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Follow Arashiyama’s Kimono Forest to a Relaxing Foot bath

Arashiyama is perhaps best known for its Bamboo Grove, but there's another forest by the station that’s eye-catching in an altogether different way. During renovations of the Arashiyama Randen Station in 2013, artist Yasumichi Morita was tasked with creating an art installation...

Japanese Hot Pot Guide – Sukiyaki and Shabu Shabu

shabu shabu nabe sukiyaki
Many types of nabemono 鍋物 or hot pot dishes exist as part of Japanese cuisine and nabe is one of the most pleasant ways to eat with a group of friends or family. The ingredients can be as unrestrictive as yosenabe, a...

Japanese Table Manners: A Full Guide

Dining Sushi in Japan
Table manners vary between all countries across the world. Even nations that are culturally similar, like the UK and US, have different attitudes when it comes to what flies during meal times. This means that, as travellers, we’re always learning and maybe...

The Curious Dosojin Statues of Nozawa Onsen

Walking around Nozawa Onsen village, you might start to wonder what’s up with all the statues. It seems like everywhere you turn, you’re met by two crudely drawn faces upon wooden poles. Though they look a little...

Ikana-akan! Osaka’s Unmissable Tenjin Matsuri.

Since time immemorial, Japanese sensibility has lionised the transient events in life. Soon after the cherry blossoms bloom, they softly fall. The umber leaves of Autumn so quickly turn to dust. And Osaka's explosive, beer-fuelled Tenjin Matsuri only comes once a year....

Feel the Summer Breeze with Hyogo’s Decorative Ornamental Ferns

Come the first spurt of hot sunshine and 30-degree-Celsius weather, you will unmistakably start seeing tsurishinobu, a type of ornamental hanging fern bought in the summer period (June into July). A craft believed to...

How To Visit a Shinto Shrine (Jinja)

Many of Japan’s traditions and ideas are unfamiliar to those outside of Japan, particularly when it comes to religion and the etiquette around visiting temples and shrines. As there are jinja (Shinto shrines) and kami (gods) throughout Japan, read on to learn how to...

What are Jinja? Places of Worship Infused with Nature’s Energy

Japanese regard the sea, the mountains, the forest, and natural landmarks as places where the kami reside. In ancient times, these were regarded as sacred places, without the need for special buildings, as the kami were believed to exist everywhere. Later, dwellings...

Matsuri, the Sacred Rituals of Prayers and Festivities

Since ancient times, Japanese have gathered at sacred places — a great boulder or ancient tree — to commune with the kami. There, they made offerings and prayed for the safety and prosperity of their communities. This is the origin of the...

Kami, the Divine Powers of Nature

Since ancient times, Japanese have expressed the divine energy or life-force of the natural world as kami. Those derived from nature — such as the kami of rain, of wind, of the mountains, of the sea, and the kami of thunder —...

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