General Travel

The gardens of Japan are known world-wide for their beauty, fluidity, and character. Pathways offer unique, almost frame-like vistas as you walk through. Many of the country’s most culturally [...]

The absolute dog days of summer in Japan (mid-August) are marked by Obon. Obon (お盆) is a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the spirits of one’s ancestors. This Buddhist custom has evolved [...]

The Nakasendo Trail – one of the five main roads (Gokaido) of the Edo (Shogun) period. This exceptionally well preserved trail of post towns deep in the heart of Japans’ alps is an exceptional [...]

Japanese Fireworks Festivals Hanabi (花火) (fireworks), not to be confused with Hanami (cherry blossom viewing), are truly exceptional and a staple of Japan’s summer festival season. In Japan [...]

In an earlier blog post “Introduction to Sake: 3 Steps to Drinking“, we offered some practical advice on choosing a great sake to drink. Today we talk more generally about a great [...]

The first or second week of June typically marks the start of what is termed the rainy season in Japan, which usually lasts 5-6 weeks. For those visiting Japan in June, the temperatures are very [...]

For those traveling to Japan in May, spring has finally begun and the change of seasons is palpable, both in terms of weather and the rhythms of Japanese life. The first week of May (actually [...]

In another post, we talked about traditional religions of Japan, and gave a basic overview of Shintoism and Buddhism. Now we delve a bit more deeply into Shintoism: specifically, into Shinto [...]

While you are visiting Japan you will definitely want to spend some time drinking sake. There’s nothing in the world like good, authentic sake, near its source. For some reason, like Guinness in [...]

Last week was a glorious full bloom of Sakura (Cherry Blossoms) and almost everyone was out enjoying nature’s show at Hanami parties. “Hanami” literally means flower viewing and that, when done [...]