Japan Navigator

Good news for Kyoto’s Flower Towns: the profession of Maiko is again popular under young women! As Asahi.com reports:
The number of maiko has bounced back to 100, the highest in more than four decades, thanks to the growing interest in Kyoto’s traditional geisha culture.
I do not know if this surge in interest is attributable to [...]

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Food manga are not always about gourmet food, even when they are called The Solitary Gourmand (Kodoku no Gurume). For there is not a shred of fancy food in all these stories. Instead, they introduce us to the daily dishes and common eateries of the ordinary Japanese, and that is all the more interesting.

The setting [...]

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Osaka often seems to be playing second fiddle to Big Brother Tokyo, but it actually is a city of many firsts. Calculators were invented here in 1964, the first automatic ticket gates appeared in Osaka in 1967, vacuum packed foods as curry were introduced in 1968, and the famous cup noodles made their first appearance [...]

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In the Tama Hills in the western part of Saitama Prefecture stands an old temple famous for the valuable Buddhist scriptures it possesses. Now only a remnant of a much larger complex, the temple also boasts an Eleven-Headed Kannon. When I visit, the doors of the altar cabinet happen to be wide open and the [...]

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What is the best sakura (cherry blossom) viewing spot in the wider Kobe area?
The best spot to enjoy both the sakura themselves and the hanami people engaged in viewing them is Shukugawa Park, in the western part of Nishinomiya, which was included in the top of the “Hundred Sakura Viewing Places” selected in 1990. The [...]

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[Magnolias near Osaka Business Park. Photo © Ad Blankestijn]
On the banks of the Neyagawa River near Osaka Business Park (Kyobashi Station) stands a row of magnolia trees which were in full bloom last week. They do not last long, so yesterday during lunch time I hastened out with my camera cell phone to get a [...]

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[Weeping cherry in the Kamigamo Shrine, Kyoto. Photo © Ad Blankestijn]
This magnificent weeping cherry (shidare-zakura) called “Gosho-zakura” stands in the grounds of the Kamigamo Shrine in Kyoto. When I saw it last Monday, it was almost fully in bloom, so this week you can still enjoy it!
Read more about the Kamigamo Shrine in my [...]

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In Japan, food is judged on its health properties, real or imagined, and fads of such foods are fed by media frenzy. It is only a short time ago that all Japanese were eating blueberries for better eyesight and natto to slim down. Drinks, especially of the sort sold in 350 or 500 cc pet [...]

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This somewhat creepy, robotlike Japanese woman follows your cursor with her eyes as you move it over the screen! The technology was developed by Japanese company MotionPortrait. (Via Jean Snow)

Billiken, the fiendish-looking God of Good Luck in the Tsutenkaku Tower, Osaka, has celebrated his 100th birthday.
During the ceremony, a birthday cake was presented to [...]

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