Why Do Japanese People Call Mt. Fuji, Mr. Fuji?
If you wondered why Japanese people refer to Mt. Fuji as Mr. Fuji, you are not alone.When I first came to Japan, and actually until about two years ago, well okay, actually it still happens a lot, I was confused and continue to get confused by place names.In Japanese, Mt. Fuji is called Fuj…(604 words)
Mount Fuji
Tokyo
History
Nature
Play
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view
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Lake
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
Ride The Tokyo Metro Like A Boss With These Apps
To people new to Japan, the Tokyo subway system, stylishly called "Tokyo Metro" is a confusing labyrinth of lines going every which way. Orderly thought and planning, it would appear, seem to be the main ingredients neglected when designing the subway subway system.Once you live here a bit, you …(375 words)
jdlawrence
Tokyo Metro Subway Internet Play Spaghetti Shibuya Train station Smartphone Apps
1920's Japanese life style house
I visited a museum near where I live....retaining the old lifestyle from 1920s. http://www.showanokurashi.com/Even for me who was born and grew up in Japan, it was quite interesting....when I visited there, a volunteer interpreter who knows the people lived there, was willing to share his …(307 words)
Zara
style Japanese Tokyo Building Japan Summer Museum Dinner Traditional Dining
The Top 8 Places to Beat Summer Heat in Japan
Where do Japanese love to visit to avoid summer heat in Japan? I searched the top 8 summer resorts loved by Japanese including Furano in Hokkaido, Okinawa, Karuizawa and Hakone, which are famous among foreigners, but also some hidden places like Okutama, Kamikochi and Nasushiobara that you may not …(757 words)
Alexlovetravel
Japan Summer Visit Tokyo Train Park Hotel Art Spring Japanese
SAKE 101: A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO SAKE
A trip to Japan would not be complete without a little sake tasting! But unless you are an avid sake drinker, it can be hard to know where to begin.To help you navigate the world of sake, we’ve done plenty of research in Japan: from consulting with sake connoisseurs, to sake tastings and sampli…(1032 words)
Andres Zuleta, Boutique Japan
Sake (Rice wine) Restaurant Drink Visit Japan Travel Tokyo Kyoto Izakaya
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
Azalea: Tsutsuji - Spring Flowers in Japan
Sakura is famous in the spring, but after the cherry blossom time in Japan another flower takes over. In April azaleas colour Tokyo with their bright flowers.When I read Chiara's post "Local Secret: YaNeSen" here I realised that she was describing places that I had just visited. "The stroll fro…(195 words)
David
Spring Flower Park Garden Jinjya (Shrine) April Tokyo Nezu Walk May
Tokyo's Yamanote Line: More Than You Ever Wanted To Know
Cruise through the pages of Deep Japan, and you'll find tons of advice on how to ride the trains and get to where you're going. But, did you ever stop to think about *how* and *why* the train system in Japan became like it is? There are way too many train lines to count, and each line has its o…(968 words)
jdlawrence
Tokyo Train Japan History Shibuya Shinjuku Ueno
Top 5 Awesome Things About Akihabara
Ah Akihabara, a very unique spot of Tokyo, Japan. Many people flock to this flashy decorated part of the metropolis each for their own special reasons. An uninformed one may be intimidated by the strange sight of Akihabara, or Akiba as it's known to familiars. What makes this area of Tokyo so speci…(1402 words)
Alex Kobayashi /Subtokyo
Akihabara Game Anime Tokyo Shopping Visit History Maid Cafe Arcade
Parking in Japan
Parking in Japan is actually quite complicated. You don't need to be in Japan very long to notice that there is not much street parking. There are some parking metered areas, but there are way more cars in commercial car parks than there are on the streets.In fact, it is basically illegal to park…(675 words)
StevieB
Tokyo Park Restaurant Yokohama Shopping Ticket Police Department store Coin
Komeda Coffee: the First Trend to Start in Nagoya
Komeda Coffee is a chain cafe that originated in Nagoya, and has since spread across the country. I often joke with my friends that Nagoya is the last place to be informed of the latest fads, but this time around, Nagoya became the trendsetter. Of the more than 400 stores nation-wide, in Aichi …(320 words)
Misa
Coffee Nagoya Food Tokyo Summer Drink May Castle Toast Cafe
Licensed To Drive..Finally!!
