Just outside Nara City proper is the temple of Ryōsen-ji. Founded in the 8th century by Indian monk Bodhisena, this temple has a long history and many cultural treasures. But I'm not going to write about those today. Today I'm going to show you the rose garden. This rose garden was made in 1957, as a living prayer for world peace. There are over 200 blooms … [Read more...]
Deep Nara #2 – Restaurant & Cafe Bambuno
After visiting the Kojiki Exhibition in Nara last month, Mewby and I wandered into the Nara-machi area in search of a place to eat. A warm glow from Restaurant Bambuno caught my eye, we studied the menu, we liked what we saw, and so we plumped for Italian that night. I'm glad we did. The food was great and service very friendly. I'm happy to recommend this little restaurant to … [Read more...]
Deep Nara #1 – Kojiki Exhibition
Last month Mewby and I went down to Nara and took in the Kojiki exhibition currently ongoing at Nara Prefectural Art Museum. I would happily recommend the exhibition as a fascinating and comprehensive exploration of every aspect of Japan's oldest book. Whether, you are interested in the deepest roots of Japanese culture, ancient mythology and the glorious art it has inspired, … [Read more...]
William Merrell Vories – A 50th Anniversary Memorial Tour in Ōmi Hachiman
William Merrell Vories was a brilliant and prolific architect who was active throughout the Kansai region in the early 20th century. He is said to have built up to 1600 buildings over a 35 year career, all while leading an active life as an educator, entrepreneur and Christian missionary. Many of the buildings he designed are still standing today, including quite a few in … [Read more...]
Wisteria at Sandai Shrine, Shiga
Sandai Shrine (三大神社) is a small shrine near Kusatsu in Shiga Prefecture, with a very impressive garden of trailing wisteria. If you want to see them for yourself then you had better go soon. They were pretty much peaking when we went a couple of days ago. To get there, take a JR train from Kyoto Station to Kusatsu (410 yen for a 20 minute journey - see Jorudan for … [Read more...]
Kyoto by the Sea Part #2: Kumihama in Winter
This is the second of two pieces on Tango, the northern seacoast of Kyoto prefecture. In the Part #1 I recounted last year's trip to the beach at Kotobikihama and our fortuitous view of a fireworks display at Amanohashidate. In this post: a winter trip to Kumihama, climbing a holy mountain and all the crab you can eat! In the first week of the New Year Mewby and I joined … [Read more...]
Kyoto by the Sea Part #1: Kotobikihama & Amanohashidate
This is the first of two pieces on Tango, the northern seacoast of Kyoto prefecture. In this post: a summer trip to Kotobikihama and fireworks in Amanohashidate. Tango in the north of Kyoto Prefecture is recently being marketed as "Kyoto by the Sea", and certainly there is a lot to recommend a trip up there besides the well known scenic beauty of Amanohashidate … [Read more...]
A Trip to Inuyama
Here are some pictures from Inuyama in Aichi prefecture, which we visited last month. By clicking on the spherical images, you can explore a fully immersive 360 degree view. Inuyama Castle is supposed to be the oldest castle in Japan: the original fort was built in 1440, and the current structure was completed in 1537. However as you can see from the scaffolding in the … [Read more...]
A Trip into the Past at Meiji Mura
In 2011 McKinsey & Company commisioned 80 writers and thinkers to contribute to an anthology rather grandly titled Reimagining Japan: The Quest for a Future that Works. I bought my own copy after browsing through it at Kansai Aiport and reading Alex Kerr's piece "Japan after People". His contribution was a wry form of dystopian projection that took various current trends, … [Read more...]
Hiking & Haiku on the Uminobe-no-Michi Trail
For the last 3 years or so I have been joining the Hailstone Haiku Circle on their annual autumn hike. Always good outings, in previous years we have gone further afield to Mount Daisen in Tottori, and Tateyama in Toyama, but this year's hike was closer to home： along the Lakeside Way (湖ノ辺の道 Uminobe-no-michi), in Northern Shiga. These are haiku composition hikes, so we take … [Read more...]
Hiking Along the Old Hozu River Towpath
Last Saturday I joined Stephen Gill and Okiharu Maeda of the conservation group P.T.O. for a hike along the Hozu River. The hike wasn't purely for the pleasure of getting out into the fresh country air though, Maeda-san and Mr. Gill were making a detailed report, with photographs of the exact location of trees on Mount Ogura that have been affected by a deadly oak disease. Even … [Read more...]
Ogoto Onsen
I wanted to do something special for Christmas Eve and my friend Andrew suggested getting an onsen hotel room in Ogoto. Once infamous as the soapland capital of Kansai, Ogoto has been working hard over the years to create an alternative image as a family spa resort. You can get reasonably priced rooms there, with gorgeous views over Lake Biwa. And as it is only a twenty minute … [Read more...]
The Miho Museum
If you fancy a day out of Kyoto and a bit of fresh country air, a trip into Shiga to visit the Miho Museum might be a nice little adventure for you. This is a most extraordinary private art collection, held in a most extraordinary building, and in an extraordinary location! The building itself is remarkable, designed by I. M. Pei (he's the guy that designed the glass pyramid … [Read more...]
