Uncover Japan

04/12/2024

Tokyo’s ginkgo trees really transform the cityscape when they start turning their golden color in late autumn.

A beautiful place to enjoy the colors is the Nezu Shrine, where some of the shrine buildings date back to 1705. The shrine is also famous for its tunnel of torii gates.

19/11/2024

The Komoro Castle Ruins are an atmospheric and accessible place for foliage viewing along Nagano’s Shinano Rail line.

The main foliage is at the Kaikoen, a park that houses the old stone walls of Komoro Castle, originally built in the early 1600s. The old castle grounds are covered maple trees and one large ginkgo, which mostly peak in early to mid-November.

Kaikoen is a 3 minute walk from Komoro Station on the Shinano Rail line. From Komoro, you can connect to shinkansen at either Karuizawa or Sakudaira in under 30 minutes.

13/11/2024

Here are some scenes from a recent day trip I took from Tokyo to Shirakawa, a small city in Fukushima prefecture. Easily reached by shinkansen from Tokyo, the city offers a small castle, a beautiful traditional garden, an atmospheric shrine, daruma dolls and friendly locals.

Photos include:
🍁 Nanko Park and Suirakuen Garden
⛩️ Nanko Shrine
🏯 Komine Castle
✨ Daruma-themed products

10/11/2024

The Fuji Five Lakes region is arguably the most famous spot in Yamanashi Prefecture for foliage … and also the most crowded.

For those with a car and a desire to escape the beaten path, head instead for the Hokuto region of Yamanashi.

The post features the following sites:
🍁 Lake Mizugaki
🍁 Mizugakiyama Natural Park
🍁 Mizugaki Shokujidokoro
🍁 Higashizawa Bridge
🍁 Utsukushi Forest Deck

All photos taken on November 08, 2024 (©️Uncover Japan).

30/10/2024

🍂Autumn at Chichibu Muse Park🍂

Some of the first foliage in the Kanto region (Tokyo area) can be enjoyed at Saitama’s Chichibu Muse park. There, in the sprawling 375 hectare park, most of the 3-kilometer long Sky Road is lined with ginkgo trees.

You can walk the path or enjoy a ride in the mini train that chugs along the same route. A few stands offering simple food and drinks set up next to the Parthenon stage and Muse Park Chuo bus stop.

The trees usually peak around the end of October but it’s always wise to check the park’s website for up-to-date info.

The ginkgo trees are best reached by bus (get off at the Muse Park Chuo stop) or taxi (around ¥2300) from Seibu Chichibu station). You can get to Seibu Chichibu station in about 80 minutes from Ikebukuro Station (NW section of Tokyo) on the very comfortable LaView limited express train for a highly reasonable price.

Photos taken on Oct 30, 2024.

#紅葉

24/10/2024

This is the last call to sign up for this Saturday's Highlights of Ginza excursion! Come hear about the two events that revolutionized the neighborhood, discover hidden shrines, learn the history of two famous sweet treats and see what makes the facade of Ginza 6 so unique. It's the perfect educational stroll to start off your weekend!

Details and registration at the link below:
https://www.uncover-japan.com/groupexcursions/ginza

20/10/2024

One of my favorite things about Okinawa is its unique food culture. Instead of sushi and ramen, traditional meals here center around local pork, fresh fruits and unique seaweeds. The post war American influence means favorites like taco rice and Blue Seal ice cream are also part of the culinary culture.

Here are some of Okinawa’s unique dishes and flavors:

Photo 1: Goya champuru (stir fry of bitter gourd, tofu, bean sprouts and sometimes spam)
Photo 2: Okinawa soba (wheat noodles served in hot broth with pork slices or spareribs and fish cake)
Photo 3: Taco rice (ground beef, cheese, lettuce and tomato over rice)
Photo 4: Mozuku (seaweed served in vinegar)
Photo 5: Jimami Tofu (peanut tofu with sauce)
Photo 6: Rafutei (slices of pork belly cooked in brown sugar and soy sauce)
Photo 7: Beni-imo ice cream (purple sweet potato that flavors many desserts and snacks)
Photo 8: Shikuwasa (local citrus that flavors many drinks and snacks)
Photo 9: Andagi (okinawan donuts made with brown sugar)

12/10/2024

The Sanmachi area in Takayama (Gifu Prefecture) is a district of preserved homes and shops, retaining the feel of the Edo Period (1603-1868). The town is home to sake breweries, gift shops, artisans, restaurants featuring Hida beef and more.

