Every year between April 29 and May 5 Japan celebrates "Golden Week", four public holidays over a period of seven days. This year, 2019, thanks to the abdication of Emperor Emeritus Akihito and the ascension to the throne of Emperor Naruhito, the government declared additional holidays, giving people in Japan a 10-day "Platinum Week": April … Continue reading Commemorating Japan’s Post-war Constitution
This article describes day tripping from Tokyo to Oiso, a seaside resort with a famous, historical hill as its hinterland. This hill is easily hike-able, and the article introduces a great lunch spot at the top. (Archived article originally published by Japan Today.)
This article describes a seven lucky gods pilgrimage, a short walk popular in the New Year's season as a means to secure good fortune for the new year. This walk is in Tsurumi, a northern coastal part of Yokohama city, and includes part of the old Tokaido Road. (Archived article – Originally published by Japan … Continue reading Seeking out seven lucky gods in Tsurumi
Japanese love their noodles! From steaming bowls of ramen or udon, to mounds of yakisoba fresh off the griddle and dripping with tangy sauce, to bamboo trays of buckwheat soba noodles for dipping into a salty soy sauce-based soup, noodles are a dietary staple here. Not as common or well-known is somen--long, thin, wheat-based noodles, … Continue reading Somen: Slippery summer noodles worthy of slurping
Japan is host to a variety of annual festivals, often seasonally driven, and often associated with Shinto shrines. These festivals usually involve music, dancing, fair food and portable shrines that are paraded through the local neighborhood. One of the more unusual of these annual festivals takes place on the first Sunday of April (in 2017: … Continue reading Kanamara Matsuri: A unique celebration of the pink of spring
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