Akihabara 4:30am Snow Depth : Tokyo 6cm / Yokohama 5cm / Chiba 0cm… Read more

How do you punish your maid ? At some Japanese Onsen Hotel, Kimono maids are punished like this way in front of customers ..... At certain Western Hotels maids must apologize in person this way or this way ... http:… Read more

Yaizu-city (焼津市), a noted commercial fishing port in Shizuoka-ken Population of 138,542 as of September 2015… Read more

Seikan Tunnel connects the Japanese mainland (Honshu) to the northern island of Hokkaido, and is the world's longest undersea tunnel. You can experience this wonder of twentieth century engineering while riding a train from Aomori City on Honshu to Hakodate on Hokkaido. The tunnel is 53.85 km long, and descends to a depth of 240 metres below the surface of the sea. It took 17 years and 538,000,000,000yen to build, and opened in 1998. As well as regular passenger services, it's used by 50 frei… Read more

Kobe /// experienced disastrous earthquake 05:46am January 17, 1995 /// 20 years passed already .... Pai-chan at that time lived in Osaka .... 6,434 people dead .... saddest memory in Kansai and Japan… Read more

Hakka kenran (八花絢爛="Eight Flowers" "Dazzling"), the Dance Revue by Maiko, Geiko, Geisha at Kyoto Last Autumn, Kyoto Maiko from Kamishichiken, Miyagawa-cho and Gion Higashi visited the newly completed Theatre in Kyoto. Standing on the stage of the main hall and looking around the auditorium with approximately 2,000 seats, they said in surprise, "It's huge!" and tried out their dances. Komako, a 16-year-old maiko from Gion Higashi, said, "I am looking forward to this rare opportunity to be allow… Read more

Kimono = 着物（きもの） Kimono is Japan's traditional garment, cut on a straight line and then constructed by sewing the panels together in a technique. This shape became established in the Heian Period (794-1192). The garment was revolutionary for that time, as it provided various ingenious features: the straight-seamed Kimono could be easily folded, layered when it was cold, and made of cool materials like linen when it was hot. http://bl… Read more

The Five-story pagoda(五重塔) of Tō-ji stands 54.8 m high The tallest wooden tower in Japan. It dates from the Edo period, when it was rebuilt by order of the third Tokugawa Shogun, Iemitsu (家光). The pagoda has been, and continues to be, a symbol of Kyoto. Entrance into the pagoda itself is permitted only a few days a year.… Read more

Kyoto Daigo-ji, a Shingon Buddhist temple in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto is a World Heritage Site, spreads across Daigo-san(mountain) and is well-known as the "Temple of Flowers". Benten-doh (弁天堂) Hall is famous for the beautiful colored leaves in the fall when maples and ginkgos turn red and yellow. The combination of the vermilion-lacquered hall and the pond in front completes the beautiful scenery. Bentendo is dedicated to Benzaiten (Sarasvati), the goddess of knowledge and liberal arts such as music and… Read more

Mt Fuji View from Maruko Alps, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka… Read more

Oxalis is by far the largest genus in the wood-sorrel f a m i l y Oxalidaceae: of the approximately 900 known species in the Oxalidaceae, 800 belong here. The genus occurs throughout most of the world ; species diversity is particularly rich in tropical Brazil, Mexico and South Africa. Many of the species are known as wood sorrels (sometimes written "woodsorrels" or "wood-sorrels"). Oxalis… Read more

David loved visiting Kyoto and Osaka (Photos by Sukita Masayoshi, David's Japanese friend and a photographer) With Yasuko Takahashi, Stylist - RIP / The greatest Star / Thank… Read more

January 10 2016 - David Bowie died peacefully today surrounded by his f a m i l y after a courageous 18 month battle with cancer. While many of you will share in this loss, we ask that you respect the f a m i l y’s privacy during their time of grief.( - from Facebook) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- David in Japan : 1973 April 08,10,11 Tokyo / April 12 Nagoya / April 14 Hiroshima / April 16 Kobe / April 17 Osaka / April 18,20 Shibuya, Tokyo http://blog-… Read more

Kagami biraki is a 3************ traditional Japanese ceremony, which literally means "Opening the mirror". The ceremony involves either the opening of a taru(barrel) of sake or the breaking of a pair of large round kagami mochi = ornamental mochi(rice cake), the size of small plates -- one a little larger than the other -- is stacked on a stand and placed in a household Shinto or Buddhist altar or tokonoma as an offering to the deities that visit on New Year days, is removed today on January 11 and broken into smaller pieces before being eaten. http://blog-imgs-87.fc2.com/s/k/b/skbjkj… Read more

Kohdaiji (Kyoto) 京都高台寺 One evening in spring… Read more

The Adachi Museum of Art (足立美術館, Adachi Bijutsukan), Yasugi-city, Shimane-ken was founded by Adachi Zenko in 1970 as a way of combining his passions for Japanese art and garden design. He hoped that viewing the gardens and artwork together would expand peoples' appreciation and interest in Japanese art. The Adachi Museum of Art is best known for its award winning garden. It has been named the best g… Read more

Daigo-ji, Kyoto (京都醍醐寺) Daigo, literally "ghee", is used figuratively to mean "crème de la crème" and is a metaphor of the most profound part of Buddhist thoughts. Toyotomi Hideyoshi(a preeminent daimyo, warrior, general, samurai, and politician of the Sengoku period 1467-1590) held a famous cherry blossom viewing party called "Daigo no hanami" in 1598 at the Sambō-in sub-temple.… Read more

Toh-ka-Ebisu (十日戎) Festival Japan is a land where numerous deities have been worshipped since ancient times. Ebisu(戎=えびす), one of the so-called seven gods of good fortune, has long been worshipped by fishermen who pray to him for a successful fishing haul and protection at sea. Ebisu, a portly fellow carrying a fishing rod and a huge tai under his arm, has countless shrines dedicated to him throughout Japan. Ebisu is also regarded as the god of commerce. Soon after the New Year, on January 9th,10th… Read more

Mount Fuji 10am (Japan Time, January 08, 2016) Warm winter so far ....… Read more