In 1620 Hiroshima's ruling Asano family ordered construction of a garden for their second home on the Kyobashigawa River, east of Hiroshima Castle. The garden was designed by the family's senior retainer, the renowned tea master Soko Ueda. Itfs often said that Ueda modeled the garden on Chinafs Xi H...
Whether it’s the world’s busiest crosswalk at Shibuya or scenes of railway attendants using wooden bars to pack passengers onto the morning trains, many images of Japan focus on the urban frenzy of Tokyo or other cities. One of the biggest surprises awaiting many travelers to Japan, then, will be it...
Although its proper name is the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, the shattered ruins of the former Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall are known around the world as the Atomic Bomb Dome. Designed by a Czech architect and completed in 1915, the building was only 150 meters from the hypocenter wh...
Worried about fire walking? Understandable, but actually fire walking is practiced around the world, and has been for centuries. The present Guinness world record fire walker marched more than 91 meters over glowing coals in 2006, so your little hop over the embers at Daishoin shouldn't prove too di...
The original castle was established in 1589 by Mori Terumoto, with construction carried out throughout the 1590’s.
Also called the Rijo, or Carp Castle, it was long considered an exceptional example of the flatlands castle, and was guarded by three moats, one of which remains.
Beginning in the ...
In 1956, a group of citizens in Fukuyama planted 1,000 young roses in what had been Minami park with the intention healing wartime wounds. In time, it became a local practice among companies, schools and public offices to plant roses to mark various ceremonies and events. With additional gifts of ro...
One of the most widely recognized structures in Japan, the brilliant red Otorii gate of Itsukushima Shrine stands in the sea about 200 meters out from the shrine itself. At high tide, the Otorii straddles the waves. When the water recedes, visitors stroll out across the tidal flats to press coins in...
The Chugoku district consists of five prefectures located in western Japan. The climates of the Sanin area (The Eurasian continent side) and the Sanyo area (on the Seto Inland Sea side) are totally different, but both regions have beautiful seasonal scenery, delicious seafood and vegetables, and le...
The Kindness of Strangers
Most people who spend even a brief time in Japan come away with stories about the kindness of the Japanese people . This is especially true if you are obviously new and need help.
In the first segment of the Japan Lowdown section, Patrick tells a classic story of Japane...
Senkoji
Most of Onomichi’s temples have a little real estate, but Senkoji, a symbol of the town, clings to the rock like a barnacle. Scarlet-lacquered and by far the most colorful of the temples you’ll pass in Onomichi, the temple is said to date to the year 806.
Senkoji belongs to the Shingon s...
New Year’s Day is far and away the most important holiday in Japan. Activities undertaken on January 1st are thought to have repercussions throughout the coming year. Most Japanese will visit a shrine or temple shortly after New Year’s, many at the stroke of midnight, to pray for renewed prosperit...
People in Hiroshima are proud of their streetcars, and will tell you so. The city is the last in Japan to maintain an extensive streetcar system, and many of the trains are old cars purchased when other Japanese cities discontinued or downsized their own streetcar lines.
The streetcar terminal is...
If you set out on foot from the Ropeway terminal at the top of Mt. Misen, youfll find the Reika-do Hall.
According to legend, this is the spot where the great monk Kobo Daishi performed ascetic practices in the year 806 AD. The founder of Shingon Buddhism, he is also called Kukai in Japan. Kukai i...
Just a five-minute walk from Itsukushima Shrine, visitors will cross a wonderful little vermilion bridge over the Momijidani-gawa and enter Momijidani (Maple Valley) Park. This is a jewel of a park, filled with Japanese maples. In late autumn, the trees blaze with colors that put the shrines below t...
Before the Second World War, Hiroshima boasted the nation’s first concrete train station. Today Hiroshima station is operated by JR (Japan Rail) West, and is a hub for local trains and the Shinkansen, or bullet trains. All Sanyo Shinkansen trains stop in Hiroshima. Local trains carry travelers to va...
