In last week's blog post, I introduced a temple founded to house a statue of Fudo Myo-o, the great immoveable deity, carved by no less than the great Kobo Daishi (774-835). But Kobo Daishi is not alone in his admiration of Fudo Myo-o, whose image is found and worshiped across Japan. Even the earliest Buddhist … Continue reading Kumano Magaibutsu: immoveable in more ways than one
This article describes an afternoon of tea tasting in Fukuoka's Hoshino-mura, not far from the place were tea was first cultivated in Japan some 800 years ago. (Archived article originally published by Japan Today)
Nakatsu Castle, with its moats fed by tidal sea water from the Seto Inland Sea, is one of Japan's three so-called "seaside castles". The others are Takamatsu Castle in Kagawa and Imabari Castle in Ehime. Nakatsu Castle sits on the Yamakuni River delta, about half a kilometer south of the river's mouth, the tidal river … Continue reading Nakatsu Castle: provincial river guardian
There is something amazing and energizing about a waterfall. That is a scientifically-proven fact. The tumbling of the water generates negative ions, which research has shown to reduce depression and stress, boost the immune system and improve metabolism, among other benefits. Volcanic Japan has innumerable waterfalls, great and small. It doesn't take a lot of … Continue reading Let it wash over you: A sampling of Kyushu waterfalls
This travel article introduces Dejima, the man-made island in Nagasaki Harbor, where Dutch traders lived in isolation from the mid-17th to mid-19th centuries. (Archived article originally published by Japan Today)
Late last December, while I was traveling in Kyushu, I received a rather mysterious message that a friend had made a dinner reservation for me at a sushi restaurant in the Oita regional fishing port of Saiki, where I was planning to overnight. The restaurant, Nishiki-zushi, was just a couple of blocks from my hotel … Continue reading Extraordinary sushi from Nishiki-zushi
“Aso is a good-natured, even-tempered volcano, and it is not often that the steady cloud of smoke and steam which it emits varies in volume...” These words are from In Lotus-land Japan, a 1910 travelogue by Herbert G. Ponting. In these days when actual travel is not possible, I am enjoying reading (and in some … Continue reading Mount Aso: Armchair Travel, Art, and Memories
I'm fortunate that in my travels I often get to meet local people who are doing interesting and creative things. I was able to write a profile of a couple of groups of women in Kyushu and Shikoku who have become successful small business entrepreneurs, producing condiments featuring local produce and local flavors. (Archived article … Continue reading Entrepreneurs on the Rise: Second Career Women in Regional Japan
Since everyone is thinking quarantine, isolation and hiding away these days, I thought it might be appropriate for this month's travel article to be about a place in where such things happened in the past. Enjoy this as "armchair travel" now, and perhaps get there yourself sometime in the future. (Archived article originally published by … Continue reading A Goto Island of Quarantine: the perfect place to hide
Many of Japan's origin legends are set in Kyushu and can be explored at Shinto shrines and other sites across the island commemorating the events of the legend. They are often tales of interactions among a pantheon of gods that are every bit as intriguing as the Roman or Greek mythology doubtless more familiar to … Continue reading Amano Iwato: hideaway cave of a goddess
On the west coast of Shimoshima, the largest of the Amakusa Islands of Kyushu, is a large bay known as Yokaku Bay. Because of its location on the East China Sea, the bay, and particularly the town of Sakitsu in a small, but deep, harbor on the north shore, has a centuries-long history as a … Continue reading Sakitsu: a remote Amakusa port where Christians once concealed themselves
Standing atop a hill, gazing southwest across the Chikugo River valley toward the Ariake Sea, stands the 62 meter tall Jobo Kannon (the motherly goddess of mercy), cradling a baby in her arms. Completed in early 1983, she is the tallest Kannon statue on the island of Kyushu. Jobo Kannon stands on the grounds of … Continue reading Kannon keeping watch in Kurume
