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
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 [...]
Even in Japan’s mild-wintered Kanto region, in most years, on February 4th, radio and television weathercasters can do nothing but complain about the inappropriately cold weather. This year, however, on that day, afternoon temperatures actually reached a toasty 14 degrees centigrade, an unusual case of the weather properly befitting the occasion, Risshun (立春), the first [...]
Continue reading about A Glimpse (and Whiff) of Things to Come
You know you’ve found a great museum when your 30-something year old friend finds an exhibit and practically screams your name from across the room and shouts, “Come here!!” I had heard about Ibaraki Nature Museum from Alien Times and I sometimes noticed posters or banners advertising their exhibits, but I didn’t really have a [...]
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 [...]
tsukubans speak