This article was originally published on my blog site on January 2008. Please come and visit http://mirai.hayashi-web.net to see more about my experiences in living and working in Japan.About 6 years ago I attempted to get a Japanese drivers license, since I was still driving with an internati…(4721 words)
MiraiZ
Tokyo Train Trip Ticket Japan license driving car Police test
I opened a craft beer bar in Tokyo
I recently opened a new craft beer bar in Tokyo and I thought an article re the process of this would be interesting. After the forced closing of my previous beer bar in Aoyama (the building was being demolished to make way for a redevelopment) I was in a situation where I had to relocate the b…(1288 words)
Adstev73
Tokyo Beer Food Visit City Japan Summer Drink Building
Popular Anime Locations in Japan
One of the most popular anime ever. In an apocolyptic future, after the destruction of Tokyo by giant monster, the capitol of Japan is moved to Hakone`s Sengokuhara area.The main characters go to school in the Hakone area as they train to become Mech drivers in an effort to thwart another alien…(324 words)
Kintaro-man
Japan Anime Tokyo Train History Japanese Sea Kanagawa Manga Hakone
Shibuya Subway Station, by Tadao Ando
The Shibuya Subway Station is famous for a number of reasons. It was designed by world renowned Japanese architect, Tadao Ando. It's design, in not surprising Tokyo cool, is egg shaped and intentionally designed to look like a spaceship. There are locations in the station where the design can se…(469 words)
mikekato
Shibuya Subway Tokyo Shopping Building Anime Arcade Film architecture
The secret behind the deliciousness of Sano Ramen is in the water
Ramen is one of the most popular dishes in Japan. There are various types of ramen. Some have soy sauce as the main ingredient of the broth. Others have miso as the main ingredient. The thickness and thinness of the noodles are different with each ramen. Ramen is loved all of the Japan. Recently, r…(265 words)
DeepJapan Editor
Ramen noodles Tokyo Japan Nature Eat Soy sauce Miso
Spectacles of Saitama: 4 Spots to Feel Saitama's Culture and Nature
Located directly northwest of Tokyo, Saitama is often confused with simply being a part of Tokyo, but it’s a city of its own, offering all sorts of exciting locations, attractions and activities. Today we’d love to share a few of those places with you! First, we’ll take you downtown to the largest …(936 words)
DeepJapan Editor
Nature Saitama Culture Tokyo Japan Visit City Food English History
Kameido Tenjin's birds for good fortune
Kameido Tenjin Shrine （亀戸天神社） is known as a shrine for people who wish for success in their studies, like passing exams. On January 24 and 25, the shrine has a special event, the usokae-shinji （鷽替神事）. Similar festivals are held at a few shrines in Japan, in Tokyo also at Yushima Tenjin, Ja…(241 words)
David
Kameido Jinjya (Shrine) good luck Event Japanese festivals January Omamori Tokyo
Food Delivery Systems of Japan
With the engaged city life that many may find while living here in Japan, city problems are to arise. One of these problems that may occur may well be food; how to get it, pre-cooked and prepared, organic, gluten-free, and so on. Although the concept of food delivery is nothing novel, in Tokyo, the…(446 words)
Alex
Food Tokyo Delivery City Restaurant Ramen noodles Bento (box meal) Eat Sushi
Learning not dressmaking but KIMONO-making
Last year, I made casual kimono (Yukata) by myself from a roll of cotton fabric. (Kimono is usually made from one roll of fabric.) I was the very beginner and the process was challenging, but I really enjoyed kimono-making.Kimono-making is called Wasai in Japanese. You can learn Wasai in Miyuki…(333 words)
skymaho
Kimono Tokyo Yukata (Light kimono) Fireworks handmade
Tokyo Doitsu Mura
I never have figured out why places, that are clearly not in Tokyo, are still designated as "Tokyo" something or other. Tokyo Disneyland and Disney Sea are in Chiba folks, not Tokyo. That being said, Tokyo Doitsu Mura or German Village (in the middle of Chiba Prefecture) is the best place to visi…(153 words)
Kevin
Tokyo Sea Bus Chiba Tokyo Disneyland Trip Christmas
Horseback riding on the beach
Summer is around the corner and the temperature is rising day by day.Time for us to plan our summer vacation. (maybe already done?)Japan is a mountain country surrounded by sea...so we can reach both mountains and beaches easily. Either way is good to escape the summer heat.This time I ch…(298 words)
