“Lifelong Chandelier Remaster” by Kosei Komatsu The Biwako Biennale isn’t just an exhibition of the best Japanese art of 2025, it’s a masterpiece of displaying new art in historic settings, with dramatic lighting to die for. Whoever paired the winning pieces with each gorgeously restored merchant house was a genius, and this little detour onContinueContinue reading “New Japanese art displayed in old Japanese houses? Yes, please!”
Category Archives: Beyond Tokyo
The train station with a foot bath!
The minute you get off the train at Kamisuwa Station in Nagano, you know there’s something a little different about it… and then you see the sign! Yes, there’s a free hot spring foot bath for weary travelers, and all you have to do is take off your shoes and wait for a seat! https://youtu.be/tVTKx2GLiPAContinueContinue reading “The train station with a foot bath!”
Places to go before everyone else discovers them
The Pink Season is coming, hand in hand with crazy crowds and high prices. But just because everyone and their cousin is heading for Japan in the next month doesn’t mean you have to sharpen your elbows to enjoy fabulous Japan goodness! Here are some only-in-Japan spots that I love (and some undiscovered gems inContinueContinue reading “Places to go before everyone else discovers them”
These weeping plums will make you smile
There are other reasons to come to Japan in February, but basking in the goodness of weeping plum trees in full bloom is reason enough to say TAKE MY MONEY. Nowhere are they more glorious than at Soga Bairin, a plum-growing region just a short train ride from Tokyo in Odawara. If you really wantContinueContinue reading “These weeping plums will make you smile”
Old skool Japanese illuminations are the most beautiful of all
One of the things I love about the nighttime light displays in Japan is that they’re not “holiday lights” that become obsolete the minute Santa and his reindeer are yesterday’s news, they’re “winter illuminations” that light up the long nights from the beginning of November to the end of February. And even though Japan’s cutting-edgeContinueContinue reading “Old skool Japanese illuminations are the most beautiful of all”
Art brings light into the chilly heart of Toranomon
All the usual glowing things are joined by some unexpected guests! Gazing up at Tokyo Tower from the perpetual construction zone at street level around Toranomon Hills delivers a first glimpse of the art that’s breathing a little life into the stark and chilly office towers of Tokyo’s newest mega-office complex. Seven delightful sculptures areContinueContinue reading “Art brings light into the chilly heart of Toranomon”
In Yokohama, new year’s is lit!
If basking in the glow of a giant multifaceted cube that’s illuminated by an ever-changing light show is on your bingo card for the new year, get thee to Yokohama right now, because you’ll never see a more illuminating sight. The Yorunoyo nighttime light-up extravaganza is all along the waterfront in Yokohama through January 4,ContinueContinue reading “In Yokohama, new year’s is lit!”
Where there be dragons
If dragons are on your fantasy bucket list, get thee to Ryōanji temple in Kyoto and feast your eyes on these beauties! From now through March 31, 2023, the legendary lizards take over Ryōanji temple in Kyoto, and they do not disappoint! Imagine having a real live dragon to bork at burglars! Or one thatContinueContinue reading “Where there be dragons”
Floating flowers are taking over Japan this spring
Hanachōzu at the Gyōda Hachiman Shrine In Japan, too many flowers is just enough, especially when it comes to hanachōzu! The latest fashion for excess splendor started at shrines that fill their purifying mizu-chōzuya (“hand washing water place”) with a mix of spring blooms and colorful floating balls… Hanachōzu at Kawagoe Hachimangu …but it grewContinueContinue reading “Floating flowers are taking over Japan this spring”
How to grow a Japanese snow monster
Everyone who spends any time on the interwebz has seen the Snow Monsters of Zao—evergreen trees that become so enrobed in snow and ice that they stop looking like trees and start looking like something that goes bump in the night. The ads for the ski resort usually look like this: Thank you Good LuckContinueContinue reading “How to grow a Japanese snow monster”
How Big Is Tokyo?
