Culture Dejima Island's Legacy Alena Eckelmann Dejima, once a small man-made island off the shores of Nagasaki, is now enclosed within modern Nagasaki City's hustle and bus...
Culture Wajima Grand Festival 2024 Alena Eckelmann The Wajima Grand Festivals are the highlight of late summer in the Wajima area of the Noto Peninsula. The festive activities ...
Culture Okutsuhime Shrine Festival in Wajima 2024 Alena Eckelmann Young men dressed in women's clothes and with make-up on their faces carry a portable shrine into the ocean at Sodegahama Bea...
Culture Machiya Houses in Imai-Cho Alena Eckelmann White plastered walls, tiled roofs and dark-wood latticed windows, these were the trademarks of the merchant houses in wealth...
7 Culture December in Yokohama Park Steve Morton Famous for being home to the Yokohama ‘DeNA Baystars’, baseball team, Yokohama Park is a surprisingly colorful place to visit...
Culture Introducing Historic Imai-cho Alena Eckelmann A living town with 500 Edo Period merchant houses is Kashihara City’s best kept secret! If you like the machiya of Kyoto and ...
Culture Timber Woodcraft in Shogawa, Toyama Alena Eckelmann Toyama Highlight: Shogawa Timber Woodcraft; wooden plate carved from scratch while you are watching
Culture Ofusa Kannon Temple Alena Eckelmann A gem of a temple, located in a quiet suburb of Kashihara City, invites worshippers to linger. This is the Ofusa Kannon Templ...
Culture Kashihara Jingu Shrine Alena Eckelmann Kashihara Jingu, a large shrine surrounded by lush forest, enshrines Emperor Jimmu, the legendary first imperial ruler of Jap...
Culture Takaoka Metal Casting Alena Eckelmann Takaoka is famous throughout Japan for its well-developed metal casting industry. Imono, or cast metal items, from Takaoka ha...