Yokohama World Quilt Festival Made by the Hayashi Bōti University student collaboration True confession: These are not my favorites. The day after the show, I posted my absolute favorites over on my blog, Only in Japan. Here’s the link! (And if you don’t already subscribe, hey, you should! There’s a place to do that at the topContinueContinue reading “It’s Japanese quilt season!”
Category Archives: Seasonal Secret
The coolest summertime cafe in Japan
At Hiyoshi Taisha Shrine near Lake Biwa Is it still hot where you are, even though it’s September? It’s definitely still hot (and humid UGH) in Japan, and lately I’ve been dreaming of this cafe at the Hiyoshi Taisha shrine in Ōtsu. I’m feeling cooler already after we pass through the shady orange torii gateContinueContinue reading “The coolest summertime cafe in Japan”
What makes these crazy wisteria the most Japanese flower spectacle of all?
Wisteria at Odawara Castle Park It’s no secret that Japan produces some of the worlds’ most eyepopping flower extravaganzas—like, yeah, cherry blossom season—but there’s an especially Japanese kind of master gardening that you can only see during wisteria season. What makes these wisteria so special? 1 Like bonsai, wisteria take years and years to reachContinueContinue reading “What makes these crazy wisteria the most Japanese flower spectacle of all?”
Better cherry blossoms through science!
Nothing makes people more anxious than trying to guess the perfect time to go see cherry blossoms at their peak. But Japan has a fix for that! Projection mapping technology has been harnessed to turn it into an experience you truly can’t have anywhere else in the world. You can still enjoy the blooms theContinueContinue reading “Better cherry blossoms through science!”
Let’s try some weird only-in-Japan ways to stay warm in winter!
How do you keep from freezing in the season when most of Japan looks like this In Tokyo winter is mostly just a cute little season, but just a smidgen farther north, Japan is buried in freezing temps for months and you live in a house that’s insulation-challenged, if not downright colder inside than outside?ContinueContinue reading “Let’s try some weird only-in-Japan ways to stay warm in winter!”
Let’s dive into swirling leaves and swimming fish!
You don’t have to brave the elements to see the most spectacular autumn leaves in Japan anymore! Shinagawa Aqua Park teams up with the Naked, Inc. projection mapping artists to conjure up new immersive delights in every season, but none are more spectacular than the fabulous fall fantasy swirling around Aqua Park’s spectacular collection ofContinueContinue reading “Let’s dive into swirling leaves and swimming fish!”
Green and serene: The gardens you need right now
The Japanese garden at Shinjuku Gyōen in Tokyo never disappoints If there’s one thing Japanese gardens are the total boss of, it’s being green and serene. They’re stunning in every season, even without a single flower. They’re highly designed, but feel completely natural; miniature worlds where every tree and bush is ideally shaped, and everyContinueContinue reading “Green and serene: The gardens you need right now”
Japanese glass bells: The sweet sound of summer
The sweet chimes of fūrin bells aren’t just a pretty summer soundtrack! In the dark days before AC was invented, they were one of the major weapons against the relentlessly hot and steamy Japanese summertime. Everything about them exudes coolness, from the clear airiness of the glass bell… to their cheery seasonal motifs, recalling warmContinueContinue reading “Japanese glass bells: The sweet sound of summer”
Let’s hike through the heirloom cherry tree preserve!
The Tama Forest Science Garden is the best kept cherry blossom secret in Tokyo—it’s a fabulous preserve where seventy-two types of heirloom cherry trees grow wild. And unlike the crowded beauty spots in the city, you can walk for miles without encountering another soul! This horticulture park was established to preserve and research ancient varietalsContinueContinue reading “Let’s hike through the heirloom cherry tree preserve!”