This week I was updating The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had, and I thought you might enjoy seeing how big it is compared to your city! (Scroll down to see Tokyo’s main subway line superimposed on maps of major cities all over the world.) Anyone who wants to be somewhere on time in Tokyo takesContinueContinue reading “How Big Is Tokyo?”
Let’s walk out to Miyajima’s famous floating gate!
Before now, you’d have to be able to walk on water to see Miyajima’s famous “floating torii gate” up close and personal, but thanks to a brief window of lingering construction access, the only superpower we mere mortals need is the ability to stand in line! For the past three years, this World Heritage siteContinueContinue reading “Let’s walk out to Miyajima’s famous floating gate!”
What do you need for cherry blossom season? Your own light-up Lego cherry tree!
Remember when I ordered all those fab Lego village kits? Well, the Buildiverse folks sent me one that I missed (or I would have already bought it instantly): this light-up pinkness of pinknesses! If you can’t be in Japan right now to see the real cherry trees put on their signature splendor, this is totallyContinueContinue reading “What do you need for cherry blossom season? Your own light-up Lego cherry tree!”
Girls’ Day dolls with a side of quirky
Every March 3rd, families with daughters display a set of Girls’ Day dolls that represent the Imperial court at its Heian Era finest… …but these days, you don’t have to be a nobleman or a shrine maiden to ascend the vermilion steps! The Imperial Pokemon court One Piece characters go royal or go home EmperorContinueContinue reading “Girls’ Day dolls with a side of quirky”
Where to see the best winter illuminations in Tokyo
The holiday light displays have become a bit more subdued since the pandemic, but there are still plenty of amazing light shows, if you know where to look! Here are the ones right in central Tokyo you can see for free! Tokyo Midtown Roppongi Roppongi’s Midtown mall stages a choreographed holiday light show along theContinueContinue reading “Where to see the best winter illuminations in Tokyo”
Where To See The Best Autumn Leaves In Tokyo…Lit Up At Night!
The hot new trend of holiday illuminations in Tokyo has spread to the gardens and parks, with more and more lighting up their naturally spectacular autumn leaves and opening for special evening viewing! Here are my current favorites: • SHOWA KINEN PARK near Tachikawa Station There are two areas lit up at night: 1: TheContinueContinue reading “Where To See The Best Autumn Leaves In Tokyo…Lit Up At Night!”
The Most Beautiful Autumn Leaves In Japan
Last fall on this exact day, I was ogling some of the most gorgeous autumn leaves in Japan, and I’ve been WAITING for the season to roll around again, so I can show you! All these places are within shouting distance of Tokyo, but while the leaves are still maddeningly green in the city, they’reContinueContinue reading “The Most Beautiful Autumn Leaves In Japan”
Smart Illumination Yokohama 2019: WOW
This year, there were fewer artworks at the Yokohama Smart Illuminations, but the ones on exhibit were SO worth seeing! Or – more accurately – worth DOING. Because this year the participation element was front and center, and quite a few of them required serious athletic juice from the audience to power them. When IContinueContinue reading “Smart Illumination Yokohama 2019: WOW”
3-D Goldfish Art: Wait, Those Are PAINTINGS?
Doth my eyes deceive me? Riusuke Fukahori paints 3-D goldfish so real you can’t believe they’re not wriggling. And I know you’ll find this hard to believe, but the exhibit of his work going on RIGHT NOW at the Sano Art Museum in Mishima is so astounding, that in real life, the fish look more realContinueContinue reading “3-D Goldfish Art: Wait, Those Are PAINTINGS?”
