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Photo of the Day: The Road to Edo

This is the old Nakasendo, an old samurai road that goes from Kyoto to Tokyo. This is Magome-juku, one of the central government’s checkpoints. The shogunal government liked to keep track of the comings and goings of people along the road. besides being a checkpoint, it was also a place where the lords and their entourages could lodge for the night. The road between Magome and Tsumago is still…

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Photo of the Day: Coffee time

Taken near the top of the Harukas Building. The Japanese like their observation decks. It was the tallest building in Japan until recently. It’s funny. I went there to get a view of the city, but my main photo from that trip is a guy drinking coffee by the window. Honestly, I don’t know much about Osaka. I am usually going through there rather than to there. I probably need to prioritize a stay…

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Photo of the Day

The tea fields of Wazuka, Kyoto, Japan. Wazuka is in Kyoto Prefecture, but it is close to Nara. I visited a company that was trying to do a farm-to-table approach to tea, https://dmatcha.com/. he is trying various things to keep tea cultivation alive in rural Japan. I highly recommend any kind of tea experience in Japan whether in Wazuka or other parts of Japan. At the least, you can experience…

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Photo of the Day: Duck

Taken in North Gyeongsang on the 5 Rivers cycling Road. It starts from Seoul and goes all the way down to Busan. It’s relatively flat, but you do have to go through some mountains. Takes 5-6 days. I actually had to stop in Gumi, about 2/3 of the way there because of technical issues.

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Photo of the Day: Tea on the Seto Inland Sea

Taken along the Shimanami Kaido, a cycling route connecting Shikoku to Honshu via a series of bridges on the islands of the Seto Inland Sea. We had taken a break at this park. A family had set up to have breakfast on a table in the park. The scene just seemed so Japanese to me.

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Photo of the Day: Smoke in the Distance

Taken on a mountain village in Miyoshi, Tokushima Prefecture. I have noticed that burning is a large part of the agriculture in rural Japan. I often see smoldering piles of leaves as I go through the rural areas. I often wonder if that is something lost to modern agriculture. I live in Hawaii and I read a few years ago about the importance of cooking in a pit, imu, to the native Hawaiians. A…

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Photo of the Day: Remnants

The Cheonggyecheon Stream was once dry with a freeway running over it. The freeway was dismantled and water was diverted back into stream bed. The stream cuts through Seoul and feeds into the Han River. It is a green oasis in the middle of a major city. For more of my work, please visit my site https://peregrinationsjapan.picfair.com/

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Photo of the Day: In Line

Taken along Cheonggyecheon Stream, a rehabilitated stream in Seoul. I think they were on liter patrol. They looked so serious walking in a line along the walkway. For more of my work, please visit https://peregrinationsjapan.picfair.com/

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Photo of the Day: Jizo on the rocks...

Taken on the Shimanami Kaido on one of the islands between Shikoku and Honshu. The Shimanami kaido is a cycling road that spans the Seto Inland Sea. It connects 2 of the major island via a series of roads and bridges that connect the smaller islands in-between Shikoku and Honshu. Imabari is the city in Ehime Prefecture on Shikoku that is one end. Onomichi is the city in Hiroshima Prefecture,…

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Photo of the Day: The Nakasendo

This was taken at Tsumago-juku in Gifu Prefecture. Tsumago-juku is an old post-town along the Nakasendo, an old samurai road leading to Edo, modern-day Tokyo. This was part of the sankin-kotai system, which required regional lords, daimyo, to spend every other year in Edo. A system of roads were built to accomodate this. The daimyo didn’t travel by themselves, but were required to have a retinue…

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Travel Essentials: Getting Around...

This is an ongoing series of entries about how I go about planning my trips to Japan. Click here to see the entire series. So by now, if you have been reading this series in order, you should be fairly far along in your planning. As I am sure you have already heard, the Japanese transportation infrastructure is pretty amazing, especially when it comes to trains. Japan Railways The main…

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Photo of the Day: Ama no Iwato

Ama no Iwato is a cave in Takachiho, Kyushu, Japan. Although much of Japanese history takes place on the main island of Honshu, a lot of the myths and legends surrounding Japan and the Imperial Family originate in Kyushu, specifically in Takachiho. Takachiho is where the grandson of Amaterasu Okami, Ninigi no Mikoto, descended to earth. His grandson set out with 2 other brothers from Takachiho…

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Photo of the Day: Mount Tachu

This is the Celestial Stone on top of Mount Tachu on Yakushima Island. Yakushima is south of Kagoshima Prefecture, the southern tip of Kyushu Island. Yakushima is known for its natural beauty, but it is not easy to get to. You can fly in, but most people take a ferry from Kagoshima. There is a high speed ferry, but even that takes several hours There are 3 peaks on the island with shrines on…

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Photo of the Day: 2 Young Women

Taken near the Togetsukyo Bridge in Arashiyama District, Kyoto. These were just 2 young ladies sitting by the river side. I saw them in their kimono and asked if I could take their photo. As you can see they were willing participants. This was the time I realized that walking around looking like a photographer really pays off. People seem much more willing to pose for photos when I carry a lot…

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Photo of the Day: Gamcheon

This was taken in Busan at the Gamcheon Culture Village. Apparently, it had been a very working-class neighborhood, but artists were encouraged to move to the area. Many of the houses, as you can see, were painted in vivid colors. There are many murals, art studios, and cafes thorughout the residential area. Although cars can run up the hill, it is also a maze of walkways and stairs. I guess…

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Travel Essentials: Where to stay

So you have made it this far. In my last entry I wrote about using My Maps to plot out places to see. Click here to access that article. By now, if you have been doing what I have told you, you probably have a sense of the geography and the history of Japan. You also have figured out the places you want to visit. Now we dig deep into accommodations. Capsule hotel at Narita Airport I generally…

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Photo of the Day: Cheonggyecheon Stream

Cheonggyecheon stream runs through Seoul. It was on my list of things to see when I visited. It had run dry and been covered by a freeway until a mayor decided that it need to be renewed. Now it’s an Oasis in the middle of the city. It has cycling tracks along the banks so you can ride your bicycle down to the Han River. In turn, you can take the cycling track along the Han River all the way…