Posted in Festivals, Kobe, Nature on Apr 11th, 2008 No Comments »
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 […]
Posted in Festivals, Gardens, Japan, Kyoto, Nature, Tokyo on Mar 26th, 2008 1 Comment »
What is this year’s sakura timetable? You will find the best English guide here, at the Japan Metereological Agency!
But don’t leave just yet, as here are some more interesting sakura links:
Stories from Japan Navigator:
Sakura, sakura - some literary associations from the cherry front
One of the best sakura viewing spots in Kyoto: Nishiyama
An even better […]
Posted in Festivals, Japan, Nature, Writing on Mar 24th, 2008 No Comments »
Look here for a sakura (cherry blossom) timetable!
As spring finally draws near, the first warm days bring a certain giddiness. And expectation. The great “sakura (cherry blossom) wave” is about to roll over our heads, enveloping us in its pinkish extremeties… sake and sakura, what better combination could there be?
[Sakura. Photo © Ad Blankestijn]
The sakura […]
Posted in Culture, Festivals, Japan, Religion on Mar 20th, 2008 No Comments »
Shunbun no Hi or the “Vernal Equinox” (when day and night are of equal length) is a Japanese national holiday established in the Meiji-period “so that people could commune with nature and show their love for all living things.” It is usually celebrated on March 20 or 21. Similarly, in September, there is an Autumnal […]
Posted in Festivals, Kyoto, Religion, Temples on Mar 11th, 2008 No Comments »
Everybody dies, even for the Buddha the Great Transformation was inescapable.
According to the tradition, the Buddha entered Nirvana at the age of eighty. But as he had reached Enlightenment, his was not an ordinary death. By his enlightenment, he had already extinguished the fires of attachment and passion, thus creating a state of Nirvana. However, […]
Posted in Culture, Festivals, Japan on Mar 2nd, 2008 4 Comments »
March 3 is the date of a festival that has various names: Hina Matsuri or Doll’s Festival, Momo no Sekku or Peach festival and Joshi no Sekku or Girl’s Festival. It is nowadays a festival for young girls, where sets of Hina dolls are decorated in the home, and certain foods as hishimochi (diamond-shaped rice […]
Posted in Festivals, Gardens, Museums, Nature, Tokyo, Travel on Mar 1st, 2008 2 Comments »
I have given you directions to the plum groves of Ogose, deep in Saitama and a long haul from Tokyo. But there is another great (or even greater) plum viewing area much closer to the metropolis: the Yoshino Baigo Park in Ome, which is part of Tokyo itself.
[Yoshino Baigo, Ome. Photo © Ad Blankestijn]
Ome […]
Posted in Festivals, Museums, Nature, Travel on Feb 24th, 2008 No Comments »
In the past (let us say, the Heian-period) the Japanese preferred the plum blossom, strong as it is in the cold weather and possessing a fine fragrance, to the weaker cherry blossom that rains down at the slightest gust of wind. Later, Saigyo with his madness for pink sadness changed it all…
[Ogose Plum grove, […]
Posted in Festivals, Japan, Kyoto on Feb 4th, 2008 No Comments »
Yesterday was Setsubun in Japan, the early spring festival where bad influences are cleansed from the soul. Or are the dark spririts of winter chased from the house? At least, via various strategies care is taken that devilish forces do not enter your abode: you may place thorny holly leaves under the gate, or, even […]
Posted in Culture, Festivals, Japan, Kobe on Jan 14th, 2008 3 Comments »
Today was Seijin no Hi, the day with Coming of Age ceremonies - see my post of last year about the meaning of this day. I had almost forgotten about it until I spotted these young women in their gorgeous kimono near Sannomiya in Kobe.
There is still tradition in Japan.
Even in modern Kobe.
With a modern […]
Posted in Festivals, Food, Japan on Jan 11th, 2008 No Comments »
Today is Kagami-biraki, “opening of the mirror”, the day that the rice cakes (mochi) that were displayed during New Year as an offer to the gods, are broken into small pieces and eaten in shiruko (a sweet soup made of azuki beans) or as zoni (mochi in New Year soup). To eat them in some […]
Posted in Culture, Festivals, Japan on Jan 10th, 2008 No Comments »
The First Calligraphy in the New Year is called “Kakizome” or “Kissho-hajime” and it is one of many “firsts,” as we have hatsugama (the first tea ceremony), hatsu-ike (the first flower arragement) and hatsu-ni (the first cargo), etc.
The custom which is usually held on January 2, seems to go back to the Kamakura period (1192-1333). […]
Posted in Culture, Festivals, Food, Japan on Jan 7th, 2008 No Comments »
January 7 is the day of the Nanakusa or Seven Herb Festival. This day, many Japanese eat rice gruel that contains the seven medicinal herbs of spring as a prayer for good health in the coming year. The custom goes back to the Heian-period, when according to tradition the Emperor Saga was very fond of […]
Posted in Festivals, Kyoto, Religion, Temples on Jan 5th, 2008 No Comments »
Last year it was the Shimogamo Shrine we selected for our Hatsumode, this year we opted for its “sibling”, the Kamigamo Shrine in northern Kyoto. January 1 was a dark and overcast day, with some sleet raining down, but New Year’s day would not be complete without a shrine visit.
The Kamigamo Shrine is dedicated to […]
Posted in Festivals, Kyoto, Travel on Nov 1st, 2007 No Comments »
Daimonji is the mountain in eastern Kyoto boasting the huge character for “Dai”, “Big” that plays the central role during the “Gozan Okuribi” festival on August 16 when it goes up in a huge blaze at eight o’clock sharp. During that festival five huge bonfires are lit in the evening on Kyoto’s eastern and northern […]
