Most of Onomichi’s temples have a little real estate, but Senkoji, a symbol of the town, clings to the rock like a barnacle. Scarlet-lacquered and by far the most colorful of the temples you’ll pass in Onomichi, the temple is said to date to the year 806.
Senkoji belongs to the Shingon sect, and ...
Travel in Japan is pleasant, convenient, and far less expensive than many people think. But for many foreigners, going to the toilet will present a series of riddles and provocations they may not be prepared for.
Picture the weary traveler, fresh off a plane and stumbling to the urinal in some pu...
Fukuyama Castle, with its moon viewing tower and watchtower, stands guard on a hill overlooking the city of Fukuyama. The original castle was completed by in 1622 by Mizuno Katsunari, a hereditary Tokugawa lord, and its five-tiered tower made it one of the most important castles in western Japan. De...
Some time in the eighties, and into the nineties, sushi suddenly became a status dish in North America. Similar to Wine Appreciation for an earlier generation, sushi became almost overnight a culinary shibboleth separating the in-crowd from the In-N-Out crowd. Although the situation is improving dai...
One of the most widely recognized structures in Japan, the brilliant red Otorii gate of Itsukushima Shrine stands in the sea about 200 meters out from the shrine itself. At high tide, the Otorii straddles the waves. When the water recedes, visitors stroll out across the tidal flats to press coins in...
Innoshima is a small island in the Seto Inland Sea, and from the Muromachi through the Sengoku eras was the stronghold for one of the three main branches of the powerful Murakami family.Ten forts were constructed around the island’s perimeter, with a mountain castle at the center to supervise the fo...
In 1620 Hiroshima's ruling Asano family ordered construction of a garden for their second home on the Kyobashigawa River, east of Hiroshima Castle. The garden was designed by the family's senior retainer, the renowned tea master Soko Ueda. Itfs often said that Ueda modeled the garden on Chinafs Xi H...
People in Hiroshima are proud of their streetcars, and will tell you so. The city is the last in Japan to maintain an extensive streetcar system, and many of the trains are old cars purchased when other Japanese cities discontinued or downsized their own streetcar lines.
The streetcar terminal is...
A bout 90 minutes east of Hiroshima city on the local JR Kure train line, visitors will arrive at Takehara Station. If you intend to spend some time in Hiroshima prefecture, Takehara is definitely worth a daytrip.
Located along the Honkawa River, Takehara’s interesting history still shows in the ...
If you set out on foot from the Ropeway terminal at the top of Mt. Misen, youfll find the Reika-do Hall.
According to legend, this is the spot where the great monk Kobo Daishi performed ascetic practices in the year 806 AD. The founder of Shingon Buddhism, he is also called Kukai in Japan. Kukai i...
New Year’s Day is far and away the most important holiday in Japan. Activities undertaken on January 1st are thought to have repercussions throughout the coming year. Most Japanese will visit a shrine or temple shortly after New Year’s, many at the stroke of midnight, to pray for renewed prosperit...
The Chugoku district consists of five prefectures located in western Japan. The climates of the Sanin area (The Eurasian continent side) and the Sanyo area (on the Seto Inland Sea side) are totally different, but both regions have beautiful seasonal scenery, delicious seafood and vegetables, and le...
The Peace Memorial Park and Museum are a part of any trip to Hiroshima, and the city's most widely recognized symbol is the Atomic Bomb Dome. It's a sobering sight, as is the rubble field around its perimeter, a reminder of what six square kilometers of downtown looked like following the blast. The ...
Tsukemen is cold ramen-style noodles with a dipping sauce on the side. The version most popular in Hiroshima, typified by shops like Bakudan, uses an angry red, fiery dipping sauce that can be adjusted from relatively mild to idiotic. Many Hiroshima natives claim this as a local dish. Many peopl...
The original Mori Terumoto was established in 1589 by Mori Terumoto, with construction carried out throughout the 1590's. Also called the Rijo, or Carp Castle, it was long considered an exceptional example of the flatlands castle, and was guarded by three moats, one of which remains.
Beginning i...