Here are a few photos from around Takayama’s historic streets.

10/10/2024

While most visitors to the Hida region head straight for Takayama or Shirakawago, those seeking a quieter alternative should add Hida Furukawa to their itinerary.

Just a short 20 minute train ride from Takayama, Hida Furukawa is known for its white-walled storehouses and water channels filled with colorful carp (koi).

Hida Furukawa grew as a castle town in the 1500s. In the Edo period (1603-1868), it made its money from local timber and the woodworking skills of the local population became quite well-known. The town is still famous for its carpentry, particularly the cloud patterns under the eaves of homes and temples.

One must-visit place in Hida Furukawa is the Mishima Candle store. It’s a small place but if 7th generation owner Junji Mishima is around, he’ll happily talk to you about candle making while demonstrating his techniques. Despite some language barriers, he is always up for a chat!

Hida Furukawa is reached easily by local train and is also a stop on the limited express train that connects Takayama to Toyama and Nagoya.

29/09/2024

There are a few more spots on the Ochanomizu Arts and Anime walk tomorrow (Tuesday, October 1st). Flying plum trees, dream eaters, spy towers, headless gods, origami … there are lots of great stories on this one. Find out more at the link below and sign up by 8pm tonight!

On this special winter edition of the tour, we’ll start with a visit to a shrine with a lovely plum grove. We’ll also an origami center, a venerable shrine with unique prayer plaques, and a train station that’s living out a second life as a collection of hip boutique shops. Hear stories of fly...

25/09/2024

As always seems to happen in September, I started making plans for autumn adventures and found myself feeling a little homesick for Kumamoto.

Back when I lived in Kumamoto, one of my favorite things to do in September was to make the drive to rural Yamato-cho to see the stunning water discharge display from the Tsujun Bridge (Tsujunkyo), Japan’s largest stone-arch aqueduct. Though the bridge was damaged in the earthquakes of 2016, the water is once more flowing.

The area around here is a riot of color in late September, with bright red spider lilies and golden stalks of rice waiting to be cut and harvested. You can walk the trails (don’t miss the “hidden” waterfall on the hill behind the bridge), see a water discharge on weekends and just enjoy the scenery of rural Japan. Parking is available in a lot located a short walk from the bridge.

18/09/2024

Just a few days left to sign up for the Ryogoku Sumo Walk! Join me this Saturday (September 21st) to learn all about this historic neighborhood that is home to Tokyo’s iconic sumo stadium. See the birthplace of sushi as we know it, hear stories of samurai attacks and sad tales of earthquake disasters, and take part in the ever-entertaining sumo quiz.

For more info or to register, see the link below:

https://www.uncover-japan.com/groupexcursions/ryogoku-sumo-town-jan20

17/09/2024

I’m so excited to share two projects I’ve been working on for the past few months … the Tokyo and Kyoto Autumn Foliage Guides!

Those of you who have followed me for awhile may know that I’m a self-proclaimed “foliage junkie”. I spend each autumn on a hunt for my favorite leaf peeping spots. And after ten years (and a few thousand photos 😉), I’ve taken the best of the best and bundled it into these two guides. One covers Tokyo and dips into its neighboring prefectures; the other focuses on Kyoto’s many temple gardens along with spots outside the city and in neighboring Shiga and Nara prefectures.

You can see a preview of the guides in the Uncover Japan shop. There’s also a special sale on until the end of October so don’t miss out!

https://www.uncover-japan.com/shop

13/09/2024

It’s almost time for Tsukimi (or O-Tsukimi). It’s known as moon viewing but among my walking participants it’s also become the “what’s with all the rabbits?” holiday. ☺️

This autumn celebration is akin to the Mid-autumn festival in other Asian countries, and is also known as Jugoya in Japan, tying it to the 15th day (jū-go nichi) of the 8th month of the old Japanese calendar. This year, Tsukimi will officially fall on September 17th.

Over the weekend, we enjoyed a full moon for the autumn harvest in Japan, which meant it was time for tsukimi, or moon viewing. This event is also known as Jugoya, and bears a similarity to the mid autumn moon festival in China and Southeast Asia.