When The Gods Decide To Plant A Lotus Garden, They Don’t Mess Around
It was construction as usual in the town of Gyoda, until an excavation for a new building hit a layer of lotus plants that had been dead for thousands of years. They didn’t think much of it, until the rain came, and the ancient lotus seeds began to sprout. When the plants bloomed, the flowersContinueContinue reading “When The Gods Decide To Plant A Lotus Garden, They Don’t Mess Around”
Rice Field Art
In what has to be the weirdest creative medium next to the Seed Art Pavilion at the Minnesosta State Fair, Japanese farmers have taken to making large-scale art by planting some of their fields in different strains of rice. The only problem is, in order to even see what the picture is of, you haveContinueContinue reading “Rice Field Art”
The Enchanted Hydrangea Forest
The spring rainy season isn’t the most delightful time to be in Japan…unless you’re hiking through a shady forest, surrounded by heaps and heaps of blue hydrangeas! Minamisawa Ajisai Mountain’s groomed trails wind up the side of a mountain, through a silent and stately cedar forest that’s robed in countless poufs of cooling blue andContinueContinue reading “The Enchanted Hydrangea Forest”
Shirakawago In The Snow
For years, I’ve wanted to see the old-fashioned farmhouse hamlet of Shirakawa-go all lit up at night in the snow, and this week I got half my wish. It turns out that ever since it was named a Unesco World Heritage Site, viewing the farmhouses lit up at night has become such a crazy tourist madhouseContinueContinue reading “Shirakawago In The Snow”
“Digitized Lakeside and Forest” Outdoor Art Installation
If ogling giant resonating eggs and gawking at color-changing trees isn’t what you’re planning to do this weekend, cancel your plans and get thee out to Hanno to see this new digital art installation instead! It meanders halfway around the small lake in the Metsa Village recreation area, and it’s everything glow-in-the-dark entertainment should be.ContinueContinue reading ““Digitized Lakeside and Forest” Outdoor Art Installation”
Lighting Up The Winter Night
Because I’m helplessly drawn to things that glow in the dark (gee, ya think?), I recently returned to two of my favorite lit-up-for-winter amusement parks, because I’d heard that they’d updated their gazillion-fairy-twinkle extravaganzas. (And you can check them out too, if you’re anywhere near Tokyo, until Valentines Day!) SAGAMIKO “ILLUMILLIONS” THEME PARK This yearContinueContinue reading “Lighting Up The Winter Night”
Where To See The Best Illuminations In Tokyo 2018
Free displays of holiday illuminations have become a huge attraction in Tokyo – probably because they’re the most instabae invention since selfie sticks – and every year they get bigger and better. Here are this year’s offerings from my favorite places to see them… • • Most Entertaining • TOKYO MIDTOWN Midtown’s “The Universe” is myContinueContinue reading “Where To See The Best Illuminations In Tokyo 2018”
Smart Illumination Yokohama 2018: ALL THE YES
“Pacific Feet” by Hiroko Kubo Woo hoo, it’s time for the annual art-as-entertainment Yokohama Smart Illumination 2018! This year, for some reason it took a giant leap in quality, and although the artspeak “explaining” each piece is equally opaque in Japanese and English, you don’t need to know what the artist was trying to sayContinueContinue reading “Smart Illumination Yokohama 2018: ALL THE YES”
Instabae
That’s what you call this in Japan. It’s an experience that looks way better shared on social media than in real life. But I gotta say, Japan is genius at it. Even this unfiltered photo looks more like the “Candles & Amber” promised by the publicity than the real life lights. The Roppongi Hills illuminationsContinueContinue reading “Instabae”
Yokohama Smart Illumination 2017: Even More & Better Than Before
I know it seems like all I do these days is frant about looking at stuff lit up at night, but there’s been a sudden rash of illuminations events in & around Tokyo lately, and they’ve all been worth staying up way past bedtime for! Last time I went to the Yokohama Smart Illuminations, youContinueContinue reading “Yokohama Smart Illumination 2017: Even More & Better Than Before”
Mobbed By Lemurs At The Exotic Animal Petting Zoo!
Who can say they never clutched the fence at their local zoo’s lemur exhibit and didn’t long to sneak over the top just for a few minutes (or, okay, in my case, A FEW HOURS) to cavort with those frisky, big-eyed, long-tailed cuties? Admit it – you’ve always secretly wanted to, haven’t you? Well, nowContinueContinue reading “Mobbed By Lemurs At The Exotic Animal Petting Zoo!”
