It was a pleasure to join WANOBI-Beautiful Japan Executive Director Yuko Sangu and guests for a demonstration of making a chasen, Japan tea whisk, and chashitsu, tea house culture experience and tour WANOBI held at Master Craftsman Tango Tanimura's Wahokudou studio in Takayama, Ikoma City, Nara Prefecture in conjunction with Camellia Tea Ceremony of Kyoto
Osaka's historical roots is as a port city of trade, fishermen and merchants. One of the biggest festivals in honor of the patron deity of commerce, luck and fishing, Ebisu, is held annually on January 10 in the streets of Osaka with a giant parade and ritual activity as the locals wish for business success and prosperity in the New Year.
In addition to photographing nature, temples and shrines, my favorite subjects are neighborhoods that are historic, have lots of character or are a bit run down. Many mornings I walk the 3.3 kilometers with my husband from our Bohemian, but chi-chi, Shinmachi neighborhood in Osaka to the Nishikujo Station he takes to work. We leave … Continue reading Street Photography Tour & Workshop Nov. 26 with Sydney in Osaka
Earthquakes, floods, heatwave and typhoons in Japan. A summer of living dangerously!
While the summer heats up in Japan, one place to cool off is the mountainous town of Kibune on the outskirts of Northern Kyoto. Kawadoko, dining on traditional Japanese food served while sitting over the floor of the Kibune River, is something not short of spectacular. On a recent trip with Community House and Information … Continue reading Dine on the River and Catch Noodles in Kibune, Japan
Should I stay or should I go now? That was the question posed to myself after realizing that all of the expats I know are leaving Japan for the summer to visit their home countries or simply to escape the summer heat. Now, I have lived in St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands where … Continue reading My Japanese Summer – List of 10 Things to Do in Japan!
As a Florida Master Gardener I obsess over flowers. Our 35th floor Osaka apartment has been wonderful, but everything green I've tried to grow has inexplicably died. So I'm out and about all the time anyways hunting Japan's seasonal flower cycles, like Sakura, cherry blossoms, that passed in April. Roses and peonies are now blooming insanely … Continue reading Wandering and Wisteria Hunting in Uji, Kyoto
