Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage: Kiyomizudera
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Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage: Kiyomizudera

清水寺 As you prepare for the advent of spring, our quest for pilgrimage temples takes us further afield. Our next explorations will be into Kyoto, Osaka, and beyond.  There are five pilgrimage temples clustered right in the city of Kyoto, and we’ll get to the other four later on. We shall begin with one of…

Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage: Sohonzan Nakayama-dera
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Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage: Sohonzan Nakayama-dera

大本山 中山寺 The easternmost of the pilgrimage temples located in Hyogo-ken is Nakayama-dera, number 24 on the official route. Nakayama-dera is located in the city of Takarazuka, and boasts a beautiful ume grove around back, in which about a thousand plum trees will be in bloom from late February through early March. Nakayama-dera’s claim to fame…

Special Feature: Ski Hyogo
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Special Feature: Ski Hyogo

Japan’s skiing has been kept a secret from the international market for years by the locals and Antipodeans in the know, and for good reason. The powder here is renowned for being particularly light and is eloquently named ‘champagne powder’. As soon as I got back from a week of powder in Hakuba over New…

Travel Japan: Ogasawara – Out of the Ordinary
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Travel Japan: Ogasawara – Out of the Ordinary

I like my travelling. I like it when it’s cheap even more, and there’s something in my brain that tells me I should only use nenkyuu if I’m leaving the country. On top of that, I don’t like going away if there isn’t already a national holiday involved in some way, just for that extra…

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