Welcome back to Japan

It has already been several months past since Japan has opened up its border and many foreign visitors have already been wondering around the streets of Japan. It had been, in a way, very weird not to see any visitors from overseas for the past 3 years and many tourists sites in Tokyo had been…

New Summer Collection of hand painted yuzen kimono uchiwa fan by Ms. Junko Kirino

I already introduced the hand painted yuzen kimono uchiwa fan on my blog before, so I will not explain in details, but if you are interested in how it is made, please visit my previous blog. Yuzen is a kind of technique used to dye kimono fabrics and it is all hand painted, so it…

Sento public baths in Tokyo.

In the past, many houses in Japan were not equipped with bathing facilities, so sento (public bath) was a place where the locals could go to wash themselves, soak in a tub and socialize with neighbors. Nowadays most households have their own bathing facilities at their own home, so the number of those traditional sento…

Travel to Hiroshima, Miyajima and Iwakuni

Happy New Year! I hope you had nice Christmas and new year holiday with your family. New year in Japan is like Christmas in Europe and America, so  many stores are closed and we generally spend the time with our family visiting our local shrine and temple after having Osechi ryori (we prepare special meal…

Hagoita decorative wooden tray 羽子板のトレー

Hagoita （羽子板）is a rectangular wooden paddle to play Hanetsuki (羽根つき）, which is similar to badminton, but without the net. It is a game where two players hitting shuttlecocks which are made of soapberry seeds and bird feathers, and this game is often played during new year season. That is because it has been said that it is thought…

Shimenawa (しめ縄)/ Shimekazari(しめ飾り – An ornament for new year

The straw made ornaments are called Shimenawa (しめ縄) and it is also called Shimekazari （しめ飾り）. There are many different types and sizes of these ornaments and the designs can vary depending on where they are made. Shimenawa can be found in Shinto shrine all year around, but we normally decorate our home with the ornament…

Cast iron Hamon design wall ornament

History of Takaoka copper works Takaoka douki (copper works) started when a Kaga daimyo, Toshinaga MAEDA(1562-1614), summoned seven casters to the Kanaya-machi of Takaoka City to promote the area’s prosperity in 1611 (Keicho 16). At first, it started as art and craft work presented to the feudal lord. It, then, became widely popular in and…

Winter holiday in Nagano

Happy belated new year!!! I hope all of you had a wonderful winter holiday! My shop generally opens 7 days a week, so I do now have any fixed holidays except the few days summer and winter holidays. New year season in Japan is like a christmas in the west, so many shops are closed…

Bessho Onsen in Nagano prefecture and Hanaya Hotel (別所温泉）

There are many areas, where are famous for onsen (hot spring bath) in Japan and each of them have their own uniqueness in terms of the quality of onsen itself, so it is rather hard to pick the best one because there will be personal preferences for what onsen should be etc depending on each…

Travel to Akita and Aomori

My shop is open for 7 days a week, so I do not have any fixed holidays at all apart from about 4 days summer and 1 week new year holidays. My shop is like an extension of my hobby, so that is why I still enjoy my work and I am happy to be…

Are Japanese people really polite?

Please note that this article is not based on any particular research, but based only on my personal perspective. I had always been vaguely thinking about this, because Japanese people can be very nasty and I have confronted those Japanese people who are considerably rude. When I was surfing on wordpress articles the other day, I…