Fireworks, Deceased Spirits, and Teruteru-bōzu

In the UK, fireworks are associated with autumn/winter, specifically Bonfire Night/Guy Fawkes Night on November 5th as well as s…

Grilled Eel Meat - and Deep-Fried Bones - as a Summer Pick-me-up

One of the ways to prevent heat-stroke, avoid natsu-bate (heat fatigue), and generally survive the fierce Japanese summer heat i…

Snake Road and the Last Shogun: Tokyo Nostalgia Part 2

Kannonji Temple's Tsuiji-bei old mud wall After visiting the Shitamachi Museum I was curious to see how much of the "ol…

The Shitamachi Museum: Tokyo Nostalgia Part 1

Shitamachi alleyway On the edge of the Shinobazu Pond in Ueno Park is a tiny but delightful museum - the Shitamachi (下町） Museum .…

The Last "Real" Samurai? Saigo Takamori

Statue of Saigo Takamori, with trusty hunting dog, on Ueno Hill Just a stone's throw from Ueno Station is a statue of Saigo T…

How to Purify Yourself when Visiting a Shrine

Instructions on how to wash your hands before praying at Yasukuni Shrine A number of posts to date - such as those on shide paper…

Torii Gates - Big and Small

Motoki no Ishi Torii (left) in Yamagata City Everyone is familiar with the traditional Japanese gate or torii (鳥居） most commonly …

Sasamaki: sticky rice wrapped in bamboo leaves

Sasamaki: Glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo leaves One traditional food which can only seen and eaten this time of year is called …

The Mystery of the tiny Buddha (Jizō)

Walking down the Kodaira Green Road the other day, I discovered a tiny Buddha (Ksitigarbha) statue, right (called Jizō or Ojizō-…

Kabuki on the Cheap

Skyscrapers towering over the Kabuki Theatre in Ginza (Kabukiza) Kabuki (歌舞伎） - which combines the kanji for singing ( utau =歌う）,…

Walking around the Imperial Palace in Tokyo

The "rules" for walking around the Palace Recently, I walked around the Imperial Palace ( kōkyo =皇居, lit. the emperor&#…

Golden Week, Boy's Day, and Koi-Carp Streamers

Koi-nobori streamers flying on Boy's Day (May 5th) Friday was the final day of the series of bank holidays known as "Gol…

Bonsai Boom

A neighbourhood collection of carefully pruned bonsai on show The International Bonsai Convention recently returned to Japan afte…

Amazing (and poisonous) Azaleas

Red azaleas along a local boardwalk After the sakura and together with the wisteria, the most common flower this time of year are…

Climb Mount Takao and meet Tengu

Tengu statue at Takao Station Tengu statue on Mount Takao Last Sunday I climbed Mount Takao (Takao-san= 高尾山 ), a beautiful 599m p…

Purifying Paper and Sumo Spirit Magnets

Entrance to local shrine, with shide hanging from the shimenawa rope At the gateway to a shrine you will commonly see white jagge…

Water, water everywhere...

Irrigation channel carrying drinking water The picture shows a shallow irrigation channel ( yōsuiro ) running alongside the large…