Now, Japanese iris (Hanashobu, Iris ensata var. ensata) is now flowering in many gardens. Webmaster visited Sagamihara Park (Sagamihara-koen) this week which has an iris garden. Access: Tokyo (local train 0:14) Shinjuku (local train 0:32) Sagami-ono (bus 0:20) Sagamiharakoen-mae @ When Webmaster visited the garden in April, iris was still small. But,… Read more →
Webmaster visited Yokohama Shizenkansatsuno-mori this week, which is one of eight bird/nature sanctuaries run/managed by Wild Bird Society of Japan, to enjoy hiking and bird watching. Access: Tokyo (local train 0:50) Ofuna (bus 0:25) Yokohama-reienmae (walk 0:07) @ or Tokyo (local train 0:25) Yokohama (local train 0:18) Kanazawa-hakkei (bus 0:12) Yokohama-reienmae (walk 0:07) The entrance of the sanctuary.… Read more →
Last weekend, Webmaster went to Shiga Prefecture for his personal business and had a short visit to Hikone Castle and adjacent Japanese garden called Genkyu-en. Access: Shin-osaka (shinkansen 0:35) Maibara (local train 0:05) Hikone (walk 0:15) @ or Tokyo (shinkansen 2:30) Maibara (local train 0:05) Hikone (walk 0:15) @ The donjon of the castle is designated as National… Read more →
Swallow (Hirundo rustica) is a summer bird in Japan. They migrate to Southeast Asia to escape the winter and return in spring for breeding. A nest with a brood of four young birds. Their nest is made of mad and dry grass mixed with their saliva. We Japanese traditionally care for swallow. It is considered as a beneficial… Read more →
Webmaster visited Samukawa-jinja Shrine a few weeks ago. Access: Tokyo (local train 0:50) Chigasaki (local train 0:17) Miyayama (walk 0:10) @ Samukawa’jinja Shrine is regarded as the protective shrine of Kanto Region and set to protect against inauspicious direction from Edo (present Tokyo). Because of this historical background, the shrine has earned faith from the people of the… Read more →
Webmaster visited Fuji Bamboo Garden (Fuji-takerui-shokubutsuen) last week. Access: Tokyo (shinkansen 0:53 or local train 1:55) Mishima (local train 0:13) Nagaizumi-nameri (walk 0:30 or taxi 0:10) @ Admission:￥500 for adult. Open on Thursday, Friday and Saturday only. The entrance of the garden According to Fuji Bamboo Garden, there are some 500 species of bamboo planted and… Read more →
Webmaster found Japanese Helwingia (hanaikada, Helwingia japonica) when went hiking before last week. Hanaikada is an indigenous shrub in Japan. The similar species (same genus) distribute in East Asia from Himalayan region to Southern China. It widely distributes in forests in hilly and mountainous area, but is not very common. Curiously enough, this shrubby species has flowers… Read more →
The second spot report on craft beers is that of Tama-no-megumi Beer produced by Ishikawa Brewery (Ishikawa-shuzo). Tama-no-megumi means “the blessing of Tama” which is the name of an area where the brewery is located and also the name of a river in the area. Access: Tokyo (local train 0:52) Haijima (walk 0:15) @ A bottle of Tama-no-megumi beer… Read more →
Tsutsuji azalea is now flowering. Some buds of azalea Azalea is very popular in Japan. In fact, azalea can be seen everywhere, in parks, gardens and even on road sides. If you are traveling in Japan now, you will easily find azalea flowers. Azalea flowers last much longer than cherry flowers. Please enjoy azalea flowers! … Read more →
“Zen” is the name of one sect of Buddhism and sometimes refers to Zen meditation (zazen). There are some 75,000 Buddhist temples in Japan, among which some 2,000 are those of Zen Sect. There are three principal schools of Zen Sect in Japan. Those are Soto School, Rinzai School and Obaku School. (Obaku School was branched from Rinzai School.)… Read more →