Restaurant Review: Gran Micaela y Dago
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Restaurant Review: Gran Micaela y Dago

My constant search for international cuisine has taken me all over Hyogo – well, all over the Sannomiya and Motomomachi areas of Kobe, anyway. There is more than enough to satisfy in this area alone; a seemingly endless list of new holes in the wall to explore.  Perhaps one of my most interesting finds was…

Announcing a New Feature! Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage
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Announcing a New Feature! Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage

西国三十三観音巡礼 When I first moved to Japan, I had to google the difference between “shrines” and “temples.” If anyone had told me I would end up on a pilgrimage dedicated to Kannon, the bodhisattva of compassion, I would have said, what[the hell]’s a bodhisattva? Actually, they’re called bosatsu in Japanese, and they are traditionally those…

Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage: Engyo-ji on Mt. Shosha
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Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage: Engyo-ji on Mt. Shosha

書写山の圓教寺 Mt. Shosha, or Shoshazan is home to the temple known as Engyo-ji, recently famous for being the on-location film site of the 2003 film The Last Samurai. It is also number 27 of the Saigoku 33 Kannon Temple Pilgrimage, and is the farthest west of those 33. Established in 966, it is one of…

Travel Japan:Kougenji (高源寺)
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Travel Japan:Kougenji (高源寺)

If you are looking for somewhere slightly off the beaten track for your momiji-viewing pleasure, how about heading out to Kougenji in Aogaki, Tamba. Access – maps and other information available on the temple’s website http://kougenji-tanba.or.jp/ (Japanese only) Photos by Clint Denison, Sasayama-shi, 2007-2012