Kusatsu Onsen, nestled in the mountains of northwestern Gunma prefecture, is one of the most famous hot spring resorts in Japan. Go there on a typical weekend and the quaint city center is transformed into a swarming marketplace, teeming with smiling Japanese tourists Ð some clad in yukata Ð ready to go onsen-hopping in one…

It’s always better to have expectations crushed right at the start, to ascend from zero appreciation of a new destination. In the case of Kurashiki, there’s certainly nothing outstanding about the cheesy area facing the station’s south exit. The north exit is only a little more promising, with the painted walls and turrets of Kurashiki…

In Paris’ ultra-chic First Arrondissement, 26 Rue Cambon is an address that represents the culmination of one young girl’s dreams Рfantastic and beautiful dreams that began at a time when the world was enveloped in death and destruction. Only a stone’s throw from fashionable Place Vendome and across the street from a Chanel boutique, bridal…

Truckloads of tourists are expected to head to Tohoku during the first weekend of September to witness the annual kokeshi festival. Kokeshi are traditional Japanese dolls that are handmade from wood. The doll’s head is enlarged in comparison to its torso and a few thin lines are included to define its facial features. The body…

Since the publication in English of Yukio Mishima’s 1954 The Sound of Waves, an uncharacteristically romantic novel of young love flowering on an islet in the Seto Naikai, there has been a fondness for visualizing the Inland Sea and its islands of olives, oranges, sunburnt fisherfolk, and midday siestas, as somehow Mediterranean in flavor, its…

It’s absolutely mandatory to look good on your wedding day. In fact, even that may not be enough. While guests are ultimately bound to forget what hors-d’oeuvre they received with their glass of champagne upon arriving at the reception, they are sure to remember how the bride and groom were dressed on the day. And…

Thousands of people from across the nation are expected to gather in Tokushima on Shikoku Island from August 12-15 to participate in the super-hyper Awa Odori festivities. The four-day festival is part of Bon festivities, which are held to welcome oneﾕs ancestors back to this world for a few days. The dance dates back to…

It’s probably safe to assume Kaname Matsumoto had not seen the 1989 flick Field of Dreams when he nailed together his first wooden structures on the dusty parking lot of his refrigeration warehouse 16 years ago. Nevertheless, the energetic 64-year-old had decided to adopt a very similar mantra to the one followed by Kevin Costner’s…

According to the Shitamachi Museum, the area of Tokyo known as “Shitamach”, less a physical entity to many than a state of mind, comprises the actual districts of Fukagawa, Honjo, Asakusa, Shitaya, Nihonbashi, Kyobashi and Kanda. That said, the exact boundaries of this area are still contested. Geographically, for example, the Ginza lies within the…

Kosuke Kitajima certainly has presence, so much so that on meeting him my hands unexpectedly shake as I fumble for my business card. It is the way he walks, the way he stands, the way his white Coca-Cola training suit does little to conceal his evident strength Ð an aura totally at odds with his…