Exploring Japan

Anyone who cooks even slightly, and probably many people who don’t, gives at least some thought to buying a knife or two when they come to Japan. It wouldn’t be stretching the metaphor too thin to equate a chef’s knives to a Samurai’s swords so it makes sense that many cooks dream of having knives forged using the same methods as those swords. Unlike electronic goods, or virtually anything else, in Japan you do actually save a LOT of money buying Japanese made knives here in comparison to... More...

Considering the ease with which one can get to Osaka from Nagoya and the number of times I have been back and forth to Kyoto and Tokyo, it does seem odd that we had not visited Japan’s second largest city till last weekend. Our only real pull was that we felt we “should” go, so, when Superman’s parents expressed an interest... More...

On the Sunday before the Sports Day public holiday, Oct 11th this year, the All-Japan Ninja Competition is held at one of Japan’s surviving original Ninja training compounds: Koka Ninja Village. As part of our ‘making the most of the last few months’ campaign, we decided to head down on this day and we were glad we did. I’m... More...

When we first came to Nagoya to find a home here it was late May and it was the Summer green of the trees in the street, which filled the view from the study window, that sold me on our house. The bark of those trees also filled me with a quiet hope – I suspected they were some kind of stone fruit tree, all of which have beautiful blossoms.... More...

   Our last day in Kyoto was Sunday and the weather finally cleared so it was both safe and worthwhile to get the dslr out. We strolled Gion again (still sweet but not half as romantic as in lantern light) and failed to see the Imperial palace (it seems you have to make a booking in advance – be warned) but enjoyed a walk in the surrounding... More...

Our trip to Kyoto last week was scheduled to catch the first night of the lantern festival in Gion. I’m doing this quick post because the festival is still on and it’s well worth a visit – especially if you haven’t been to Kyoto yet and you’ve been waiting for a reason to go. I know cherry blossoms are the traditional... More...

Hello. It’s been a looong while, I know. Since returning from Sapporo I’ve have had all sorts of exciting experiences including a genuine bout of Influenza A (not something one experiences in Australia, really) followed by a delightful secondary chest infection because the Aussie in me didn’t think a fever and a bad cough was worth... More...

Happy belated New Year everyone!  Superman and I rarely make much of New Years Eve but since we were here in Japan we decided to join in the local tradition of heading to a shrine (that’s shrine as in Shinto, not temple as in Buddhist) for the turning of the year. Atsuta Jinja is one of the most sacred Shinto sites in Japan, where the goddess... More...

Tony McNicol is a photojournalist based in Tokyo who has a great blog which covers his experiences both as a photographer and in Japan generally and, of course, always has great photos! Recently Tony did a piece on Miyazaki Hayao, one of my favourite directors, and he was given permission to take some photos inside the Ghibli Museum. I haven’t... More...

What does a good short-shorts-wearing, kawaii (“cute”, well, cutesy might be closer) girl do in winter so as not to freeze her *%$ off? Of course! Why didn’t I think of that?