Keeping Monster Mosquitoes at Bay: Katori-senkō and Katori Shingo

A mosquito coil 10 pack Back in the day when I spoke only broken Japanese - I arrived in Japan in 1992 knowing little more than k…

Kamidana how to do / Substitute for Kamidana plants Sakaki / Eucalyptus

This is my current Kamidana. Kamidana is a small Shinto shrine for each household.  Nature gods of my neighborhood visit my table…

Extremely Hot Days and Tropical Nights: Keeping Cool during the Fierce Japanese Summer

Weather forecast from the July 9th Yomiuri Shimbun © The official end of the rainy season ( tsuyu ake =梅雨明け) has just been annou…

Glory Flower: Smell vs Aroma in Japanese

The buds of the Glory Flower with one flower ahead of the pack Here's a striking shrub that took me a while to find the name …

Hydrangea Picture Spam! (+ Hydrangea Parfait)

So Huis ten Bosch is having a hydrangea festival right now, and one of my friends and I decided to go and take a look at the flow…