Sakura is the most awaited flower in Japan. It’s not written but many believe sakura is the sign that spring finally sprung. It’s the time for everyone to go out to view sakura. Sakura viewing is known as hanami in Japanese. Hanami is done by almost everyone from school children to elderly will go out …
Samurai was very much in existence ages ago in Japan. In fact, samurai is an important part of Japan’s political system in the old days. They were part of bureaucracy and military systems. There are more to samurai than armour, sword, military strategy and the fights alone. The tea ceremony, rock gardens, poetry and ink …
Higashi chaya district is one of Japan’s historical villages with hundreds years of history. It’s a home many traditional wooden houses or chaya. Chaya in Japanese literally means teahouse. What is so special about Chaya within the Higashi Chaya district? They are not just tea houses you can find in many places in Japan. The …
Kanazawa is one of historical cities in Japan that can be easily reached by 2.5 hours fast train (shinkansen) ride from Tokyo. For foreign tourists Kanazawa is popular for its samurai village, ninja temple and tea houses. For Japanese, meanwhile, Kanazawa is much more than its samurai village, tea houses and the ninja temple. It’s …
The cold days of winter will soon be over. We soon will feel the warmth of sun again. After several months cocooning in thick jackets and dealing with the cold weather it’s just about time to wear light again. We all are looking forward to spring and embrace the warmth of the sun again. It’s …
There is one dog the world knows for his unshaken loyalty: Hachiko, an Akita dog. Hachiko belonged to Japan’s reputable scholar, Professor Hidesaburo Ueno. In 1924, Professor Ueno purchased an Akita and named him Hachi. The year after, Prof Ueno died from cerebral hemorrhage while giving a lecture at the University of Tokyo. After finding that …