
Ningyo-yaki: Little Baked Doll Cakes
Ningyo-yaki (人形焼) is very popular in Tokyo Asakusa where you can watch them being baked. This is one of my favorite Japanese sweets and a very good omiyage gift. Ningyo is the Japanese word for doll, so the name of this sweet reads "baked dolls". Ningo-yaki are small cakes baked in small m…(192 words)

David
Asakusa Ningyo-yaki Wagashi Sweets Nakamise-dori Souvenir Tera (Temple) Cake Senso-ji Temple Tokyo
Tatami smells good !!!
Tatami is a very traditional floor mat, which is a symbolic item indispensable for a Japanese style room; so called "Wa-shitsu", and is also considered as an official cultural gadget necessarily used in such Japanese architectures as temples, and tea rooms besides "Wa-shitsu". For example, when yo…(606 words)

Masa
Tatami Etiquette Kanto Kyoto Okinawa Tea Tera (Temple)
Kaminari-okoshi: Asakusa Thunder Crackers
Kaminari-okoshi (雷おこし) are traditional Japanese sweets. Crispy rice is mixed with sugar and syrup, pressed down into a flat shape and cut into squares. Often there are some peanuts mixed into it, but there are also many other flavors such as macha green tea and sesame. The added ingredients giv…(286 words)

David
Asakusa Senso-ji Temple Wagashi Sweets Souvenir Tera (Temple) Nakamise-dori Tokyo
Love Stones at Jishu Shrine in Kyoto
Jishu Shrine is located near (or I would say within) Kyoto's Kiyomizu Temple. Dedicated to the deity of love and matchmaking, the love shrine is always crowded with many couples and especially young girls praying for luck in love. There are two love stones in front of the shrine, placed 18m apa…(223 words)

EmiOnishi
Kyoto Jinjya (Shrine) Tera (Temple) Park Visit Amusement park
Beautiful Kyoto
Beautiful Kyoto“Kyoto is a beautiful city where you discover small temples and shrines around the corner. One step inside and you are in another world, free from the noise of the city, stressless, peaceful. All it takes is a walk along Kamo River, and some curiosity to look around the corners…”…(358 words)

DeepJapan
Kyoto Japan Travel Market Tera (Temple) Japanese garden Matome
Hadaka Matsuri, a.k.a "The Naked Man Festival"
On the third Saturday night in February, the annual Hadaka Matsuri is held at the Saidaiji Kannon-in temple in Okayama Prefecture. This year's festival will be held on February 21st, 2015.Originating in 1510, this historic festival is also one of Japan's largest Naked Man festivals. In fact, na…(349 words)

Andrea Miyata
Tera (Temple) Okayama Event festival Japanese festivals Train City Walk Lucky running
Fierce Protectors of Temples - Nio Statues 仁王
When I come to a temple in Japan, I always stop to take a look at the Nio statues standing guard at the gates. Nio 仁王 means Benevolent Kings. These are fierce-looking protectors, looking like demons or warrior-gods. Sometimes they are life-size and sometimes they are impossibly tall and stron…(193 words)

David
Tera (Temple) Senso-ji Temple Art Asakusa Statue
How to be Polite in a Restaurant in Japan?
These are not just little finger towels placed neatly next to your plate for conveniently wiping stray food off of hands and fingers...these Oshibori are almost like an appetizer to the meal itself. You go into a restaurant, settle in with some water or tea and an Oshibori wet towel. Some places wi…(139 words)


Agemanju - Sweet Deep-fried Cakes in Asakusa
There are many good reasons for a visit to Asakusa: Senso-ji temple’s gates and pagoda, tiny Hanayashiki amusement park, Japanese kabuki theaters, old restaurants, and shops selling kimonos and festival clothing. And then there is the area around the temple’s Nakamise street where you can buy souve…(253 words)

David
Manjuu Sweets Senso-ji Temple Cake Asakusa Visit Food Tera (Temple)
Omikuji - Take Only Good Luck With You
Omikuji - おみくじ - are fortune papers from temples and shrines that offer advice for your health, career, and good luck in general. There are positive ones - marked kichi 吉 - and negative ones - marked kyou 凶. The most positive one is the daikichi 大吉, the big fortune.You can find omikuji …(310 words)