Where To See Magical Red Autumn Lilies In Tokyo
This photo was taken at Kinchakuda, near Koma station. Higanbana generally burst into bloom right after the first big rain of mid-September. These Japanese amaryllis bloom once a year for only a few days, right at the fall equinox. If you move fast, you can still catch the higanbana in their full glory right now!ContinueContinue reading “Where To See Magical Red Autumn Lilies In Tokyo”
When You REALLY Hate Your Neighbors
Making my way back to Kamakura Station after tossing a few plates at the Dish-Breaking Shrine, I was walking through a totally normal-looking neighborhood when I chanced upon this. A hedge. But not just any old hedge – isn’t this the freakin’ unfriendliest alt picket fence you’ve ever seen? I mean, it’s all thorns, all theContinueContinue reading “When You REALLY Hate Your Neighbors”
Secret Flower Seasons of Japan
So, everybody knows about the cherry blossoms, and I bet you flower mavens even know about the glories of the plums, wisteria, azaleas and iris. But recently a bunch of parks & gardens have figured out that the best way to attract crowds of wallet-carrying camera-toters in the off-season is to plant lots and lotsContinueContinue reading “Secret Flower Seasons of Japan”
Endless Fields Of Blue
Every once in a while you discover a place where the photos that made you run to the nearest station and jump on godzilla-knows-how-many-trains to get there did not lie. Not even a little bit. Those pictures of hills swathed in an unbroken carpet of blue flowers at Hitachi Seaside Park? 100% REAL. Then there was this rōnin… And it’sContinueContinue reading “Endless Fields Of Blue”
Where To See The Most Beautiful Wisteria In Tokyo
You haven’t seen wisteria until you’ve ogled the giant purple vines of Tokyo. Not only is each plant astoundingly huge and lush with garlands of blooms, the streamers of flowers can be nearly a meter long! Here are my favorite places to see them in Tokyo: • NISHIARAI DAISHI TEMPLE This year is the firstContinueContinue reading “Where To See The Most Beautiful Wisteria In Tokyo”
If I Were A Thousand Years Old, I Would Not Be Putting Out Like This
This tree is so famous, it has a name: Miharu The Waterfall Cherry I mean, look at it. This tree is a THOUSAND years old. It has cranked out cascades of blossoms like this every spring, a thousand times. And if yesterday was any indication, the grand old lady is showing no signs of shirking anytime soon. Even when it freakin’ snowsContinueContinue reading “If I Were A Thousand Years Old, I Would Not Be Putting Out Like This”
What’s Blooming In Japan Right Now?
So, around this time of year, I get to thinking about how everybody is about to crowd into Japan to see the fluffy pink things, but that cherry blossom season is far from the only time that this place delivers yowzah-level flower extravaganzas. So I made a thing. Here’s what’s blooming when, and the best places to take photosContinueContinue reading “What’s Blooming In Japan Right Now?”
Lost In A Forest Of Blooming Plum Trees
This is just the entry forest Yesterday I got to stumble around doing a 360˚ gawk in a forest of plum trees wearing all their favorite clothes at once. Everywhere you look, tunnels and tunnels of plum goodness Kairakuen Garden in Mito was planted by a genius of a daimyo who totally got that too much of a good thing is never enough. 2,490 fluffy-branched trees later, IContinueContinue reading “Lost In A Forest Of Blooming Plum Trees”
Girls’ Day Dolls…On Steroids
There’s a little town about two hours from Tokyo called Katsuura, where one a year, dolls rule. 12,000 of them, to be exact. Just for comparison, this is about the most extravagant Girls’ Day display I’d seen before going to Katsuura. Most families just put out the emperor and empress, but the ones who areContinueContinue reading “Girls’ Day Dolls…On Steroids”
Rainbow Icicle Wonderland
On the way to the Werewolf Shrine in remote Chichibu, locals have enterprisingly turned the frozen waterfalls that spangle the cliffs and caves alongside the Arakawa River into a winter wonderland! First of all, before the sun goes down and the lights go up, check out the tiny photographer to get a sense of the size ofContinueContinue reading “Rainbow Icicle Wonderland”
The Werewolf Shrine
High on top of a snowy mountain in Chichibu – so far from any train station that you’ll be eligible for a senior citizen discount by the time you get off the bus – is the Mitsumine Jinja. At first it looks like a typical Shinto shrine with fox messengers at the gate… …but a closerContinueContinue reading “The Werewolf Shrine”
Fox Village Videos!
