Omamori – what are they? What does it mean? What do I keep mentioning them at every shrine in every travel blog post? Well it’s probably about time I explained what these beautiful little things are. Omamori are commonplace in traditional Japanese culture, and if you get the opportunity to travel the Land of the …
Welcome back to the final instalment in the mini-series on my top Japanese locations! If you haven’t yet, make sure you check out the first two posts on Okayama and Tottori! This week I will introduce you to my absolute favourite place in Japan, situated at the top of Mt. Kōya in Wakayama. Wakayama prefecture …
The Hare of Inaba is considered to be Japan’s first love story, and comes from the ancient Japanese ‘records’, known as Kojiki. The Kojiki chronicled many ancient myths, legends, and traditions, as well as the origins of the Japanese landscape, kami, and lineage of the Japanese imperial family. 古事記 (こじき) kojiki = lit. ‘Records of …
Happy Children’s Day! In Japan, Golden week is coming to a close with the final national holiday, Children’s Day. To learn a bit more about it, you can read our blog post all about Golden Week in Japan! In honour of this national holiday – and everlasting boredom – we thought we would share some …
Following our recent post on visiting Okayama prefecture, today I will share my latest recommendation from the mini-series! Tottori prefecture has a long history: settlements first appeared in the prehistoric period and have been fought over and under rule of various clans. In fact, the prefecture belongs to the same region (Chūgoku-chihō) as Okayama, and …
Japan is a notoriously beautiful country, with vistas varying from the snowy mountains of Hokkaido, to the tropical islands of Okinawa. There’s plenty to see and do, and I’m sure you already have cities like Tokyo, Kyoto, and Hiroshima on your list! I wholeheartedly recommend visiting these places, but I thought I would also share …
If I asked you what comes to mind when you think of Japanese culture you might say kimono-wearing geisha, anime, manga, sumo-wrestling, and sushi. While of course these are significant and popular parts of the culture, there is so much more to discover – much of which I hadn’t even heard of until I lived …
What is a Goshuinchō? The Japanese Book of Seals Read More »
