ocated in Saitama an hour away from Ikebukuro, Heirin-ji is a Rinzai temple of the Myoshin-ji Branch. The temple was originally founded in 1375 in Iwatsuki city by Sekishitsu Zenkyu , also in Saitama. The temple was destroyed in 1590 during the attack on Iwatsuki Castle by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and then later moved and rebuilt […]
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Saisho-in is one of Hirosaki’s most famous temples and features a huge five story, 32.2m high pagoda. It was built in 1667 to commemorate those who died in battle during the reunification of the Tsugaru with Hirosaki. Said to be one of the most beautiful pagodas in the Tohoku region, Saisho-in also features a gorgeous […]
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The Neputa Mura (Neputa Village) is Hirosaki’s only museum dedicated to the city’s Japanese floats known as Neputas. Indeed, each city or village in Aomori has its own style and design. Hirosaki neputas for example are floats designed in the shape of Japanese hand fans. Open all year long the Neputa Mura will give you […]
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ocated in the heart of Hirosaki city in Aomori (northern Japan), the Fujita Memorial Garden was built in 1919 by Fujita Kenichi who was the first chairman of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry. While not unique in Japan, this garden features both a traditional Japanese house, now used as an art gallery, and […]
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lso known as Tsugaru Jamisen, the Tsugaru Shamisen refers to both the Japanese genre of shamisen music originating from Tsugaru Peninsula (Aomori), and the instrument it is performed with. Imported from China via Okinawa, the Shamisen, looks like a little guitar and is widely associated with Japanese culture. Every region in Japan has developed it’s […]
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ocated in Shizuoka City, Sunpu Castle, is also known as Fuchi Castle and on some occasions the “Castle of the Floating Isle” because of its design and surrounding moats. It was supposedly built between 1560 and 1585 by Tokugawa Ieyasu. Burned down in 1653, most of the Sunpu Castle has been rebuilt, including the castle […]
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eta are perhaps Japan’s most iconic footwear, despite actually being a Chinese creation, and a piece of the cultural heritage still widely used today in modern Japan. Available in different forms and shapes, the traditional geta here is, thanks to Sano-san and his daughter Hitomi, given a little make-over where both tradition and modernity meet […]
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ere you are, another video coming straight from our new “Daily Life” project where we will upload videos of our daily life and commute in Japan. Today’s video will be a quick ride I made from Shibuya Station to Omotesando Station on the Ginza line on my way to meet some friends. Not much to […]
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y far one of Okinawa’s best islands, Iriomote offers spectacular sunsets all year long, and while there on holidays, I could not resist getting out my camera with me to share a piece of Okinawan heaven with you! I hope you will enjoy this very relaxing 25 minutes of pure Okinawan sunset!
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hizuoka Sengen Shrine is in fact the name for a collective group of three Shinto shrines with the Kambe Jinja, Sengen Jinja and Ohtoshimioya Jinja. They are located around Shizuoka city and now form a single religious corporation with the main shrine based in the center of the city. The oldest of the three shrines, […]
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riginally located in Tokyo and used as a residence for a branch of the Tokugawa family, and later used temporarily as the Imperial Palace, the Tomozawa Imperial Villa has been in Nikko since 1899. This gorgeous house that blends traditional Edo design and early model Meiji period architecture offers no less than 106 rooms, with […]
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hen I started this project I knew that I would have to spend a lot of time on the road and after running out of podcasts and music to listen to, you start to get a little bored. So in June, on my way back to Tokyo from a trip to Shizuoka, I decided to […]
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