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 →
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 →
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 →
Do you know zazen? Zazen is a kind of meditation practiced in Zen school of Buddhism. Some Zen temples hold zazen sessions for citizens on regular basis. Webmaster participated in an English zazen session at Soji-ji Temple last week. Soji-ji Temple holds an English zazen session almost once a month. Access: Tokyo (local train 0:27) Tsurumi (walk 0:07) @… Read more →
Webmaster visited Horai Bridge before last week. Access: Tokyo (shinkansen 1:15) Shizuoka (local train 0:28) Shimada (walk 0:20) @, or Tokyo (local train 3:20) Shimada (walk 0:20) @ This bridge is 897m long and listed in Guinness Book of Record as the longest pedestrian wooded bridge. Only pedestrians and bicycles are allowed to cross. The… Read more →
Webmaster visited Kunowaki Suspension Bridge before last week. This bridge is located near Shiogo Station of Oigawa Railway (Oigawa-tetsudo). Access: Tokyo (shinkansen 1:15) Shizuoka (local train 0:30) Kanaya (local train 0:50) Shiogo (walk 0:05) @ Oigawa Railway starts from Kanaya Station. Oigawa Railway is a single track. The train went toward the upper stream of Oi-gawa… Read more →
Webmaster visited Endo Shellfish Museum (Endo-kairui-hakubutsukan) in Manazuru Town before last week. Access: Tokyo (local train 1:35) Manazuru (bus 0:20) Cape Manazuru @, or Tokyo (shinkansen 0:37) Odawara (local train 0:13) Manazuru (bus 0:20) Cape Manazuru @ Admission:￥300 for adult. Closed on Thursday and year-end holidays This museum is located on the tip of Manazuru Peninsular. … Read more →
Do you know Hakone-yoseki-zaiku? This is a Japanese traditional craft of wood mosaic (marquetry). (This photo is cited from www.yoseki-honma.com/) Webmaster visited Honma Wood Mosaic Museum (Honma-yoseki-bijutsukan). It is a small private museum run by Honma Mokkosho which is one of the craft studios of Hakone Wood Mosaic. Access: Tokyo (shinkansen 0:37, or local train 1:15) Odawara… Read more →
Sawanoi Kushi-kanzashi Museum (Sawanoi Kushi-kanzashi Bijutsukan) is a museum which has comprehensive collection of traditional Japanese hair ornaments. (Introduction of the museum cited from its website) On display at Kushi-kanzashi Museum are what the late Chiyo Okazaki had collected for 40 years. The collection includes about 4,000 pieces of hair accessories as well as clothing, accessories and livingware of… Read more →