Time and again visitors to Japan are lured into booking their hotel through familiar sources, whether those be the website of a Western hotel with branches in Japan, or through online travel sites which do the searching for you (and whose search results are frequently Western hotels with branches in Japan). Let’s not deny it:…
The variety of trains and train companies in Japan can seem complex to visitors, and I’m not going to lie to you: it is. What it isn’t is impossible, and fortunately I am a huge train nerd, so buckle in and I’ll walk you through it. Train Companies The main operator is Japan Rail, or…
As is traditional with shrines and temples, the road to Dazaifu Tenmangū is lined with shops and restaurants. This grew from the need to provide those on pilgrimages with supplies, and so stalls sprung up selling everything from buns to sandals, and over the centuries this has grown. You may have heard of the Starbucks…
Dazaifu Tenmangū is a large shrine complex in the town of Dazaifu, Fukuoka, dedicated to Sugawara no Michizane. As you may recall from my post on the Yushima Tenmangū, Sugawara was a Heian-era scholar and poet who was, after his death, deified as Tenjin. Sugawara was born in Kyoto in 845, and was writing poetry…
Kurashiki is a city in Okayama Prefecture, about two hours west of Osaka by train. Within it, along the canal, is the Bikan Historical Quarter where many buildings are preserved in their Edo Period state to show what the city was like two hundred years ago. The city has even gone so far as to…
Himeji Castle is staggeringly beautiful. I’m not prone to hyperbole – in fact, if anything, my English nature tends toward understatement more often than not. When I say, then, that Himeji Castle is one of the finest castles left standing anywhere in the world, I really do mean it. The downside? Well, I’m afraid Himeji-jō…
For a shrine which was once so important, Hie Jinja is remarkably… unremarkable. It receives few foreign visitors, and seems relatively new. The first clue to its magnitude is the vast quantity of names and nicknames it has; it’s not uncommon for a shrine so big as Sensōji to have a couple of alternative names,…
Most people like to collect a few souvenirs on holiday, and in Japan there’s an almost bewildering selection of things to buy everywhere you go. But don’t overlook the souvenir you’ll be given every place you go: the humble admission ticket. Japan doesn’t seem to do the humble variety of admission ticket, though. Not to…
Yushima Tenmangū, also known as Yushima Tenjin, is a small shrine in the Bunkyō Ward of Tōkyō which is dedicated to Sugawara no Michizane, a Heian Period scholar and poet. Deified after his death as the kami Tenman-Tenjin (often shortened to Tenjin), there are many shrines across the country dedicated to him, and the Yushima…
There’s a fantastic way to see Tōkyō, and hardly anyone outside of Japan seems to know about it. Well, it’s time that changed, because the Suijo Bus “Tokyo River Cruise” is fantastic, and if you have the time and like to slow down once in a while, you should really give it a try. I’d…
Troo Adventure 