David
good luck Jinjya (Shrine) Tera (Temple) Omikuji Senso-ji Temple Kameido Asakusa
Amazing Kyoto- Sanjusangendo Hall
Sanjusengendo hall is the MUST visit spot in Kyoto among many sightseeing destinations.A large, wooden statue of a 1000-armed Kannon (Senju Kannon) sits in the center of the main hall and there are 500 statues of human sized 1000-armed Kannon standing in ten rows on each side. To walk through t…(166 words)

EmiOnishi
Kyoto Visit Tera (Temple) Bus Walk Statue Guide
Chrysanthemum Exhibitions - Enjoy Japanese Flowers in Autumn
Chrysanthemums are an important flower in Japan. They are at their best in the autumn and are celebrated with an exhibition in Tokyo's Shinjuku Park every year in the beginning of November.You can see the flowers also displayed at some shrines and temples. I have seen them in Tokyo at Senso-ji …(267 words)

David
Autumn Chrysanthemum Flower Tera (Temple) Senso-ji Temple Garden Meiji Shrine Shinjuku Park
5 Food Streets in Japan - The Paradise for Foodies !
1. Dontobori Food StreetAs the landmark of Osaka, Dontobori is not only the shooting location of many Japanese films and plays, but also the famous paradise for foodies in Japan, which is praised as “the No.1 food of Japan.”The most delicious gourmet here is Tokayoki, Okonomiyaki, sushi, frie…(482 words)

Alexlovetravel
Japan Food Japanese Tokyo History Sushi Tera (Temple) Kyoto Shinjuku Ramen noodles
The Symmetry In Japanese Architecture
I step over the deep, brown aged gate step into the temple's welcome garden. To my left is a preparation space for visitors to this tiny, ancient temple and cemetery tucked far into the hills near Kanazawa Bunko station on the Keikyu train line. After gathering up a broom, some shears for the chrys…(415 words)


Yatai Foods: Savory Treats on a Stick
Japan has many different festivals - matsuri - throughout the year and no festival is complete without food from yatai food stalls (屋台). Yatai sell sweet and savory foods and a lot of that is food on a stick.Ayu - あゆ: This small fish is very popular in Japan and is served both grilled on a …(232 words)

David
yatai Japanese festivals Fish sausage Tera (Temple) Jinjya (Shrine) Mochi (Rice cake) squid
Shomyoji Temple, A Beautiful Place in Yokohama Japan
I am going to introduce you to a temple call Shomyoji Temple, which is located in Kanazawa Bunko, Yokohama. Kanazawa Bunko is located approximately 20 minutes south of Yokohama JR station. To get to Kanazawa Bunko, you must get on a red train call Keikyu line from Yokohama or Tokyo cities and get o…(594 words)

AustinA
Yokohama Tera (Temple) Tokyo Train Park Visit History Train station English Kamakura
The Three Wise Monkeys
Ever since I was little, storybooks, cartoons, and popular culture, have depicted the story of The Three Wise Monkeys. You know the image, three monkeys sitting there; one covering his ears, another covering his mouth, and the third covering his eyes. In the western world, we often relate this to t…(356 words)

Alex
World Heritage Site Nikko Tera (Temple) Park Visit Jinjya (Shrine) Art Souvenir Monkey Three Wise Monkeys
Saitama, Short Trip to North of Tokyo
Kawagoe City, SaitamaLittle Kawagoe, a short one-hour train ride away from Shinjuku Station on the Seibu Line, is a wonderful spot to get away from the big city and feast your eyes on buildings from the Edo and Meiji era. The main street is lined on both sides by gorgeous old wooden merchant ho…(475 words)

DeepJapan
Saitama Kawagoe Matome Museum Train craftmanship Airplane Jinjya (Shrine) Tera (Temple)
Claps and bows in silence
Every New Year's holiday, I go to Tsurugaoka Hachimangu in Kamakura. There, you first throw money, bow twice, clap your hands twice, pray and then bow once (you can follow this process at any shrine). It may sound like a complicated process, but all you have to do is follow the person before you (t…(160 words)

RieS
Tera (Temple) Kamakura Jinjya (Shrine) Beauty New year
How To Make the Strongest Wish: Shimanrokusennichi and Hozuki Flower Market at Senso-ji
Shimanrokusennichi at Senso-ji temple in Tokyo Asakusa is your chance to make the strongest wish possible.It might be Friday the 13th and a full moon as I am writing this, but an extremely auspicious day is coming up in a few weeks. July 10 is Shimanrokusennichi 四万六千日 at Senso-ji temple in…(236 words)

