ocated an hour or so up north of Tokyo, in Chichibu Saitama, Chichibu Distillery is Japan’s next generation of whisky distillery. It was founded in 2004 by Ichiro Akuto and the first new Japanese distillery opened since 1973! Ichiro Akuto and his team are, despite the small size of the distillery, winning rave reviews from […]
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reated in the seventies, COEDO is a craft beer made in Saitama prefecture, and more precisely in Kawagoe, one hour north of Tokyo by train. The peculiarity of COEDO beers, is that they are made of Japanese sweet potatoes! COEDO was not always in the beer-brewing business, starting instead as an agricultural company specializing in […]
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Also known as Chichibu Yomatsuri, the Chichibu Night Festival in Saitama, is considered one of Japan’s top three festivals to feature floats, and it is the principal festival at Chichibu Shrine, the main shrine in Saitama’s Chichibu region. Taking place annually on the 3rd of December, the Chichibu Night Festival is an astonishing matsuri, with […]
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Miho no Matsubara is by far the best place in Shizuoka to enjoy an amazing view of Mt. Fuji. While we are planning to publish a full-length video soon that covers this amazing park, we could not resist shooting a pair of 10 minute long relaxing videos just for you. So without further ado, again, […]
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Founded in the 7th century, Zenkō-ji Temple is actually one of the most important and popular temples in Japan, and stores the first ever Buddhist statue bought in Japan when Buddhism was first introduced during the 6th century. Zenkō-ji’s fame does not stop here, since the temple itself was founded before Buddhism in Japan split […]
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Our last video on the Togakushi shrine will be dedicated to not a shrine itself but to one of its gates, the famous Zuishinmon Gate (随神門). Zuishinmon Gate is in fact part of the Togakushi-Okusha (奥社) located far off in the Togakushi village forest, and rather difficult to access, especially in winter. In fact, the […]
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The Togakushi-Hōkōsha (宝光社) shrine is the second of the three major Togakushi shrines and is located rather close to the the main shrine the Togakushi-Chūsha (中社). Just slightly smaller than its bigger brother, this shrine is only accessible by a long and difficult set of stairs that will quickly do its best to make your […]
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Today’s video will be a little special since it is actually the first video in a series of three. Indeed the famous shrine (jinja) Togakushi (Togakushi Shrine) in Nagano is spread across three main locations with each place hosting respectively, the main shrine the Togakushi-Chūsha (中社), the Togakushi-Hōkōsha (宝光社) and the Togakushi-Okusha (奥社). There are […]
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Once a year in December, the famous Hikawa shrine in Saitama (north of Tokyo) holds the Toka Machi Market, the ‘10th day market’. This event coincides with the Daitosai, a ritual ceremony held at the Musashi Ichi-no-miya Hikawa Shrine on the 10th of December. It also plays host to over 1,300 street booths selling food […]
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Twice a year Odaiba hosts one of Tokyo’s most popular fireworks displays. While the Tokyo Bay Grand Fireworks spectacular, held every summer in Odaiba, may be the more famous, this smaller one, also known as the Odaiba Rainbow Fireworks, is definitely worth checking out. Designed to spread Christmas cheer and love, the Odaiba Rainbow Fireworks […]
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English Close to the main Daiden, Zojo-ji Temple main building, stands a very unique cemetery also known as the Unborn Children’s Garden, where people come and and pray for the miscarried, aborted or stillborn children of Japan. This cemetery or garden, is unique in many ways since unlike usual cemeteries you will not find any […]
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English What stands out the most here at Zojo-Ji temple is the striking contrast between the old and new Japan. While its immediate neighborhood is dominated by modem buildings and Tokyo Tower, Zojo-ji feels like it has been stuck in a bubble where time moves at a slower pace to its surroundings. Located a few […]
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