‘KATORI shrine’ I visited KATORI shrine in Chiba prefecture next to Tokyo. It is the main shrine of 400 KATORI shrines all over Japan. It’s said that founded 2600 years ago when the first emperor JINMU was enthroned and still one of the most important shrines which the imperial court […]
‘SMALL TRADITIONAL AREA’I came across the SAWARA traditional area in Chiba prefecture next to Tokyo. There are traditional over 100 years old houses along the small river and registered as one of ‘Japan heritage’ which is approved by Agency of cultural affairs of Japan. The atmosphere is very calm and […]
‘PUBLIC TOILET ’When you go in the public toilets in Japan, you often notice that there are the toilet posters. They ask you to use the toilet clean and make toilet comfortable for next person. There are several different versions. One thing I like is that there are posters which […]
‘CAFE NEXT TO TOKYO TOWER’I love cafe Le Pain Quotidien next to Tokyo tower. They offer organic bread and low calorie foods and drinks. The inside is made by wood , atmosphere is cozy and relaxing. We can see Tokyo tower from the window of the back seats . You […]
‘PHOENIX’I came across the gold and silver phoenixes in MEIJI shrine gate. These are designed by contemporary artist KOHEI NAWA who is famous for 3D art and curved by traditional techniques scalper in Kyoto. It’s because these designs are very complicated by 3D machine to form the shapes. I think […]
‘LOCAL TOURIST SPOT’ ‘OOARAI-ISOSAKI shrine.’I visited OOARAI-ISOSAKI shrine in Ibaraki prefecture. It’s founded AD 856 , God appeared this seashore which is written in the imperial book of that century . The main shrine is huge and located on the top of the hill near the seashore. But the TORII […]
‘NATIONAL FLOWER’There are 2 national flowers in Japan. One is SAKURA( cherry blossom) the other is KIKU( chrysanthemum). Cherry blossom is very popular not only for Japanese but also foreign people as a symbol of spring in Japan. KIKU( chrysanthemum) is a family crest of the imperial family and symbol […]
‘HIDDEN ZEN GARDEN’ I came across the hidden ZEN garden KOMYO-IN in Kyoto. It’s founded 1391 walking distance from TOFUKUJI temple , famous for its colorful leaves in autumn. Many famous ZEN gardens of Kyoto like RYOANJI , TOFUKUJI, NANZENJI are very crowded by tourists, often lack of ZEN feeling.But […]
‘ONIGIRI ( rice ball) ‘ONIGIRI is the handy portable food very popular for Japanese people.ONIGIRI literally means’ grabbed rice’ by hands . We can find the vestiges of ONIGIRI 2000 years ago in old remains. On AD 721 there is a word ‘ ONIGIRI’ in old book.Now we can find […]
‘YABUSAME ( horse back archery)’YABUSAME ( horse back archery) is a popular exhibition of Japanese festivals. There are 116 YABUSAME festivals in Japan all year around. Some of them perform in autumn festival . This is the one of MEIJI shrine in center of Tokyo last year 3rd November. Unfortunately […]
‘FOX GOD?’If you visit FUSHIMI-INARI and other INARI shrines ( there are over 30,000 INARI shrines in Japan)you notice that there are many fox statues in shrine area. Some people misunderstood that these are the object for prayer. But these foxes aren’t the object for prayer but, the servants of […]
‘Hidden best view spot of Mt.FUJI over the lake in HAKONE’ Mt.FUJI and red TORII gate are the nice matching especially over the lake. Many Japanese tourists and foreign tourists visit HAKONE to see this view . But if you see this view from the port or sightseeing boat , […]
‘HOW TO DRINK JAPANESE TEA?’I went to the MIHAMAEN Japanese garden in Chiba prefecture next to Tokyo. There is a Japanese tea house in the garden and offers us traditional Japanese green tea and sweets by traditional way. The woman here explained the history of the tea house and Japanese […]
‘DOUGASHIMA’I visited DOIGASHIMA in west IZU peninsula 3 hours from Tokyo. There is no train this area only car can access here .But still very popular for Japanese people because of its nice sceneries of the seashore , rocky cliffs , big cave at the coast and Onsens ( natural […]
‘SHICHIGOSAN,7,5,3 years old celebration’ I came across the 7,5,3 years old celebration at nearby shrine. I saw some cute little SAMURAI ( warrior)and HIME( princess)! 7,5,3(SHICHIGOSAN) is the custom we celebrate the children’s growth and offer gratitude to the God in middle of November at the shrine.3 years old is […]
‘HITACHI SEASIDE PARK’ October is the season of kochia and cosmos in HITACHI SEASIDE PARK. This is the huge national park located in the seaside of Ibaragi prefecture, takes 2 hours drive from Tokyo.All grounds are well decorated by seasonal flowers all year around. There are a lot of rest […]
‘CAFE IN FUSHIMI-INARI shrine’FUSHIMI-INARI shrine has a huge precinct area , if you walk the whole way it’s like 2 hours of small mountain hiking. So if your parents’s and friend’s legs are not strong, they had better stay the entrance area . Or after you trekked whole way and […]
‘HOW TO ENJOY FUSHIMI-INARI SHRINE-3’If you walk through 1000 TORII GATES of FUSHIMI-INARI shrine, you will arrive small square with prayer building . You walk to behind the prayer building , you will find 2 stone lanterns. On top of the stone lanterns there are 2 stone balls we can […]
‘HOW TO ENJOY FUSHIMI-INARI SHRINE-2’If you start walking the red TORII GATES of FUSHIMI-INARI shrine, you will find the 2 pathways in front of you. It’s called 1000 TORII GATES and the symbol of the shrine by its mysterious 2 dense raws of TORII GATES. These 2 pathways are thought […]
‘HOW TO ENJOY FUSHIMI-INARI SHRINE’FUSHIMI-INARI shrine is the main shrine of over 30000 INARI SHRINES in Japan. INARI literally means ‘ rice harvest’, the symbol of harvest, prosperity , wealth and business success. If you pray here and have a good results, people donate the TORII gate even small one […]
TOKYO travel TIPS is the site which offers local updated information of Tokyo and Japan. There are many traditional, modern culture , festivals and beautiful nature in Tokyo and Japan. We want to share with travel beginners and repeaters to Tokyo and Japan! Let’s enjoy as locals do!