I bought this a while back while on the way to a hike in Nara. I actually ended up getting lost and walking along a main round for a couple …
Karuta
Karuta is a very Japanese card game. Wikipedia informs me that the term karuta just means playing cards in Japanese. What I am about to discuss is Uta-garuta or poetry …
The Chorus Competition
One highlight of the school year was the chorus competition. Each class of the the grade/year compete against each other. Every class choses a song to sing. All members of …
A Trip to Wakayama City
A while back I went for a day out to Wakayama. Wakayama is the prefecture below Osaka prefecture. Wakayama City is the capital. The Nankai railway connects it to Osaka. …
The Museum of Eastern Ceramics
Japanese museums can be a bit hit and miss. There are some very good museums that present really good collections of artefacts or artworks. Even better if they have explanations …
A New Season
Friday was the first day of the season in Japan. Cerezo were playing Vissel Kobe in the showpiece Friday night TV fixture. I think the reason for this is that …
Koya-san
It is traditional in Japan to visit a shrine or temple to celebrate the New Year. The week of New Year I was stuck indoors with a bad cold but …
The Cakes of Japan
I got this top of Kongo-san a while back. It wasn’t so great after a hike up and a wander around in the snow on top it was quite nice. …
The Cakes of Japan
I bought this in the bakery attached to a supermarket near me. I can only describe it as a Cherry Harmonica. The pastry was glazed sweet puff pastry and was …
Chasing Out The Devil
Today was Setsubun: a Japanese festival were the devil or demons are chased out of the house. It is supposed to represent the start of spring (although the weather suggests …