Top Trees Gyaruzakura Ichinomiya-cho, Gifu Prefecture, located near Takayama, a one-minute walk from Hidaichinomiya station on the Takayama line. Prime Time: Mid to late April. Named for its unique shape, which resembles a dragon lying on the ground, this tree is over 1,100 years old. Jindaizakura Jissou-ji, Yamataka, Mukawa-mura, Kitakoma-gun, Yamanashi (Jissou-ji Temple: 0551-262-740). Prime…

The Puck Stops Here! For those hockey nuts that are jonesing for an ice fix, there is hope for you in Japan; the Asia Ice Hockey League (AHL). Not to be confused with the American Hockey League, the AHL has been around for years in many different incarnations, the latest, following the expansion of the…

When you stop to consider how many travel accounts have been written about destinations like Spain, India, Africa, Central Asia and Russia, Japan is not a country that springs to mind. Native travel writing in particular, is not something we automatically associate with Japan, but this is often because very few works of travel are…

Most people find it hard to believe considering gloves, scarves and woolly hats are still compulsory attire when venturing outside but February 3 actually marks the last day of winter in Japan. The occasion is celebrated with a nationwide festival known as Setsubun, which is traditionally held to mark New Yearﾕs Eve under the old…

Of the previous generation of Japanese designers, Iwaya has the most respect for Hanae Mori because she was the first to have a haute couture collection in Paris.  Besides, I consider myself a believer in the traditional sense of high fashion like Mori, unlike Yamamoto or Kawakubo, who are more anti-fashion renegades. But I think…

The worldﾕs first gardens may well have been made of coral. Natural clusters of underwater beauty that could be glimpsed through the glass of the water. Perfectly tone-coordinated balance and formed, they were refined to a degree that may have suggested the presence of the divine. Those living in the coral islands of Okinawa have…

When you pass someone on the street in Japan, how do you size them up as they pass by? Is it their clothes? Their gait? Their make-up? How about their hair? The cut, color, condition, and degree of styling of a personﾕs hair arguably give a more accurate picture of that person than what they…

New Year in Japan, as in many nations around the world, is about family, celebrations and looking ahead to the coming 12 months. Traditionally, families would spend the last few days putting their financial affairs in order, cleaning the home, and cooking enough to last them through several days of the shops being closed, prior…

2009 was a disappointing year sports-wise for two of the nation’s biggest teams, one in baseball, the other in soccer. In terms of the kick ‘n’ chase game, Urawa Reds of the J-League have long been seen as the most popular in the land. Games at their home stadium in Saitama are always a huge…

Donald Richie, passing through the seaport of Onomichi in the late sixties, described it at length in his magisterial, The Inland Sea. Noting the crescent of old wooden houses along the waterline, several of which are still there, he observed “Onomichi is from the sea a very Chinese-looking city, the houses emptying directly onto the…