Zara
horseback riding Beaches Chiba Outdoor recreation Tokyo Sea Train Summer Kids
Follow the Yellow Brick Road in Tokyo
Have you seen a movie produced by Warner Brother’s call “The Wizard of Oz”？ In one of the parts, munchkins tell Dorothy, the Coward Lion, the Tin Man and the scarecrow to follow the yellow brick road. Well, this is almost like it to help people navigate from point a to b.When I came back to Jap…(394 words)
AustinA
Tokyo Train Yokohama Train station Osaka Nagoya May Movie view Lion
Street Photography in Japan
Almost everyone enjoys taking photographs. In Japan, I would venture to say that EVERYONE enjoys taking photographs! Whether it be the camera embedded in modern smartphones or high end digital SLRs, cameras have become an integral part of our lives. And so has photography. My dad was an avid photog…(1485 words)
Ani
Photography Camera City Film Technology Tokyo Train Asakusa Walk view
Where History Meets Art in One Tokyo Landmark
There's no shortage of art galleries in Japan, but in upscale old-school Ginza, there's one that goes back, waaaaaaaaay back.The Okuno Building, built in 1932, was originally constructed to serve as a luxury apartment complex. It has miraculously survived the bombings of World War II, as well a…(449 words)
Former Deep Japan Writer
Tokyo Building Ginza Gallery Visit City Shopping Art Beer Japan
Harmony with Nature at Yokohama's Acclaimed Zoo
Zoorasia is one of Japan's newest, largest and best maintained zoos. Zoorasia was established in 1999, and has since been operating under the themes of "Symbiosis of Life" and "Harmony with Nature". The animals, which number some 400 animals and 68 different species, are generally kept in spacious …(261 words)
Former Deep Japan Writer
Yokohama Zoo Visit Tokyo Japan City Restaurant Park Summer Museum
Winter Fruit: Strawberries!
Best Winter Fruit: Strawberries!The strawberries that are grown in Japan are different varieties than those grown in my home country (U.S.A) and are super large and super sweet! Whereas American strawberries are grown in fields, Japanese strawberries are grown in elevated beds in vinyl greenhou…(221 words)
Andrea Miyata
Winter Tokyo Fruits Strawberry Okayama
'SKIP Ferret & Cafe' in Okayama
When I recently heard that Okayama City now has a ferret cafe, I knew I had to go. Although I'm not especially "into" ferrets, I enjoy interacting with animals of all kinds, so news of this cafe caught my attention.Apparently there are only a few ferret cafes in the country; I found online refe…(486 words)
Andrea Miyata
Okayama Lunch Animal Cafe Cafe Tokyo Visit City Drink Shop
Lots of authentic French bakeries in Japan
Many bakeries in Japan, especially in a trendy area/at a major station building, offer authentic French-style bread. Paul is a well-known French bakery chain, but Jean Francois, Le Pain Quotidien, Bigot, Viron, Aux Bacchanales and many other local bakeries have amazing selections of bread too. …(71 words)
Natchan
Tokyo Building
Tokyo's Major Streets
In years past very few streets in Japan had names other than some of the major thoroughfares. These days it's possible to find more streets with names, but other than the major ones, most people won't know where "such and such" a street is located.Some use the word "kaido" in their name. The "…(337 words)
Joe Peters
Tokyo Building Shibuya Roppongi Police Trip
Kawasaki St Clare's Church
7:30 PM Dec 24 the Christmas eve service.The church is location near to Chin Kawabashi hospital about 15 minutes by walk from the Kawasaki JR station 20 minutes from Kawasaki Keikyu station.Location: http://4sq.com/uilyuaKaizuka Kyoukai 〒210-0014 Kawasaki City Kawasakiku Kaizuka 1-8-9 r…(52 words)
idivilayil
Tokyo City Hospital Christmas
Enospa Sojourn Part 3: “The true meaning of massage and Enoshima Island Spa Bengteng Spa”
... My partner chose to experience the Signature Massage" (see Enospa Sojourn Part 2) ... I went for the 40 minute massage which focuses on the feet mostly going as far as the knees. This was a real foot massage by a kind and polite yet very strong armed professional massage therapist My partner o…(265 words)
Andrew Grimes
Enoshima Island spa Massage Sea Kanagawa Yokohama Nature Tokyo
When Waiting for Trains at the Tokyo Train Stations...
