The God of Rice – a Fushimi-Inari pilgrimage.
From the beginning of time we humans have worshipped mountains. They are the highest and most impressive elements of any …
Category Archives: Japan
Kyoto’s Magical Mountain – hiking from Kurama to Kibune
18 March 2019 I really wanted to hike the Nakasendō, a 534-kilometre ancient highway between Kyoto and Edo (Tokyo). It …
The Harbinger of Spring – plum blossoms at Kyoto’s shrines
12-25 March 2019 I’m either too early or too late. The best time to see the wisteria in Tokyo is …
Here Be Dragons – Kiyomizudera Temple and the Seiryū-e Festival, Kyoto
13-14 March 2019 It begins with a long mournful drone on conch shells. The sound fills the air like a …
A Moving Work Of Art – a glimpse into the world of the geisha
A short anecdote about childhood curiosity: When I was ten years old and living in Melbourne, I was in a …
You Can’t Trust the Man Behind the Bar; food and fashion in Kyoto
11-26 March 2019 After thirty hours of non-stop travel from Delhi we finally arrive at our Airbnb in the Gion …
Kyoto By The Sea: Amanohashidate and Ine
20 March 2019. The houses are lined along the shore like soldiers, creating an organic seam that joins the sea …
Japan – the Untold Stories
27 April-16 May 2018. Trains I’m on a train from suburban Fuchu heading back to my hostel in Central Tokyo …
The Gorgeous Golden Heart and Soul of Nikko: the Tōshō-gū Shrine
2 May 2018. I met a man on the train going to the Shibazakura Festival. He bragged about being a …
What’s my problem?! Arashiyama is touristy but still has much to offer.
14 May 2018. I take the train past the stop for Arashiyama and travel on to Kameoka. I’d read that …
The Ordinary and the Extraordinary: Kyoto’s Kitchen and the Hollyhock Festival
9-15 May 2018. From the outside it looks like you’re entering a dark tunnel that goes on forever. Even though …
Japan’s Imperial Heart: walking the streets of Kyoto
9-15 May 2018. Kyoto is old, but she is no old dame. She is an ancient goddess in a flowing …
Kimonos-Weddings-Geisha: the streets of Kyoto
10-15 May 2018. I have six full days in Kyoto but I lose two of them. I lose the first …
The Red and the Gold – Kyoto’s Fushimi Inari Shrine and the Golden Pavilion.
9-15 May 2018. In 1950 a disturbed 22-year-old novice monk burned down the five-hundred–year-old Rokuon-ji Temple in Kyoto, and then …
