Webmaster had a short visit to the terraced paddy field of Kamo (Kamo-tanada) in Tokamachi City, Niigata Prefecture in the free time during his business trip. In fact, there are many terraced paddy field (tanada) in Uonuma area including Tokamachi City. Kamo-tanada is one of them. Access: Tokyo (shinkansen 1:25) Echigo-yuzawa (local train 0:45) Matsudai (taxi 0:10) @ A… Read more →
Webmaster overnighted at Narita on his business trip last week, and had a short visit to Shinsho-ji Temple early in the morning before starting his duty. Access: Tokyo (local train 1:10) Narita (walk 0:15) @ Somon Gate at the entrance. The second Niomon Gate can be seen from Somon Gate. Niomon Gate. After… 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 →
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 →