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Tag Archives: Japan travel
Kitamura Traditional Japanese Village
Designated a national preservation site, the locals don’t seem to mind the visitors poking about on their village streets gawking and taking photos. They go about their daily lives: gardening, posting letters, putting out washing. Continue reading
Kurotani Japanese Paper Museum
Our first stop of the day is at Kurotani Japanese Paper Museum in Ayabe. Here 800 years of making washi paper by hand is still alive. Continue reading
A Day Trip to Maizuru
Though we must wait more than 45 minutes for it (worth every second), we order a set of freshly caught shellfish which is prepared for us on gas grills in the back of the stall. Continue reading
Posted in Food, Wine & Restaurants, Japan, Travel & Culture
Tagged Japan travel, Maizuru, Tore Tore Ichiba
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Visiting a community onsen in rural Japan
After we wash our bodies we make our way to the rotenburo (outdoor pool), this one rust-dark with iron-rich mineral water. For half an hour we sink to our earlobes in the soothing, restorative spring. Continue reading
A Lady at a Bridge in Uji
My state of mind mirrors the river. Like the Tale of Genji’s Uji Chapters–gloomy narratives, bridge chapters, dark mood states, and characters weary of this world–it’s one of those days where much goes wrong on the journey. Continue reading
Posted in Japan, Travel & Culture
Tagged Japan travel, Murasaki Shikibu, Tale of Genji, Uji
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All I wanted was directions
It suddenly occurs to me that he is not only a traffic cop, but also a member of the self-appointed diction police. He is correcting my pronunciation. I’m mangling the name of the temple—two long o vowels, not short. Continue reading
A Wedding in Kamakura
We witness a wedding at Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu in Kamakura. Continue reading
Kamakura Daibutsu: The Great Buddha of Kamakura
I’m left with a a heightened awareness of something more in a perception that first registers as less. Continue reading
Ueno Park, Tokyo
The broad, tree-lined avenues of Tokyo’s first public park are alive with dappled shadows, visitors and street artists. A most popular spot in spring for its cherry blossoms, the sakura leaves are not yet gold on this autumnal day. However, … Continue reading
Taito’s Traditional Craft Museum
Drawn in by bright red posts festooned with crimson maple leaves arching over a covered street, I decide to follow wherever it leads. Japan has many shotengai like it, covered avenues filled with tiny shops of every sort. From inside … Continue reading