Harrowing, haunting, thought-provoking and emotional – just a few of the adjectives that could be used to describe today. The main emotion though was untrammelled anger – anger at the people who made the decision to drop the first A-bomb over Hiroshima. The devastation and suffering it caused to civilians can not in any way be justified and seeing some of...
Tea …. that essentially British drink …. or? Actually the real history of tea is a Japanese (and Chinese) history – we just came along later and exploited it! Tea was grown in China, but quickly made its way through Zen Buddhist monks to Japan. The first documented evidence of tea in Japan comes from the 9th century and relates to a Buddhist monk...
The gate (torii) of Itsukushima Shrine is perhaps one of the most iconic views of Japan. The red gate to the shrine appears to float serenely on the water looking like a magical entrance to another land. In a sense it is another land as the island of Miyajima (known also as Itsukushima) has shrines almost littered around the landscape – some hovering over the...
Takayama is an oddity within Japan. The city takes up a larger area than Tokyo – a total of over 2,000 square kilometres and yet it only has a population of just over 88,000 compared to 14 million people in Tokyo. This gives it the lowest population density of any city in Japan. This quirk perhaps stems from the fact that Takayama is quite high in the Japanese...
Miso is a traditional Japanese seasoning and probably dates from medieval times, though it is not entirely clear exactly when it emerged as a staple ingredient. The taste, aroma, texture, and appearance of miso vary by region and season and different regions tend to use different combinations of the base products. Ishii Miso in Matsumoto produce miso using...
Today was a Mount Fuji day. We had been assured when we arrived at the Hakone Hotel that we could see Mount Fuji from our rooms, but with torrential rain and mist, it stayed resolutely hidden – something which it apparently does much of the time. The next morning though, the elements obliged and the iconic peak of Mount Fuji was visible in the distance poking...
Today was meant to be a very full day, but ‘best laid plans of mice and me ….’ and all that, meant that it was quite a quiet day. The plan had been to get the train from Shinjuku to Odawara and that part went well. In fact that part went like clockwork – the train left exactly when it was meant to and it arrived exactly when it was meant to...
There are lots of adjectives starting with ‘T’ which might be applied to Tokyo – thrilling, thriving, titillating, trenchant – but one which you definitely wouldn’t apply to most of the city is tranquil. The city teems with life and noise in the sense of people, traffic and activity. Our starting point today though was perhaps the one...
Landing in Tokyo Narita airport was an eye opener, or perhaps more accurately described as one of those landings best experienced with eyes closed. The pilot’s eyes might as well have been closed as they couldn’t see anything at all. Thanks to the (very) low cloud and mist, we were only aware of the runway when we touched down. An interesting way to...