David
Asakusa Senso-ji Temple Japanese festivals Flower Market Tera (Temple) good luck July
Ikebukuro in tokyo, there is a legend that Kishibojin.
Away from IkebukuroThere is a town called Zōshigaya.There is a candy shop there.The shop is called “DA-GA-SHI-YA=駄菓子屋”.There is a children's playground.Delicious is not, but it is interesting sweets.In Japan, the candy has been entertained as a toy.In its place, there is a…(137 words)

asteka
Tokyo Ikebukuro Tera (Temple)
Narita and other Chiba destinations for a day trip
Take Narita's Omotesando street to Naritasan Shinshoji Temple"On the way to the temple from the train station, you will never feel bored, as the main street to the temple, called "Omotesando", is the main attraction of visiting the temple. Traditional style wooden buildings stand along the stre…(561 words)

DeepJapan
Chiba day trip Day trip from Tokyo Tera (Temple) Sake (Rice wine) Hiking view Train Matome
Kusatsu Onsen: Rated No.1 of Japan’s 100 Best Hot Springs for 12 consecutive years !
Kusatsu Onsen in Gumma Prefecture is known as one of Japan's three best hot springs. By the way, Arima in Hyogo Prefecture and Gero in Gifu Prefecture are the other two locations. These three were originally described by a priest in the classical poetry anthologies of Shokoku-ji Temple in Murom…(530 words)

ZEROIN -INTERNSHIP
Onsen Kusatsu Onsen Park Tera (Temple) Visit Spring Winter Autumn
Hakone's Hidden Wonder: My Favourite Temple in Japan
Daiyuzan Saijo-ji is a breathtaking Buddhist temple that was built more than 615 years ago. Although it is still frequented by devout worshipers from all across Japan, it remains one of the less talked about magnificent places in Kanagawa Prefecture. This is probably due to the fact that Daiyuzan S…(247 words)

Former Deep Japan Writer
Japan Tera (Temple) Visit Odawara Mountain Trip Beer Kanagawa Hiking Hakone
If you get the “大吉=very good luck” in Asakusa, you are the hero!
100 years ago, Asakusa was the biggest amusement park in Japan.In Japan, the temple was the center of entertainment.Now I do not believe it,100 years ago, Shinjuku and Shibuya and Harajuku, was a village rather than a town.Roppongi was a town that raccoon dog walk.From 300 years ago, …(175 words)

asteka
Asakusa Japan Tera (Temple) good luck Food Park Walk Shibuya Shinjuku Japanese
Local Secret: Todoroki Valley
Tokyo offers a plethora of beautiful parks, from traditional Japanese landscaped gardens to European-influenced rose gardens. However, if you are looking for a walk on the wild side, while still retaining the ability to get a great cappuccino, then Todoroki is the place to go.Todoroki Keikoku (…(630 words)

Chiara
local secret Tokyo Summer Museum Tera (Temple) Nature Park
From a Hawaii-grown Japan Fan: The Mind-Whopping Truth Behind Japan’s Kikaida Super Hero
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x89val_人造人間キカイダー-op-ed_shortfilmsMy elementary-school friends and I in Hawaii in the late 70s would rush home on Wednesday afternoons to watch this show. It started at 3 p.m. and my sister Joy and I would go directly to the waiting school bus at Pearl R…(1199 words)


The world-famous Nara Daibutsu (Big Buddha of Nara),
Recently I had a chance to visit Nara with my family. In Nara, we have the largest wooden building in the world, called Todai-ji and you can view the Great Buddha housed inside Todai-ji temple complex. The Nara Daibutsu is officially called Rushana Buddha and commonly known as “Nara-no-Daibutsu-sa…(88 words)

OKAKI-sun
Nara Visit City Building Tera (Temple) view Traditional Japanese Todai-ji Temple
Best View in Japan: Angled Cliffs, Mount Fuji, Buddhist Temples
Cable cars are often available to provide tourists with quick and scenic access to mountain summits in Japan. One that I recently used was the cable car which takes you to the summit of Nokogiri-yama mountain in Chiba prefecture. The ride was very scenic and is highly recommended. The mountain also…(164 words)

