For many Japanese, it goes without saying that worshipping at a Buddhist temple on any given day brings one merit. Some days, however, are special. In fact, according to tradition, tomorrow, July 10, is VERY SPECIAL INDEED, as dropping in at the Asakusa Kannon will be equivalent to 46,000 regular day visits! This sounds-too-good-to-be-true offer gets even better. From early in the [...]
Continue reading about 46,000 Visits at One Shot! Asakusa Kannon’s Hozuki-Ichi
At noon on August 15th, 1945, the Japanese people, for the first time, heard the unexpectedly high-pitched voice of the Showa Emperor (Hirohito) crackling over the radio. The God-Emperor (as he was considered at that time) announced in an archaic form of speech which few could actually understand (and which amused quite a few children [...]
Japan’s month long rainy season (tsuyu, 梅雨) usually ends in mid-July, and that means there are precious few days left to savor its SPECIAL BEAUTY. Many Japanese consider Ajisai (紫陽花, or hydrangea) to be the quintessential flower of this season, as they look just right when wet, and enshrouded in mist. And though these flowers can be found almost anywhere [...]
All the way gloomy days during the 4th till the 6th of July were all worth it by threading the way to and around Tohoku, Japan. Tōhoku (東北), which literally means “East-North” is the northeastern region of Japan’s Honshu (mainland) island. Tohoku is a host to many museums and temples and it has over a [...]
I recently had the pleasure of taking a trip to Amabiki Kannon, a temple complex about 45 minutes north of Tsukuba. Click on the image below to see some of the photos that I took.
See: Article on Amabiki Kannon in Alien Times
tsukubans speak