Tsukimi is marked by the eating of tsukimi dango, white mochi dumplings in the shape of the full moon. Another symbol commonly seen is susuki (pampas grass) to mark the harvest.

And don’t forget the rabbits. Why rabbits? The Japanese believe the craters on the moon resemble not a man, but a rabbit pounding mochi. (It’s tricky but tilt your head to the right to look at the craters on the moon, and you can juuuust pick out his ears and body.)

Public events for tsukimi are few and far between, but usually, the traditional garden of Mukojima Hyakkaen stays open until 9pm, with moon viewing related activities.

01/09/2024

Today, September 1st, is the anniversary of one of the most devastating earthquakes to strike the city of Tokyo. On this date in 1923, at two minutes to noon, a violent jolt shook the Tokyo region. A 7.9 magnitude earthquake had struck and would last in duration for an estimated 4-10 minutes. The disaster would soon come to be known as the Great Kanto Earthquake.

The timing couldn’t have been worse on all fronts. At two minutes to noon, many people were in their homes, cooking lunch. The flames from their stoves would spread to the tightly packed wooden buildings, particularly in Tokyo’s old Low City - or Sh*tamachi - neighborhoods. Winds from a typhoon passing just south of Tokyo would fan those flames and cause a three day conflagration throughout the city.

One of the neighborhoods most affected was Honjo, which encompassed present day Ryogoku, among other districts. In an unassuming park in current day Ryogoku, around 40,000 people lost their lives in the fires sweeping through the city.

I tell this story on my upcoming Ryogoku tours (see link in bio for more info), but if you can’t make a tour, you can learn more about this tragic part of history - and another tragic event 20+ years later - at the Tokyo Memorial Hall (see photo) and the Great Kanto Earthquake Memorial Museum, both in Ryogoku’s Yokoamicho Park.

19/08/2024

August isn’t typically a notable time in Japan’s flower calendar but if you’re in Tokyo this month, you may find yourself stumbling across the colorful crepe myrtle tree.

Crepe myrtle has some great names in Japanese. One is “sarusuberi” (さるすべり), which literally means “monkey slippery”. It’s believed to have gotten its name from the tree’s incredibly smooth bark.

The second name is “hyakujitsuko” (百日紅), which basically means “blooming for 100 days”. It’s a slight exaggeration but these flowers will last for several months, from August into early October.

Crepe myrtle trees can be found in a few colors, mainly white and shades of pink. In Tokyo, one of my favorite spots to enjoy them is the Kyu Yasuda Garden in Ryogoku.

09/08/2024

It’s almost Mountain Day! August 11th is the newest public holiday on the Japanese calendar, established back in 2016. Like Marine Day and Greenery Day, it’s vague purpose is to honor Japan’s mountainous terrain … but really, it’s the chance to extend the mid-August Obon holiday a bit.

Japan is indeed a mountainous country - almost 3/4 of the country is covered in mountains. Mt Fuji is Japan’s most iconic peak, rising above the plains to a height of 3776 meters (12,388 feet).

But Mt Fuji is just one of Japan’s hyakumeizan, or 100 famous mountains. This list of notable peaks was decided on in the 1960s by Japanese mountaineer Kyuya Fukuda. While some are famous peaks, like Mt Fuji, others are less well-known. Included in the list of 100 peaks are even some Mt Fuji lookalikes, like Mt Yotei in Hokkaido and Mt Kaimon in Kagoshima.

Japan’s summer weather is too hot for me to enjoy my usual hikes in the hills around Tokyo so I can’t wait to welcome autumn again and get back out on the trails!

Photo 1: Mt Fuji
Photo 2: Mountains on Yakushima
Photo 3: Climbing Mt Tanigawa (Gunma)
Photo 4: Mt Daisen and surrounding peaks (Tottori)

29/07/2024

🔘Manhole Monday: Akita🔘

It’s almost time for the famous summer festivals of Tohoku and this manhole cover from Akita gets me in the perfect mood.

There are so many summer festivals to choose from in Japan, but one of my favorite events is the Kanto Matsuri in Akita city. Here, teams balance long bamboo poles with dozens of lanterns, resting the pole ends in various positions (on their palm, forehead, shoulder, etc). The daily competitions are impressive, but I loved the night parade, when all the teams are out showing off their skills.

Kanto Matsuri is held annually from August 3rd-August 6th.