New Year’s at Nishinomiya Shrine: Photo Gallery
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Ramen Tarou is easily my favorite and most frequented ramen shop. It has everything that a diner looking for a quick casual eat could want in the search for ramen goodness—a bright space, a menu with large pictures, satisfying ramen with amazing ingredients, and of course, FREE kimchi to snack on before your meal or…
Love is in the air. Or perhaps it isn’t depending on where you live, who lives near you (or doesn’t), or if the cold air actually froze it… So what can you do? My advice to cope with those lonely, cold winter nights (and days) is to BE LOVE. The rewarding thing about choosing to…
Showcasing the most stimulating independent short films from across the world, Future Shorts is the biggest international short film festival of its kind. Founded in London in 2003 the festival is now celebrated around the globe with over 1700 screenings, across 6 continents in more than 350 cities in 90 different countries – that’s one…
Mark your calendar and fill it up with these incredible opportunities to travel Hyogo and its neighboring prefectures. July 14, Nachi-no-Hi Matsuri in Wakayama A festival where 12 enormous fire torches are lit at the base of Nachi Waterfall. The torches welcome the god Kumano back to the Grand Shrine located there. Held…
The Japanese deem the twentieth year of an individual’s life as the one which signifies the official “coming of age.” In all aspects of Japanese society, the twentieth year marks the age where teenagers are thrust into the world of adulthood, whereby they become morally, and often, economically responsible for their future. Every January, scores of teenagers experience a sudden revolution in their physical and social being, one which is marked by joyous celebrations – and in this case, long, beautifully carved wooden bows and exquisitely designed kimonos.
2012. A new year begins, and for me, an American in Japan, it looks like it’s going to be quite a ride. The yen is up, the dollar down. The Tohoku region is still picking up what the earthquake/tsunami left behind. The world scrambles against global warming and an uncertain economy. The ancient Mayans predicted…