Another check-mark on the Kansai bucket list. I love whisky, and so do the Japanese. If you don’t I doubt anything about this post will interest you much – though to be fair, Yamazaki itself is a lovely little town with canals and Shrines and water so good that Sen […] Read more
Spring? Well, not quite – but we’re getting there. It’s an all-Shinto day today, with some miscellaneous Higashiyama shots sandwiched on either side. And a chocolate-almond pancake from Cafe Rhinebeck pancaked in the middle. I’ve been to many Tenjin Shrines, including this one, Kitano Tenmangu (the head Shrine) but given […] Read more
The only constant in life is change. As you know if you’ve read any of my recent episodic posts, I’ve moved house recently. This time it’s down to Kyoto, where the search for long-term employment in Japan continues (if anyone knows anyone and would care to introduce me…). It’s hard […] Read more
Thank goodness Comiket can still surprise me. I’ve written a few Comiket posts already, so I’ll just drop off a few photos and share a few brief thoughts on this particular trip. As usual, the winter version is far more pleasant than the summer for obvious reasons. And as always, […] Read more
“Every time I think of you, the leaves will turn red.” We’re just at the tail end of Koyo season here in Tokyo, but today’s perfect weather seemed like a good excuse to visit one of the last major public gardens in Tokyo I’d yet to see. That’s Hamarikyu, formerly […] Read more
Why I love Japan: Dinner at “Sasebo” Burger Bar Visit Pokecenter next to hotel Onsen & Sauna with LotR soundtrack playing Vending machine whiskey in a can The quest for gainful employment (I’d take a job as an organ grinder’s monkey if it came with a work visa) takes me […] Read more
So long Phanfone, hello Vongfong… In many ways, this batch of photos is a chronicle of the week between typhoons. It starts out in Kyoto in the gloriously clear, dry weather following Phanfone’s departure, and finishes in Shimoda on the Izu Peninsula as Vongfong roars in from the South. But […] Read more
I may have said this before, but cats dig shrines. More stuff from Kyoto and environs this time. The first (and the last) batch are pictures from the Takao area, in the Western mountains outside Kyoto. This includes Kouzan-ji, a temple which should be familiar to any fan of Kyousougiga, […] Read more
So much Japan, so little time. I have a ridiculous number of photos from the last two weeks, and no real idea what to do with them or the time to do it if I did. I’m not just going to dump them all out there, but I’d like to […] Read more
The end of Obon, and the end of summer break. I already talked about the Japanese tradition of Toro Nagashi when I posted about the version at Ueno Koen (held in July because much of Kanto schedules Obon based on the old lunisolar calendar) so no need to do so […] Read more