Thanks to Aaron Walker for sending in the following information. Oyuna Walker will hold a solo exhibition of her oil paintings in DAIMARU department store, Kyoto. Exhibition title: “Blowin’ in the wind of the meadow” Dates: November 21st(Wed) through the the 27th(Tue), until 5pm on the final day. Place: Kyoto DAIMARU Department Store, 6F Art Salon, ESPACE … [Read more...]
The Benten Residences; Machiya House Accommodation in Kyoto’s Higashiyama District
The Benten Residences are two beautifully restored traditional machiya townhouses sitting side-by-side in the Higashiyama district of Kyoto. Shimaya Stays, the Singapore-based company responsible for their restoration, recently invited us to stay in the Benten West house for a couple of nights, so we could see for ourselves what good work they have been doing. We also had the … [Read more...]
Kyoto Insider Sake Experience – Discovering Nihonshu in the Fushimi Brewing District
Today I would like to introduce the Kyoto Insider Sake Experience; a wonderful brewery tour and sake tasting that Mewby and I recently enjoyed with our friendly guide, Kotaro Hashimoto, in the historic Fushimi district of Kyoto. These days Kyoto's Fushimi district is best known among international travelers as the location of Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine and the … [Read more...]
The Lake Biwa Canal Cruise from Kyoto to Otsu
Here's a special guest post from our friend, Edward J. Taylor. As part of the sesquicentennial celebration of the Meiji Restoration, Kyoto has a calendar packed with events that expound upon the city’s role during that time of great social upheaval. Though the Restoration is considered by many to be a relatively bloodless end to the 268-year feudal Edo Period, Kyoto did … [Read more...]
Visiting Kyoto’s Tech Hubs
Guest post by Neil Buckland. Japan has had a long history associated with electronics, technology and futuristic designs. Think of Tokyo and it’s all bright lights, dazzling street screens and robots that often spring to mind. Yet in the past couple of decades the rise of Silicon Valley seems to have taken a lot of the technology focus away. Instead, the likes of Fukuoka, … [Read more...]
Strolling in Kyoto: Takeyacho & Ebisucho
This month Edward J. Taylor continues his ongoing exploration of Deep Kyoto’s streets by strolling not one but two: Takeyacho and Ebisucho. The whisk of brooms has replaced the wail of sirens. Typhoon Jebi had roared through the day before, supposedly the strongest storm to hit Japan in 25 years. I could certainly believe it, the way that my old wooden house shook as if in … [Read more...]
Ambling Down Kyoto’s Yanaginobanba Street
This month Edward J. Taylor continues his ongoing exploration of Deep Kyoto’s streets (and takes me along with him) for a stroll along Yanaginobanba Street. I’d originally planned to follow up my previous piece with another one related to the Gion festival, but the idea grew less interesting the more I thought about it. Not only would it be boring to read, it would be … [Read more...]
Shinmachi and the Giants of Gion Matsuri
As Gion Festival's pipes and bells chime throughout central Kyoto, Edward J. Taylor continues his ongoing exploration of Deep Kyoto's streets with a stroll through the matsuri preparations on Shinmachi. July rolled around, and not long afterward the rainy season came to an end, albeit with a devastating coda. The end of the rains ushers in the cadence of the cicada, and in … [Read more...]
Mosaic Machiya KSK (Kamishichiken)
Mosaic Machiya KSK is a great little guesthouse in a quiet area of north west Kyoto. This guesthouse is located in a beautifully renovated machiya, a traditional wooden townhouse, in Kamishichiken, which is the oldest geisha district in Kyoto. Mewby and I were recently invited to their 2nd year anniversary party and we were very impressed with what we saw there. Prior to … [Read more...]
Tracking the Changes on Kyoto’s Bukkoji-dōri
This month, once again, our good friend Edward J. Taylor continues his ongoing journey through Kyoto’s past and present with the fourth installment of his “Kyoto Streets” project and a stroll along Bukkoji-dōri. The pieces I’ve written thus far have all travelled from south to north, in keeping with how travelers would have entered the city during the Heian period. I … [Read more...]
