Mitake Gifu Prefecture 御嵩、岐阜県 Mitake is an old post town on the northern, mountain trade route from Kyoto to Tokyo, known as the Nakasendo 中仙道. In Gifu Prefecture, the Nakasendo highway passes through Ena, Iwamura, Mitake and on to Magome and Tsumago. The journey uphill from Magome to Tsumago is one of the most popular […]
JR Owase Station 尾鷲駅 JR Owase Station is the main point of access to get to the small port town of Owase in the deep south of Mie Prefecture, just before the border with Wakayama Prefecture. Owase Station opened in 1934 and is now on the JR Kisei Main Line with trains to Nagoya Station, […]
Kumano-shi Station 熊野市駅 Kumano-shi Station in Kumano city is a JR station on the Kisei Line in southern Mie Prefecture. The main connections are south to Shingu and north to Owase Station and Nagoya Station. The first express train to Kumano-shi Station from Nagoya is the 8.05 am Wide View Nanki that arrives in Kumano-shi at […]
Wenceslau de Moraes ヴェンセスラウ・デ・モラエス Wenceslau de Moraes (1854-1929) was a Portuguese writer, translator and poet, who spent his later life living near Mt. Bizen in Tokushima on Shikoku. Moraes is often compared to Lafcadio Hearn a contemporary of his in Japan. History Born in Lisbon, Moraes attended Naval College before joining the Portuguese navy and […]
小さな宿 Nieche Wharf Cafe Nieche just a couple of minutes from Taiji Station is a friendly and economical guest house in Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture. The rooms are fairly basic, but comfortable tatami and futon squares and there is very little noise at night, guaranteeing a peaceful sleep. Bathrooms are communal. The breakfasts were wonderful, served […]
Taiji Station 太地駅 Taiji Station is a JR station on the Kisei Line. Visitors traveling south from Owase Station, Kumano-shi Station, and Nagoya Station to the north need to change trains at Shingu Station to reach Taiji. The first express train to Shingu Station from Nagoya is the 8.05 am Wide View Nanki that arrives […]
Yatai Mura, Kokusai Dori, Naha 国際通り屋台村 Just off Kokusai Dori in Naha near Makishi Station on the Yui Line is Yatai Mura, a series of 20 casual “yatai” (street stall-style) eateries arranged in two narrow lanes. Seating at maximum of about 20 customers each place serves Okinawan delicacies washed down with either Orion beer or […]
Kokusai Dori, Naha, Okinawa 国際通り Kokusai Dori in Naha, Okinawa, is the city’s main shopping street. It is famous for its many souvenir stores, bars, hotels, and restaurants. This is a good place to sample Okinawan cuisine as well as listen to Okinawan music as some of the restaurants offer a dinner with musical accompaniment. […]
Yui Rail Naha Okinawa 沖縄都市モノレール Unlike the Japanese main islands of Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu and Shikoku, Okinawa has no rail network. Naha, the prefectural capital of Okinawa does have the Yui Rail (ゆいレール) a monorail system, which runs 17 km through 19 stations from Naha Airport via Shuri, near Shuri Castle to Tedako-Uranishi. The Yui […]
日中友好庭園 Japan-China Friendship Garden, Gifu The Japan-China Friendship Garden, near the south bank of the Nagara River, just north of Gifu Park (Gifu Koen) in Gifu, was built in 1999 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the friendship partnership between Gifu and Hangzhou. The garden is laid out in classic, Chinese style with a keyhole […]
Feather Museum, Seki フェザーミュジアム Japan has some bizarre and quirky museums: a sex museum, a ninja museum, and even a sand museum. The Feather Museum in Seki, Gifu Prefecture in central Japan is another off-the-wall museum in Japan. Exhibits The Feather Museum in Seki, north of Inuyama in Gifu Prefecture, has nothing to do with […]
Ayu アユ The ayu (Plecoglossus altivelis altivelis) or “sweetfish” is a summer delicacy in Japan and is caught in rivers throughout the country by anglers and by cormorant fishermen. The ayu, a member of the salmon family, has a one-year life span and is also found in rivers in China and Korea. Usually grilled with […]