Sumo was first mentioned in a Kojiki manuscript dating back to 712 describing how possession of the Japanese islands was decided in a wrestling match between the divine being (Kami) Takemikazuchi and Takeminakata. It is only several years later, around 720, that the first Sumo match between mortals took […]
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You don’t know Tokyo until you’ve seen the Izu Islands. Located off the coast of Honshu, Japan’s main island, these nine smaller islands are actually within Tokyo’s jurisdiction. Spending a weekend island hopping here can give visitors a breath of relief from the organized chaos of Tokyo proper. [...]
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You don’t know Tokyo until you’ve seen the Izu Islands. Located off the coast of Honshu, Japan’s main island, these nine smaller islands are actually within Tokyo’s jurisdiction. Spending a weekend island hopping here can give visitors a breath of relief from the organized chaos of Tokyo proper. [...]
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There are hundreds of types of traditional dances in Japan, and Awa Odori is one of the best-known ones. Originated in Tokushima, it is now enjoyed and danced hundreds of thousands of performers across Japan. [...]
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Bon Odori is a Japanese traditional folkloric dance. Bon Odori, which has a history of approximately 1,000 years. Actually, this Folkloric dance is for worshiping ancestors in the “Bon season” (July-August) derived from Buddhism, and there are more than 1,000 different types of dance nationwide in Japan [...]
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Ondagawa is a small river that flows through Machida City, a suburb in southwest Tokyo. Unassuming all year long, Ondagawa is however, during Sakura season, one of the most beautiful secret sakura spots in Tokyo that you definitely have to check thanks to its 400 plus cherry trees […]
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Fukagawa city is located on the east side of Tokyo in the Koto ward. It was founded after the Great Fire of Meireki of 1657 and named after its founder Fukagawa Hachirozaemon. The shogunate ordered Buddhist temples on the east bank of the Sumida river, and on both the […]
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Located nearby the quite crowded Oji and Nanbokusenoji Stations, Otonashi Park, also known as Otonashi Shinsui Park (Quiet Water Park), is a small Edo style water park famous for its many sakura. While the water part of this park is only open from 9 a.m. to [...]
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In the early 1900s Nomigawa Ryokudo was a simple river in the Setagaya district of Tokyo leading to Tokyo Bay. Today the river is partly covered by a road where more than 300 sakura trees are spread all along its path. Nomigawa Ryokudo has a charming suburb or countryside […]
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Just an hour away from the center of Tokyo in the Fuchu district, you will find the beautiful temple of Togo-ji (Togoji - 東郷寺). It was built to commemorate fleet Admiral Heihachiro Togo, who distinguished himself in the Russo-Japanese War […]
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Located in the center of Tokyo in the Nishi Shinjuku district, hidden among Tokyo’s famous skyscrapers, Joenji Temple, a Temple of Nichiren-shu, was moved to its current location in 1585. It is one of the many still active cemeteries in the heart of Tokyo [...]
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Every second Sunday in March, the Takaosan Yakuoin Buddhist temple holds a unique fire-walking festival known as the Hiwatari-Sai Matsuri where Yamabushi monks display the depth of their faith and asceticism by walking barefoot over smoldering coals, the remains of the matsuri sacred fire.
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