Here’s what it’s like to visit Fox Village in the snow, when the foxes are at their fattest & fluffiest! I have to confess, when it comes to which animals would get to sit in business class in my ark, it’s all about the tails. Foxes, of course, have the most magnificent fruffy tails in all of the animalContinueContinue reading “Fox Village Videos!”
Fox Village: Even Better With Snow On Top!
I thought I’d died and gone to heaven when I finally made it to Zao Fox Village last spring, but it’s a good thing I didn’t actually shuffle off this mortal coil due to fox-induced bliss, because then I would have missed seeing all these fluffy vixen in the SNOW! In the winter, they’re at their fattest and furriest! With tails set toContinueContinue reading “Fox Village: Even Better With Snow On Top!”
Yomiuriland Illuminations
By the time I took four trains and a bus to the gates of the aging amusement park Yomiuri Land, I had already decided that no illuminations could possibly be worth the schlep. Good thing I was SO WRONG! As you can see, no surface in the entire park was spared, and Scrooge was definitely not consulted.ContinueContinue reading “Yomiuriland Illuminations”
My Worst Foreigner Moment
Okay, in the interest of not being That Hellishly Smug Foreigner, it’s only fair that I confess my most cringeworthy moment in Japan. Not that there haven’t been plenty of other times I’ve been secretly branded a henna gaijin by phalanxes of nice Japanese people averting their eyes and backing away slowly, but this one is a classic because it involves, yes, Mt.ContinueContinue reading “My Worst Foreigner Moment”
Let’s Go To Bunny Island!
What part of ALL THE SNACKS don’t you understand? If your squee-meter isn’t totally burnt out after Fox Village, it certainly will be, after we check out BUNNY ISLAND! Okunoshima isn’t easy to get to, but that’s why there’s an entire chunk of land off the coast of Japan where adorable bunnies run free, without fear of being eaten (or, obviously, havingContinueContinue reading “Let’s Go To Bunny Island!”
How To Go To Zao Fox Village
Jaded denizen of the interwebz that I am, there’s not much that makes me leap out of my chair and scream “WANT!” but when I first saw a picture taken at Zao Fox Village, I had to drop everything and figure out a way to get there. Hello, human! It’s far from Tokyo – five hours byContinueContinue reading “How To Go To Zao Fox Village”
The Fox Shrine To End All Fox Shrines
I knew I was going to love the Sasuke Inari Shrine from the moment I saw the long tunnel of red lacquer torii gates leading into the deep, dark woods. But nothing prepared me for the mossy, foxy, wonders that lay beyond! Once you walk through the gates, no matter what time of day itContinueContinue reading “The Fox Shrine To End All Fox Shrines”
Vast Carpets Of Lawn Cherries!
Outside of Japan, nobody has heard of shibazakura, but they should! Check out the rolling hills covered with pink flowers that bloom in the middle of May! (They’re actually a variety of phlox, so I’m guessing the “sakura” part of the name is a feeble-ish attempt to ride the coattails of Japan’s more famous flower season, but they DO deliverContinueContinue reading “Vast Carpets Of Lawn Cherries!”
The Mother Of All Illuminations Theme Parks
When I was a kid, every year in mid-December we’d all pile into the car and drive around to find the house with the most over-the-top Xmas decorations. No surprise, I am a total, total sucker for Xmas lights. But I never saw anything that even came close to the amazing, blazing Illuminations displays that Tokyo neighborhoods started puttingContinueContinue reading “The Mother Of All Illuminations Theme Parks”
Only In Japan 