GenS
Mountain Japan Tera (Temple) History Chiba Kanto Region Mount Fuji
Asakusa-Odaiba Direct Line (Sea & River Boat Cruise)
Asakusa-Odaiba Direct Line connects Odaiba and Asakusa.http://www.sunnypages.jp/travel_guide/tokyo_leisure/water_busses/Asakusa-Odaiba+Direct+Line/1875http://www.suijobus.co.jp/cruise/line/as_od_line.htmlOdaiba (お台場 or simply Daiba 台場) is a popular newly-redeveloped waterfront area wit…(197 words)

maxnino
Asakusa Sea River Tokyo Shopping Hotel Building Tera (Temple) Odaiba Television
Where can you buy a Kimono for a good price in Japan?
I love to wear Kimono to weddings and parties in Japan. It is also really fun to get dressed up early on a Saturday morning and spend the day at Midtown or Shinjuku Gyouen in Kimono. You would be very surprised at how easy it is to wear and how comfortable the little zori slippers are. You will fee…(190 words)


Flee market at Toji Temple - Kyoto
On the 21st of each month, a famous flea market is held on the grounds of To-ji from 7am until around 4pm in the evening. It will be open even when it's rain, but there will be with less shops in such a case. This market is popularly called "Kobo-san", in honor of Kobo Daishi, who died on March 21.…(180 words)

EmiOnishi
Kyoto Tera (Temple) History Evening Garden To-ji Temple
Yatai - Festival Food Stalls
There are a lot of matsuri - festivals - all over Japan especially in the summer. At the matsuri you can always find many kinds of yatai - food stalls. Even small local events have yatai, because the food is part of the festival. Yatai offer all sorts of fun yummy foods, both sweet and savoury. Ple…(126 words)

David
yatai Japanese festivals Sweets Food Summer Tera (Temple) Jinjya (Shrine) chocolate banana
Easy hike through Kamakura
Seeking to combine some sight-seeing with a bit of hiking, I found a short hiking course in Kamakura, starting at Kita Kamakura Station and ending up near the Daibutsu, from where the walk can be extended until the sea shore.The trail starts right next to Jochiji temple, and winds into the hill…(427 words)

Chiara
Kamakura Tera (Temple) Sea Jinjya (Shrine) Nature Hiking Buddha
Beautiful Kyoto
Kyoto is a beautiful city where you discover small temples and shrines around the corner. One step inside and you are in another world, free from the noise of the city, stressless, peaceful. All it takes is a walk along Kamo river, and some curiosity to look around the corners... So, if you ha…(391 words)

Claire
Kyoto Visit Tera (Temple) Jinjya (Shrine) River
Kyoto Love: Kiyomizu-dera & Jishu Shrine
Kiyomizu-dera 清水寺 is a beautiful temple in Kyoto up on the hills, with a view over the city. The temple grounds are a nice place to walk around and look at the many halls, gates, and pagodas from different angles. This is a very famous place and it might get a little crowded, but it is really wo…(276 words)

David
Kiyomizudera Temple Kyoto Tera (Temple) Autumn Color Cherry blossom Garden Light-up love view
Local Secret: Kawasaki Wind-chime Festival in July
Each year, for 5 days always including the 20th and 21st of July, the grounds of the Kawasaki Daishi temple are taken over by a wind-chime market. The creators of these lovely crafts come from all across Japan, representing almost every prefecture, to display and sell their chimes. The varietie…(206 words)

Chiara
local secret July festival Tera (Temple) Market wind-chime Kanagawa Yokohama
Japan's Sengakuji and the 47 Famous Samurai (Part 2)
December 14 marks the day 46 Samurai (not 47 and I will explain why later) brought the head of Kira and submitted themselves to justice at Sengakuji Temple.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBngXIDIiWEThis is a video showing a re-enactment of the Samurai leaving Ako (performed in Ako City in Hy…(538 words)


Visiting Nokogiriyama
Earlier this month I was able to visit a mountain a bit further from my normal territory, in Chiba prefecture. Nokogiriyama is located in Futtsu, South Western Chiba, and the name of the mountain translates to "Saw Mountain" due to the mountain region running from East to West creating a saw-toothe…(460 words)

Alex Kobayashi /Subtokyo
Chiba Mountain Nokogiriyama Tokyo Visit Tera (Temple) Nature view Mount Fuji Region
5 recommendations to take your pictures wearing KIMONO in Asakusa
There are many good places to take pictures when you wear Kimono in Asakusa. Three gates to Sensoji, Kaminarimon, Hozomon and Nitenmon, are the best of course as well as Gojunotou (five-storied pagoda). However, I would like to recommend the places where is not in your guidebook.Izumiya is a sh…(236 words)

Keiko, OTT
Asakusa Kimono Restaurant Building Tera (Temple) Jinjya (Shrine) Shop Tempura Business Photography- Page 1 of 3
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