This was one of those days where you’re glad the camera has a good battery. Jidokudani (known to most of the world as “The Snow Monkey Park”) is one of those places I’ve wanted to visit since long before I ever made it to Japan. Is it a tourist trap? […] Read more
The weather outside is frightful. Nagano (home of the 1998 Winter Olympics) is only about 85 minutes from Tokyo by the fastest Shinkanesen. I’d always wanted to go there, but after Red Data Girl so spectacularly showed off Togakushi (P.A. Works should really just do travel advertisements as their main […] Read more
It’s Shueshia’s world – they just let us use it. I didn’t go to Jump Festa last year – I was still pretty new to Japan, and Chiba seemed a lot farther away than it really is (about an hour with one transfer to Makuhari Messe, ¥480). In truth I’m […] Read more
The sheer number of hidden gems in Tokyo never ceases to amaze me. When people dismiss Tokyo as a soulless and grey modern megalopolis, they reveal their own ignorance more than anything else. It’s here more than anywhere else that the duality of Japan is most inescapable – the juxtaposition […] Read more
Nope, not sick of koyo yet… Today brings us to Kitanomaru Kouen, adjacent to Kudanshita Station and part of the old Imperial Palace grounds. The weather was crisp but crystal clear, perfect for coaxing the leaves to full splendor, so I thought it was a good time to check out […] Read more
It’s at the point now where I notice every anniversary in Japan. I went to a couple of Tori no Ichi festivals last November, soon after I arrived in Japan, and did a post on it then. But I decided to check out the big one this year, in Asakusa’s […] Read more
Here’s a bit more koyo for you, this time the famous “Gingko Avenue” near Jingu Gaien, between Gaienmae and Aoyama-Itchome stations (the later being on the routing of my commuter pass, happily). A few days early, I think, but still impressive. Read more
Can it really be my second autumn in Japan already? It’s Koyo season in Japan, when the locals get almost as obsessed with fall colors as they do with cherry blossoms. The weather was perfect yesterday and the season at its peak up in the mountains (we’re still about a […] Read more
This episode only increases my affection both for Kyoisogiga, and the places and people that inspired it. You can make a case that the mid-point of a series isn’t the best place for an episode like this, but I found it absolutely captivating. It had nothing to do with the […] Read more
There’s nothing like a Shrine visit to break up the routine. It’s strictly a coincidence and nothing to do with Gingitsune, but I paid a visit to Kameido Tenjinja in Eastern Tokyo today. The weather was perfect and I was in dire need of a mental health day, and the […] Read more