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...] about Kyoto by the Sea Part #2: Kumihama in Winter
Days Out of Town
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...] about Kyoto by the Sea Part #1: Kotobikihama & Amanohashidate
A Trip to Inuyama
Here are some pictures from Inuyama in Aichi prefecture, which we visited last month. 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 picture above, it still needs a bit of maintenance from time to time. Despite the metal … [Read more...] about A Trip to Inuyama
A Trip into the Past at Meiji Mura
In 2011 McKinsey & Company commissioned 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...] about A Trip into the Past at Meiji Mura
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...] about Hiking & Haiku on the Uminobe-no-Michi Trail