Halloween costumes I would regret
I love Halloween in Japan, because the costumes are so hilariously and bafflingly unlike something ANYONE would wear to a party where I come from! Let’s plunge right into the most baffling of the baffling and the most inexplicable of the inexplicable… What the heckin’ heck? To be fair, even Japanese people can’t explain thisContinueContinue reading “Halloween costumes I would regret”
Splashparks: Tokyo’s secret summer delight
You don’t have to be a kid to fling socks and shoes to the wind and dip your hot, tired feet in these inviting summertime streams, pools and fountains. Best of all, these are all in public parks, so they’re free! A typical splashpark has water so safely shallow that even for the tiniest totsContinueContinue reading “Splashparks: Tokyo’s secret summer delight”
Look up! It’s koi nobori season!
In Japan ’tis the season to look to the sky for swimming fish! May 5th is the holiday formerly known as Boys’ Day, but now the charming flags called koi nobori fly for girls too. On Children’s Day, any child can be the carp that climbs the waterfall to become a dragon. Legend has itContinueContinue reading “Look up! It’s koi nobori season!”
Hacking cherry blossom season
How to beat peak pricing and crowds, while still enjoying maximum pinkness! You go to Japan for cherry blossom season expecting it’ll be like this: But if you come during peak season, you’re more likely to get this: And trip dates are becoming harder to guess. Thanks to global warming, the sure bet of “last-few-days-of-March-through-the-first-few-days-of-April”ContinueContinue reading “Hacking cherry blossom season”
Feast your eyes on these Japanese New Year decorations
From December 28 to January 7, Japanese new year decorations hang on every door, beckoning in good luck and prosperity for the coming year, but they’re just plain beautiful too! Shimenawas are stuffed with symbolism (red and white, to scare away evil spirits and attract good luck, rice straw for a good harvest/that raise youContinueContinue reading “Feast your eyes on these Japanese New Year decorations”
Design Festa: Your one-stop shop for predatory purses, zombie nesting dolls & more
Twice a year, Design Festa takes over the Big Site convention center in Odiaba, and artists selling everything from zombie matroyshika to predatory purses gather to outdo each other. Artist: MaliciousX Get one in every color! Artist: MaliciousX Or if that isn’t creepy enough for you, perhaps a crying baby head? Or you can takeContinueContinue reading “Design Festa: Your one-stop shop for predatory purses, zombie nesting dolls & more”
Get the best cherry blossom pix in Tokyo: Where, when & how
Whether you’re an Instagrammer with a mega-following or just want to capture some of the pink magic to show your besties back home, snapping some envy-inducing photos is on every cherry blossom to-do list. But getting those perfect shots isn’t easy, especially if it’s your first time in Tokyo, so here’s how & where toContinueContinue reading “Get the best cherry blossom pix in Tokyo: Where, when & how”
Weird Chocolate
When Japan embraces Western holidays, things can go a bit…sideways. And the biggest example of Getting It Wrong is nearly upon us: Valentine’s Day.Why? Because only MEN get chocolate!* That’s right. For Japanese women, Valentine’s Day might as well be called Big Fat Obligation Day, because not only are they on the hook for gifting allContinueContinue reading “Weird Chocolate”
Let’s watch an epic pagoda parade…at night
Oeshiki ikegami at Ikegami Hongan-ji temple What better way to spend a fine fall evening than watching scores of five-tier pagodas parade down the street, all lit up and festooned with garlands of paper flowers? For over seven hundred years, the festival of 10,000 lanterns known as oeshiki ikegami has been happening every October atContinueContinue reading “Let’s watch an epic pagoda parade…at night”
Floating lanterns on a warm moonlit night
Toro Nagashi at Shinobazu Pond in Asakusa The toro nagashi ceremony has been performed in Asakusa every year since 1946, just after the end of WWII. That year, people began to light lanterns to pray for lasting peace when they sent the spirits of loved ones who died in the war back to the afterlifeContinueContinue reading “Floating lanterns on a warm moonlit night”
A sea of purple, delighting the populace for hundreds of years
Famous iris gardens near Tokyo In every shade, from grape to periwinkle, a Japanese iris garden in bloom is a feast of purple (these are at Meigetsu-in temple, in Kamakura) In the West, it’s rare to see more than a couple of delicate butterfly-like Japanese iris artfully ringing a pond at the local botanical garden,ContinueContinue reading “A sea of purple, delighting the populace for hundreds of years”
If you thought quilts were a Western art, think again!
