Tag: Holiday in 2009
On a Thursday morning in April, just before lunch time, Hiroshima is quiet. Very quiet. I take a little nap, head propped against my backpack, as I wait to check into a capsule hotel. The ...
There always seems to be something crazy happening in Dōtonbori. I have a connection to this place, it’s the first area of Japan I every visited, way back in 2009. This particular location is the ...
There are many unique buildings in Japan. Some of the greatest buildings integrate nature into their design. Opened in 1995, this green building mimics the shape of a mountain. ACROS Fukuoka「アクロス福岡」 The north side of ...
These flags of flying fish are actually a special breed of Japanese carp 「koi, 鯉」 which are bred for ornamental purposes. The carp flags (or kites/streamers) are known as koinobori 「鯉幟」 and symbolise Children’s Day ...
Bitchu Matsuyama Castle 「Bitchū Matsuyama-jō, 備中松山城」 is well known in Japan and among Japanese castle-philes as one of the 12 remaining original castles in Japan. The city of Takahashi, home to Bitchu Matsuyama-jo says the ...
Hello Kitty, or Harō Kiti 「ハローキティ」 as pronounced in Japanese, is so insanely popular that the cute character now has its own range of sex toys… I won’t go near any pussy puns here. Hello ...
Sanjusangendo, literally translates to Thirty-Three Length Hall, and formally known as Rengeo-in, is a very unique temple. The interior of the hall holds 1000 Buddha statues A ken 「間」 is a unit of Japanese measurement. ...
Imagine this… it’s your very first trip to Japan. You went on a whim and don’t really know that much about the country. After a few days in Osaka, a huge city, you travel to ...
Fukuoka has a reputation of being the city of kawaii girls. Even before the recent virtual Cute Ward – kawaii-ku in Japanese – was created, people all over Japan would tell me: “you should visit ...
Bonsai trees are typically made from the Japanese Black Pine. It’s familiar shape (which reminds me of those trippy fractal patterns) is used often in visual depictions of Japan. Japanese Black Pine Tree The tree ...
For over 10 years the massive Kyōto Station was home to Tezuka Osamu World. Tezuka Osamu was the creator of Astro Boy, known in Japanese as Tetsuwan Atomu 「鉄腕アトム The Might Atom」or simply Atomu. When I ...
Hiroshima is such a peaceful city. On my first visit there in the spring of 2009, I enjoyed a peaceful nap, using my backpack as a pillow, along the banks of the Motoyasu River while ...
Akihabara, A.K.A Akihabara Denki-gai「Akihabara Electric Town, 秋あき葉は原ばら電でん気き街がい」in Tokyo is famously known, as its name suggest, as a mecca for all electronic things. But over the years it’s evolved to become much more than that and is ...