Are these art or merely playful installations? Ultimately, it doesn’t really matter that much as long as it stimulates the imagination. In a country that has lost its appetite for silence, an unremitting commentary typically accompanies the ferry trip from Takamatsu to Nao-shima, a small island in the Inland Sea. Once on terra firma, things…

Gift giving in Japan is a part of the culture that is much fretted over and largely misunderstood. For westerners, the fear of getting it wrong is a very real and pressing concern, but are we reading too much into it, asks Roddy Charles? Cubic Water Melons Walking into someone’s house with your great, big,…

Warm up your festive season with our guide to preparing mulled wine ‘Tis the season to be jolly, and there is no better way to celebrate than enjoying a glass of mulled wine (excluding the obvious and more traditional methods of spending time with family, giving/receiving presents and convincing your daughter that Santa /does/ exist)….

Writing an article about Craig Mod is quite a challenge, considering how deliberate and careful he is with the content he produces. His homepage stands out from other blogs with beautiful typography, pro-quality photos, and elegant prose composed during retreats into the mountains. Currently a self-employed designer, developer, and publisher, his latest project saw him…

The Wonderful Season of Christmas Cakes in Japan To many Japanese, the image of Christmas is a winter wonderland cloaked in a blanket of white whipped cream, accented by shrubs of succulent strawberries. Indeed, without religious connotations, Christmas in Japan is a holiday that centers on serving a special cake for dessert. In 1910, confectionery…

The exact location of Tamagasuku is difficult to pin down, at least at first glance. A generic name for the original core village, a number of geographical features, historical ruins and a couple of decent beaches have been added to the mix. A good place to start might be the modest town hall, as this…

If you were to ask 100 people the first food that pops into their head when they think about Japan, it’s a safe bet most would give you the same answer: Sushi. From its humble beginnings as a street snack during the Edo period, to the evolution of the California roll in Los Angeles during…

“The neat, tremendous garden of Japan” These Horned Islands, James Kirkup Having a theme while you travel always adds texture and depth to a journey. In the case of Japan, there are various options. You could, for example, base your trip around the peregrinations of the country’s more serendipitous writers, like Fumiko Hayashi, Ihara Saikaku,…

With the scarcity of vegetarian (not to mention vegan) food in the majority of mainstream Japanese eateries, it may be a little difficult to believe that vegetarian cuisine has a long history in Japan, one which spans back centuries, has deep cultural and religious ties and is still highly respected and revered in select spots…

Despite its national significance, and boasting a history of over 2000 years, it would be natural to consider sake as “kokushu,” or Japan’s national brew. Yet surprisingly the government only designated it as such in 2012, when the then Minister of State for National Policy launched a program and policies to promote exports of sake…