I decide I have to go see Asakusa Temple aka Sensoji and set out from the business hotel in Asakusa-bashi. A short ride on the train and I am off the train and trying to decode the map I have. After about a three minute walk I am at the top end of Asakusa Temple precinct, so I enter and begin to wander around blending in to the stream of visitors. After coming to a an area that spreads out containing several buildings I decide to hang a sharp left and am rewarded with a something I have never seen.

A traditional wedding is in progress and even though uninvited I am allowed to watch without and objections. The next building houses some type of ornate Matsuri float, a small window in what looks like a ticket box is actually selling Omomori and white arrows. I find out this is run ... Read More

Last night I went to Roppongi for the very first time in my life. It was like I’d arrived in Futureland, a sort of utopia where everything is sparkling, big, modern and all cultures live (and party hard) harmoniously. Walking along one city block, I saw various ethnicities mingling together and heard at least six different languages being spoken. Perhaps I am reeling in the novelty of it all, and it isn’t as glamorous as I’d like to believe. But I will relish in my delight whilst I can.

Hitting the 52nd floor Tokyo City View Observation Deck at Roppongi Hills, I continued to be shocked out of my element. Beneath me lay a never ending urban carpet, woven with a billion blinking lights and cream-colored Lego... Read More

Among foreigners in Japan, a common traveling complaint is the uniform, drab nature of Japanese cities. Though in some ways, Nagasaki is exactly like every other city on Kyushu, in others it doesn’t feel like Japan at all. There’s a calm in the city, fewer crowds in suits and more wandering around quaint neighbourhoods unraveling layers of history. Simultaneously, and I suppose paradoxically, the city feels more lively and interesting than the other cardboard cutout cities I’ve visited. Landscapes look different in Nagasaki. Of course, the grey concrete is present, seemingly an ominous feature of every Japanese scene, but so are picturesque alley ways and hillsides dotted with tiny homes, ancient trees in the middl... Read More

Stuck for something to do on the weekend? Fed up with dropping into Tokyo to do a spot of shopping or browsing at records? Ready to do something different without spending too much money? Well, first, jump in your car, or steal your friend’s, and head off on a one-day road trip.

First, you will need to set on your way with no real plan, and stop at the first seven-eleven after only being on the road for ten minutes…this is customary. Then you are ready to maybe glance at your road map, if you have one, and make some kind of rough plan as to where you are headed. For me, the one-day road trip always involves beer, onigiris, surfing and onsens. And I couldn’t think of a better way to spend my free days off….but we are all different aren... Read More

Jumping into the car for a day trip to the next prefecture being Ishikawa we were on the way to Kanazawa, my father in-law Ken had to drop something off to an Antique dealer in kanazawa city he does repairs and valuations for. About ninety minutes drive and we roll into Kanazawa.

Parking the car, we are out front of the antique store and they first thing I locked on to is a katana housed in a locked glass case at the front of the store. Too busy staring at it to pay attention to notice the store owner if I want to hold it Ken tapped me on the shoulder and repeated the offer to me. I didn't have to think about it long and yes spilt over my lips as the stores owner unlocked the case and took the sword off the "... Read More

Arriving in Osaka I had a friend promise to take me to lunch then to Osaka Castle, problem was this was Golden Week. Trying to find somewhere to eat was a joke as line-ups on Golden Week are everywhere so we made the decision to get out of town so to speak and head for Osaka Castle itself.

Off to the station and a short ride later we off the train we were walking towards Osaka Castle when those lovely street vendor stalls offering yakitori, takoyaki, tori no karaage and all the other sumptuous delights came into sight. Ten minutes later and minus 1000 yen, I had satisfaction and the hunger had left.

Walking towards the bridge across the castles moat then up the steep steps I was thinking maybe we should be on horse ... Read More

I decided to visit Kishiwada Castle, which is located at Kishiwada City in Osaka as on my last departure I had shot past it in the train to Kansai airport and had no idea it was even there previously. Probably because my flights always seem to arrive at night that is why I had not noticed it when I arrived in Japan.

So I travel First Hotel, a few stations away from Kishiwada Castle in Izumisano city to stay the night. Up in the morning I grab a train for the three minute ride to Takojizo Station which is the closest to Kishiwada Castle Park.

Off the train at Takojizo Station and I make my way closer and closer to the burgeoning castle, to find I have taken the longest way around the castles moat to get to the en... Read More

Every March, a group of middle aged men carry an 800-pound, wooden phallus down the crowded streets of Komaki. Crowds of cheering and slightly intoxicated locals, foreigners, and pregnant women, push and shove for the chance to rub the sacred member which they believe will bring good luck and fertility. This eccentric festival begins with the offering of traditional Japanese sake, which is blessed and distributed among the crowd.

Before the 2.5 meter long phallus is carried ceremoniously into the “female” shrine, it is on display for the public to take photos with. Because the event is such a draw for tourists, the local media is eager to take photos of foreigners, in interesting poses in front of the phall... Read More

In the heat of last August, myself and three others packed enough stuff in our bags to last us a few days, threw them in the car and made for the Hanshin expressway. The trip from Osaka to Hiroshima, via Shikoku, was long but far from unpleasant. The constantly varying scenery allowed one to see parts of Japan not usually found in the guide books. From crowded coastal cities, bridges of stunning architecture, island strewn seas, to seemingly endless green forests, the scenery on view in Japan is almost as varied and beautiful as nation’s culture. I was constantly surprised by the sheer size of the forests in Japan’s inland regions, and only later learned that of all the developed countries, Japan has one of the highest percentages... Read More