I am originally from a small town in Fukuoka prefecture, so when I visited Tokyo for the first time two years ago, I found some surprising “rules”.For example, when waiting for trains at the train station platform, you have to line up where the train doors are expected to open. I did not know a…(133 words)
Natalie
Tokyo Train Train station Railway platform
Kumamon, the Japanese Bear Character of the Kumamoto Prefecture
Kumamon from Kumamoto Prefecture might be a benchmark for how to bring the genki back to regional areas battling the power drain that comes with ultra-ageing and decreasing populations.I visited the Kumamoto Prefecture Tokyo Representative Office in Nagatacho the other day and “upbeat” is the best …(722 words)
Yuru Kyara
Tokyo
Event
History
Osaka
Japanese inn
Kumamoto
Kyushu
Japan Travel
Explore a back street of Shibuya, and you’ll find secret restaurants.
If you want to visit Shibuya and find a secret place where few tourists are seen and only locals are around, I'd like to recommend the Hyakkendana area in Shibuya’s Dogenzaka town. Hyakkendana means “100 stores” and this used to be the busiest area in Shibuya more than a half century ago. Actually …(512 words)
Hagi
Shibuya Mount Fuji Yamanashi Tokyo Restaurant Drink Sushi Food Wine
Craze for Friendly and Cute Rabbits
T he rabbit is a popular animal in Japan. Many rabbits show up in Japanese fairy tales and children’s stories. Wild rabbits can’t be seen in the center of large cities, but most pet shops have rabbits. In order to get closer to them, some people go to rabbit cafes or visit an island that is home to…(497 words)
HiraganaTimes
rabbit Cafe Kawaii Tokyo Restaurant Asakusa Shibuya
Kansai Kyoto ben (Kansai Kyoto dialect)
I was born in Kyoto and raised up in Shiga (next to Kyoto). As I lived in Kansai area until I decided to move to Tokyo for job change when I was 30, people can tell I am from Kansai after talking with me for a while :-)As I was working as a sales back then, I tried not to sound too Kansai perso…(211 words)
EmiOnishi
Kyoto Kansai Tokyo Shiga
Let a Lion Bite Your Head (for Good Luck)
If you could use a little more good luck, let a lion help you. Lions protect many shrines and temples in Japan. The dance of the lion dispels evil and calls in good luck. For an extra dose of good luck put your head in the lion's mouth and let it bite you.This is the lion dance, shishi-mai, at Kame…(250 words)
David
good luck Lion Jinjya (Shrine) Japanese festivals yushima dance Kameido Tokyo
Hatsune Miku Wing Shop in Haneda Airport
Open til end of March, the virtual diva Hatsune Miku has not one, but two shops dedicated to her merchandise at the Haneda International Airport! There is one Wing Shop in the domestic flights terminal as well as one in the international terminal. So Hatsune Miku fans traveling from/to Japan as…(137 words)
Alex Kobayashi /Subtokyo
Airport Haneda Airport Tokyo Music Visit Subtokyo Hatsune Miku Vocaloid