Kyoto Prefecture (京都府; Kyoto-fu) is part of the Kansai Region (関西地方; Kansai-chiho) on Honshu, the main island of Japan. For most of history, Kyoto played an important role as Japan’s capital. As you can imagine, being the capital for over a thousand years means Kyoto is filled with ancient artifacts and cultural treasures. Once the government head moved to Tokyo, Kyoto’s economy became […]
Christmas may not be a national holiday in Japan, but that doesn’t mean people won’t be celebrating! Only around 1% of Japanese people consider themselves Christian, so to most Japanese, Christmas is celebrated more like a Valentine’s Day of sorts, with young couples or groups of friends going on strolls through fancy displays of holiday decorations and […]
Osaka Prefecture (大阪府; Osaka-fu) is part of the Kansai Region (関西地方; Kansai-chiho) on Honshu, the main island of Japan. Despite being one of the smallest prefectures area-wise, it boasts an impressive amount of cities. Thirty-three to be exact; with the most famous being it’s capital city of the same name– Osaka. Daitō Fujiidera Habikino Hannan Higashiōsaka Hirakata Ibaraki Ikeda Izumi Izumiōtsu Izumisano […]
I remember taking my first cultural anthropology class in university and thinking how I wanted to experience everything for myself rather than simply reading about cultures from a textbook. Even today, years later, the main reason I love to travel is still because I love learning about cultures from my own and interacting with locals in all the […]
Every Friday I’ll be sharing a photo from someplace in my travels. This week’s photo is of stepping back through time in Asakusa, Japan. Asakusa is the center of Tokyo’s shitamachi, or “low city”. Named for its lack of tall buildings, for centuries it was the entertainment center of Tokyo. Filled with large kabuki theaters and geisha shuffling […]
Located in the middle of Japan, the Kansai region includes of two of the country’s most visited cities: Kyoto and Osaka. Kyoto is a city steeped with Japanese culture and history. This previous capital city is known for its shrines and temples as there is almost one on every corner– with 17 of them being registered UNESCO Heritage […]
Every Friday I’ll be sharing a photo from someplace in my travels. This week’s photo is of Tokyo Tower at night in Japan. Once a symbol of Tokyo, Tokyo Tower stands proudly amidst the buildings downtown. The first time I went to Tokyo, I was expecting this grand, futuristic skyline, only to be disappointed when I found […]
Next to Tokyo, Kyoto is the second most popular city for tourists to visit, and it should be. Kyoto is considered among the first capitals dating back to 794AD and today its become own Japan’s living cultural archives. If you’ve come to see shrines and temples, you can’t go wrong visiting Kyoto. This city has more than […]
Many people tend to skip Osaka in favor of visiting Tokyo or Kyoto, but as Japan’s third largest city, Osaka has plenty to offer its visitors. Known as the “heart of Kansai”, Osaka is filled with a mix of both traditional and modern culture, and is a city that shouldn’t be missed. As a previous […]
Every Friday I’ll be sharing a photo from someplace in my travels. This week’s photo is of the Petronas Towers at night in Kuala Lumpur. A few months ago I actually used the Petronas Towers as my FotoFriday subject. So why am I posting about them again? The previous photo was based on a daytime shot, so I […]