Senses and Sensibility
The Taste Say “beans” at home and people will think of baked potatoes, or toast, or pies and chips, and inevitable flatulence. It’s very different in Japan. Here, beans are immediately associated with sweets. You find the stuff everywhere: in the middle of pancakes, in buns, served in restaurants, in shops, with green tea… It’s ...
Sight Beyond Sight
Often towns specialise in a certain product because nature makes it easy for them. Take Arita back in sleepy Saga prefecture. It exploded because of an enormous mine which made pottery craft a cinch. Once something becomes easy, it’s only a matter of time and dedication before it transforms into expertise. On the surface, there’s no ...
A Happy Monday
They say prefecture 46, Fukui, is the happiest in Japan. If that’s the case, then it’s true in spite of the weather. Winter here consists of snow, sleet, hail and rain, usually within a few minutes of each other. Still, the people are happy – it’s a very different place in summer, apparently. Historically, though, ...
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On Top of a Mountain, All Covered in Trees
Art collectors aren’t unique to Japan, nor are world class exhibitions of art. But one thing I’ve never encountered before is the desire to take these rare, extremely valuable items away from major cities and move them out to obscure, rural locations. That, I think, is quite peculiar to Japan. We first found this sort ...
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In Fair Kyoto Where We Lay Our Scene
Zen Meditation It’s fair to say I’ve got a lot on my mind at the moment. Our great Japanese adventure is drawing to a close. The unmanageably massive question of “what next?” needs to be answered. I have an impending job interview. I don’t yet know what I’m going to get my mother for Christmas. ...
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Follow the White Rabbit
These days, unless you’ve got a degree in history, and a PHD in archaeology and an agreement with the Department of Antiquities and half a dozen other bits of paper, then it’s unlikely you’re going to be a bonafide treasure hunter. Of course, 100 years ago it was very different: people – moneyed Europeans and ...
Ready? Go! and Rock Wishes
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve written: “[thing] wasn’t actually invented in Japan, but arrived from China” or words to that effect. This morning we discovered another one, an ancient Asian board game that was first known as weiqi (in China), then baduk (in Korea) or and finally go (Japan). The rules seem ...
China Town
If you’re going to go for something, don’t hold back. Take a leaf out Arita’s book. Four hundred years ago, it became a porcelain hub and now, well the entire place is beautifully breakable. There are porcelain fittings for light switches, porcelain dolls to mark out the ladies and gents bathrooms, odd chunks of broken ...
Something Old, Something New
It’s gives a person perspective, does the Travel Volunteer Project. Perspective with which to look across the country and decide what you do and don’t like; what you do and don’t find impressive. For example, having been in Matsumoto, Kochi and Matsuyama castles – one quarter of Japan’s remaining original castles – I can say ...
Come Rain or Shrine
In general the weather in Japan has been amazing for us. It feels like 90% of the days have been gloriously sunny, temperate and wonderful for pictures. Today was not one of those days – and I think it felt all the more dreich because the rest have been so good. Yesterday, the gloomy weather ...
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