Tamaya! I have gunpowder in my hair. For the second year running I attempted to brave the crowds and see the Sumidagawa Fireworks Festival, Tokyo’s most famous hanabitaikai. Last year I made it to the site and was in a halfway decent viewing spot, my body reverberating with the sound […] Read more
Damn, it’s hot. If it’s 35 degrees with 70% humidity, what else would anyone do but go outside and dance? Here’s a few pic pics and videos from a couple of Obon Odori matsuri – the first in Ebisu (I did) and the second in my village of Kagurazaka (I […] Read more
Summer has truly arrived in Tokyo. Tourou Nagashi is one of the most important rituals in Japanese spiritual life. Chouchin paper lanterns are floated down a river on the last day of Obon, the lights guiding the spirits back to the afterlife. Obon is traditionally observed in August, but by […] Read more
Anything that makes me think of Gingitsune is a good thing. It’s really heating up in Tokyo, but any sunny day in June almost demands to be taken advantage of because they’re so rare. And that’s all the more true when it coincides with the big weekend of the Hie […] Read more
It’s deja vu all over again… I covered Sanja Matsuri pretty extensively last year, so I won’t dig too deep this time around (I actually have photos on the Picasa page from a vacation a few years ago as well). Just a few pics and a couple of videos from […] Read more
The discoveries just never stop. Today was my last big sakura excursion (unless I decide to head up to the mountains next weekend along with half of Tokyo) so I wanted to try somewhere I hadn’t been before. Koganei Park, about half an hour West on the Chuo Line, seemed […] Read more
It’s a race against time now. One of the unfortunate impacts of my trips outside Tokyo this week was that I was out of town when the peak sakura season hit. And as fate would have it, on Thursday – the day I was resting up – we got a […] Read more
There’s old, and then there’s old. I’ve been meaning to check out Kashima Jingu for quite some time. I bypassed it when I had my Seishun-18 Kippu last year in favor of Izu, and I’ve always kind of regretted it. Kashima Jingu is regarded as the most important Shrine in […] Read more
Nowhere but Japan is it this much fun to get yourself into hot water. Today’s Kanto Pass excursion took me to Kusatsu Onsen, up in the mountains in Gunma. I’m a huge onsen fan, and Kusatsu is regarded as one of the best onsen towns in Japan, both for atmosphere […] Read more
Astonishing doesn’t begin to cover it. I’m on break this week, so I decided to use the JR Kanto Pass (¥8000 for three consecutive days of travel anywhere in Kanto) to do three day trips. That maximizes the value and saves me money on hotels, but it’s going to be […] Read more