Ginkgo trees (ichou 銀杏) turn a resplendant bright yellow in autumn. The ginkgo trees in Hibiya Park are looking rather impressive this week.
Category: Japan
Political sound trucks
On my way from the office yesterday, I found the Japanese opposition leader, Mr Tanigaki, atop a minibus parked outside Shimbashi Station, with microphone in hand and loudspeakers blaring in mid-political speech.
Vivid autumn in Nara
I went to Nara last weekend to stay with my old high school host family. It was about 8 months since I was last there, and I timed it just right to see Nara Park and the surrounding hills ablaze with orange, red, yellow and crimson colours as the trees put on their annual display.
Unagi restaurant
A week or so ago, I went with friends to a old Edo era restaurant, in a kura style building.
Traffic jam to the mountaintop
I’m sure many people could smugly tell me that a sunny Sunday in the peak of autumn is NOT the right day to visit Hakone for solitude. I should have known that I’d spend the entire day in one form of traffic jam or another. But I nonetheless made the mistake of choosing Kintokiyama (金時山), a mountain… Continue reading Traffic jam to the mountaintop
Through the snow to the Falcon’s Nest
Ever wanted a falcon’s view of Mt Fuji and the surrounding ranges? Takanosu-yama (鷹ノ巣山) – translated as Falcon’s Nest Mountain – offers just a commanding view, good enough for a falcon. On an unseasonably cold, but clear and crisp autumn day, the contrast between snow, bright coloured foliage, clear blue skies and the vista beyond… Continue reading Through the snow to the Falcon’s Nest
Motomachi in Yokohama – old foreign quarter
On Halloween, that spooky foreign day on which all Japanese kids seem to dress up in super cute witches and warlocks costumes, I headed down to the old foreign quarter of Yokohama. Motomachi is a district with old foreign residences that sits on a hill above the city. Wandering around this area even feels like… Continue reading Motomachi in Yokohama – old foreign quarter
Autumn at Mitake-san again
Mitake-san is a mountain in western Tokyo Prefecture with a grand, old Shinto shrine on top. It’s become sort of the place in the hills that I head towards when I’m not imaginative to head anywhere else. Tried and trusted, there is a network of pathways through the forest, taking in a few mountain tops,… Continue reading Autumn at Mitake-san again
Sake & mama-chari samurai
A weekend visiting old storehouses doesn’t sound that interesting, but when the storehouses contain sake breweries with tasting opportunities, things look a whole lot brighter. It also helps that the storehouses are traditional old structures with a lot of character. Aizu Wakamatsu and neighbouring Kitakata, north of Tokyo in Fukushima Prefecture, have lots of old kura (storehouses), samurai… Continue reading Sake & mama-chari samurai
Fuji-san & the cosmos
The cosmos were blooming on the shores of Kawaguchi-ko, and the late afternoon sun was shining on Fuji-san. I bought a new guidebook recently, which describes hikes near Tokyo that end at onsens. The cosmos was kind to us yesterday, by providing sunshine, good views of Mt Fuji across Kawaguchi-ko, and a nearly empty rotenburo… Continue reading Fuji-san & the cosmos