an American-based magazine). I knew that such a list existed and I knew that the Adachi... Continue Reading →
Back in the summer, I managed to get in a trip to the first (for me) of Japan's top three gardens - Korakuen, in Okayama City. While I enjoyed the visit and thought the garden was lovely, I wasn't sure if it really deserved the moniker of "top 3". (There was a bit too much... Continue Reading →
Japan is known for its "lists of three" - the top three views, the top three mountain castles, the top three onsen towns. Surprisingly, for as much as I love Japanese gardens, I had never set foot in one of Japan's top three gardens. Thankfully, on my trip to Okayama prefecture early last month, I... Continue Reading →
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