The Tokyo International Quilt Festival Late summer means awaordori dance exhibitions, and this swirl of movement captures that festival atmosphere perfectly (“Dancing in the Wind” by Masako Sakagami) You know how Japan embraces stuff from all over the world, and then turns it uniquely Japanese? Every year at the end of January, Tokyo hosts oneContinueContinue reading “If you thought quilts were a Western art, think again!”
Let’s stroll down avenues lined with towering gold gingko trees
Tokyo’s ichō namiki Gingko trees are beautiful in every season—there’s a reason their unique leaves have been celebrated in kimonos, pottery, lacquer, and all the traditional arts for centuries—but catching them just as they turn into towering torches and blaze away for a few days in late fall is one of my favorite sights inContinueContinue reading “Let’s stroll down avenues lined with towering gold gingko trees”
A parade of people dressed up as angry ghost cats? Yes, please!
Bakeneko Parade in Kagurazaka, Tokyo And this one is my all-time favorite—she was wearing an excellent traditional-style mask, but totally dressed in goth-princess style kimono, with all the bells and whistles Japan is host to the most delightful festivals ever, and even the supernaturally scary bakeneko have their day! This isn’t an official holiday—you won’tContinueContinue reading “A parade of people dressed up as angry ghost cats? Yes, please!”
Goldfish, goldfish, everywhere
Edogawa Goldfish Festival The most delightful summer festival in all of Japan You might remember from a previous Japanagram that one traditional way of beating the Japanese summer heat is to gaze at goldfish swimming in their cool, watery world. Goldfish are so synonymous with summer in Japan that you’ll see them gracing everything fromContinueContinue reading “Goldfish, goldfish, everywhere”
Seven things you didn’t know about Japanese weddings
‘Tis the season to get hitched, but they do things a little differently in Japan. Here are seven things I bet you didn’t know about Japanese weddings. 1 You don’t have to be there to get married The only way to get legally married in Japan is to fill out and stamp the bride andContinueContinue reading “Seven things you didn’t know about Japanese weddings”
Beyond the cherry blossoms
Pink things that only appear during The Season Sure, the cherry trees are pretty in pink, but The Season offers far more delights (and horrors) than elbowing a million other flower fanatics out of the way for that perfect shot. For example… The sublime: Things lit up in pink at night These buildings deck themselvesContinueContinue reading “Beyond the cherry blossoms”
The fabulous flower season that happens when nothing else is blooming
February in Japan is not fun. Cold and gray, its only festival involves demons, dry beans and smelly sardines. There would pretty much be nothing to look forward to, if it weren’t for the… Plum blossoms! And although their blooming doesn’t promise no more snow, plum trees bloom while every other flower and leaf isContinueContinue reading “The fabulous flower season that happens when nothing else is blooming”
Setagaya Boroichi: The mother of all flea markets
At first glance, this could be a typical flea-markety collection from anywhere such convos thrive. Until you look closer and see that it includes a vintage tailor’s iron, a set of gorgeous antique lacquer bowls for ozoni new year’s soup, a disgruntled workman doll, a pre-dial-era telephone, and a couple of courtesan’s tobacco pipes. AllContinueContinue reading “Setagaya Boroichi: The mother of all flea markets”
The Japanese art of gift-giving
Since we’re careening into that present-exchanging time of year, I thought you might enjoy a peek into the Japanese art of gift giving. Not to put too fine a point on it, they are MASTERS. If there was a medal for gifting, the Japanese would own the gold and the Guinness record for owning theContinueContinue reading “The Japanese art of gift-giving”
The weird world of bonsai chrysanthemums
The first time I saw these, I laughed out loud, because the idea of someone lavishing the kind of loving care necessary to train a bonsai seemed so ludicrous when applied to ghetto chrysanthemums Venerable bonsai pines, move over for…bonsai chrysanthemums! Yes, bonsai chrysanthemums are A Thing. And it happens in Japan every year inContinueContinue reading “The weird world of bonsai chrysanthemums”
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