Webmaster visited Kawagoe History Museum (Kawagoe-rekishi-hakubutukan) where real ninja tools are exhibited. Access: Tokyo (local train 0:24) Ikebukuro (local train 0:30) Kawagoe (bus 0:15 or walk 0:20) Kita-in (walk 0:02) @ This is a small private museum which exhibits historical articles handed down in seven old families in Kawagoe which is an old castle town. Admission is ￥500 for… Read more →
Webmaster visited Hakone Beer. http://www.hakone-beer.com/shop/ (Japanese) Access: Tokyo (shinkansen 0:37 or local train 1:15) Odawara (local train 0:07) Kazamatsuri (walk 0:01) @ You can drop in at the brewpub on your way to/back from Hakone. The building of the Brewery. The brewery doesn’t run factory tours for tourists. Then, we should go to its brewpubs next to… Read more →
The Liquor Tax Law of Japan was revised in April 1994, in which the annual minimum production of each brewery was reduced from 2,000 kilo liters to 60 kilo liters. This was the beginning of the history of Japan’s craft beer, and many microbreweries have been born since then. They say there are more than two hundred micro-breweries… Read more →
Webmaster visited Hokekyo-ji Temple in Chiba Prefecture last month. Access: Tokyo (local train 0:04) Akihabara (local train 0:23) Shimousa-nakayama (walk 0:10) @ It can be a half-day trip (for three hours) from Tokyo . Besides a five-story pagoda, there are other historical buildings in the precincts. The approach with So-mon Gate from Simousa-nakayama Station to the temple … Read more →
Shinto is the Japanese traditional religion. As far as Webmaster understands, it was originally formed as the fusion of animism and chiefship in which any natural creatures and phenomena were considered as deities, and the ancestors of powerful families were also respected as deities. The website of Jinja Honcho (Association of Shinto Shrines) may help your further understanding of… Read more →
Webmaster introduces you to leaf-shaped coasters of Ojiya textile. It’s about 18 cm long and 10 cm width each. Webmaster chose only three among many designs. This product is available only at Takuminoza on the second floor of a complex “Sun Plaza” in Ojiya City. Access: Tokyo (shinkansen 1:40) Urasa (local train 0:30) Ojiya (bus 0:10 or… Read more →
T-shirts with nishikigoi print on its back. The kanji are pronounced and mean “nishikigoi”. Not only black, but there are several colors. A small logotype on the breast The t-shirts are available at the shop “Ippin-kan” on the second floor of a complex “Sun Plaza” in Ojiya City, which is next to Nishikigoi-no-sato. Access: Tokyo… Read more →
T-shirts with nishikigoi print on its back. The kanji are pronounced and mean “nishikigoi”. Not only black, but there are several colors. A small logotype on the breast The t-shirts are available at the shop “Ippin-kan” on the second floor of a complex “Sun Plaza” in Ojiya City, which is next to Nishikigoi-no-sato. Access: Tokyo… Read more →
In relation to Colored carp, one which Webmaster introduces you today is Japanese sake “Nishikigoi” produced by Imayo-tsukasa Brewery (Imayo-tsukasa-shuzo, 今代司酒造). As you see, the bottle and package are designed to image colored carp. It has received various prizes on design and taste. A bottle in the box (left) and a bottle taken out from the box (right). The… Read more →
Last week, Webmaster visited Nishikigoi-no-sato in Ojiya City where one can meet hundreds of nishikigoi (colored carp). Access: Tokyo (shinkansen 1:40) Urasa (local train 0:30) Ojiya (bus 0:10 or taxi 0:06 or walk 0:20) Honcho-chuo (walk 0:02) @ Even the entrance of a pedestrian underpass in front of Ojiya Station has the shape of nishikigoi. You can take… Read more →