Iwami Ginzan, or the Iwami Silver Mine will be our first visit in a series introducing Japan’s 14 World Heritage Sites. Iwami Ginzan is first, frankly because it is my favorite. Shimane Prefecture is hands down my favorite prefecture in Japan to visit, and has so much to offer in terms of beaches, hiking, sites,…
It’s Hanami season again. Hanami is the traditional viewing of cherry blossoms in Japan. The season is just about starting out now with the earliest bloom scheduled for about March 14th in Fukuoka and the latest cherry blossom blooming scheduled for Sapporo and above, starting in the first few days of May. If you don’t…
If you are in Japan, and one of your ulterior motives is to take pictures of the scenery and hopefully capture some uniquely Japanese moments, Coming of Age Day is a great day to be in Japan. Coming of Age Day, called Seijin no Hi in Japanese, is the day that newly turned twenty-year olds…
UPDATE: Video replaced with more recent video of Misaki Omukai (including an interview) Iwate Prefecture, Kuji City Japanese online bulletin boards are alive after a Japanese Ama Diver (the women and very rarely men who dive for abalone (called “awabi” in Japanese) with virtually no equipment. It is one of the old traditional occupations in…
If you have always wanted to see Mount Fuji but never had the chance you can always try watching through this webcam. I have heard there are a few webcams to use to get your Mount Fuji fix, but this is far and away the best one. Here is the webcam that will show Mount…
Shizuoka is known for many things in Japan, most of all Mount Fuji, but followed closely by green tea! The mountainous and wet environment makes it a perfect place for growing delicious tea… and the tea fields look pretty good as you drive by on the highway or ride by on the train or shinkansen….
July 7th in Japan is not a national holiday. Schools are open, banks and post offices are open, and life goes on as normal. However culturally July 7th is something of a holiday. I guess you can think of it as on the level of Halloween in the U.S., and like Halloween, it is mostly…
Although renting a car in Japan can be slightly expensive, traveling in Japan by car can be a very cheap way to travel Japan. It can also be a good way to see the country, get to the rural areas, and travel with families or pets… just remember which side of the road your supposed…
I recently took a trip to Hiroshima. Rather than stay in the city, I decided to stay down in Kure, a town famous for the Yamato Museum which shows the history of Kure during World War II and the Battleship Yamato which was also the inspiration for the Yamato Battleship turned spaceship in the old…
The Japan Weather Association has updated its forecast for cherry blossom viewing dates with a nice new map and more detailed information. Even if you don’t know the kanji or Chinese characters for the place you’ll be, check out the convenient curvy lines that show the divisions. The time is near, so if you are…
If you are going to be in Japan on March 21 and March 22, you will have the chance to not only enjoy the beginning of the Cherry Blossom Viewing Season in Japan, but also to see the “Bajo Yumikurabe”, also known as “Yabusame” when done in a religious context. That is, you will get…
Note if you are looking for 2010’s, it is here: Sakura Cherry Blossom 2010 Blooming Calendar The Japan Weather Association has finally released its forecast for the blooming of this year’s cherry blossoms, called sakura in Japanese. Also, here is a page with a detailed cherry blossom forecast in English based on the Japan Weather…