Blog
Blog
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Kohigan cherry blossom
With the warm weather continuing, the Okame cherry trees at Chotokuji are in full bloom. The kohigan cherry trees along Kamo River have blossomed next.Kohigan cherry blooms about a week earlier than Someiyoshino, the most common cherry tree in Japan, and is so named because it blooms around the time of the Ohigan holiday. The Ohigan is a period in spring and autumn when people make offerings to their ancestors. As a uniquely Japanese Buddhist event, people visit graves, hold memorial services, clean Buddhist altars and make offerings.The Kohigan cherry is most famous in Takato Joshi Park in the south…
- Kyoto
- Spot introduction
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Wakayama Castle
Wakayama is a city that I rarely come to for interpreter-guide work. This time I visited on the request of an interpreter's test. The keep of Wakayama Castle, located in front of the Wakayama Prefectural Government Office, is a popular photogenic spot during the cherry blossom season. Unfortunately, the cherry blossoms were still in bud, but the castle keep is beautiful against the blue sky. Wakayama Castle was the residence of the Kishu Tokugawa family, a branch of the clan of the Tokugawa family that founded the Edo Shogunate, and was known as a castle with a vast area. The castle remained intact…
- Spot introduction
- Wakayama
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Okame-zakura cherry trees at Chotoku-ji blossom
It was cold and raining, but the Okame-zakura cherry trees at Chotoku-ji temple have started to flower. It will still be cold tomorrow, so the best time to see the cherry blossoms may be after the middle of next week. Plum blossoms are also at their best in Kyoto at the moment, and some people often mistake cherry blossoms for plum blossoms. Both have pink or white flowers, so they look very similar, but the easiest way to tell them apart is by the shape of the petals. Cherry blossoms have an incision at the tip, while plum blossoms have round…
- Kyoto
- Spot introduction
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Sushi-making experience
Sushi-making experience popular with foreign tourists. Sushi training is said to take three years to cook rice, five years to make sushi and a lifetime to make nigiri. Naturally, the sushi you can make in less than an hour is far from authentic. Before I became a guide, I was negative about this kind of sushi-making experience, thinking it would misrepresent Japanese culture. However, the guests are fully aware that sushi is not something that can be easily made by amateurs, and they enjoy it as an attraction in itself. The staff also try their best to entertain the customers. I…
- Culture
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Okame-zakura at Chotokuji temple
The early-blooming cherry blossoms in Kyoto are the famous Kawazu-zakura at Ichijomodoribashi Bridge, but the Okame-zakura at Chotoku-ji Temple near our guesthouse is also popular. The cherry blossoms bloom around 10 March every year, but this year they are a little late, perhaps because of the cold weather. Today they were only buds, but if the weather continues to be warm, it is likely that the deep pink flowers will be visible the day after tomorrow. Chotokuji Temple is normally closed to the public, but only during the cherry blossom season can it be enjoyed from the car park.
- Kyoto
- Spot introduction
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Hina matsuri
Today is Hinamatsuri, Girls' Festival. Every year on 3 March, dolls are displayed to wish for the healthy growth and happy marriage of girls. It was believed that seasonal milestones were prone to evil spirits, so the festival was held to ward off evil spirits and pray for happiness. Today, fewer and fewer households decorate their homes, but in the lobby of the Hotel Okura next to Kyoto City Hall, a seven-tiered decoration of 15 dolls is displayed, attracting passers-by to stop and look. The topmost represents the Emperor and Empress. It is a prayer that, like the Emperor and Empress,…
- Kyoto
- Spot introduction
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Kehi Shrine
The Kyoto-Kanazawa-Shirakawa-go-Takayama route is popular with foreign tourists. However, as the Hokuriku Shinkansen has not yet fully opened, train travel between Kyoto and Hokuriku has become very inconvenient and expensive. It is necessary to change from the limited express Thunderbird to the Hokuriku Shinkansen at Tsuruga Station. If you come all the way to Tsuruga, you may want to drop in at Kehi Jingu Shrine, which is known as the largest spiritual site in the Hokuriku region. It is a 15-minute walk from Tsuruga Station, so it is a good spot to visit while waiting to change trains. The Chomeisui (long-life water),…
- Hokuriku
- Spot introduction
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Chinese pond heron
Breeding plumage is wine-coloured from head to neck and breast, but non-breeding plumage is very plain, as shown in the photograph. A small number spend the winter on Ishigaki Island. There are an increasing number of other records of the Javan pond heron, which is distributed in South-East Asia, flying to Ishigaki Island. Their winter plumage is similar and it is difficult to identify them in the field. It is said to be characterised by its slightly larger size, larger bill and darker wing tips in flight than the Javan red-faced night heron. Other Japanese records include the Indian pond heron,…
- Birds
- Ishigaki Island
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Upland buzzard
This buzzard inhabits the mountains and rocky areas of eastern Asia and is a rare migrant to Japan. It has been observed on the Sea of Japan side and in the Nansei Islands. They are also observed on Ishigaki Island in winter, but are very wary and difficult birds of prey to photograph. This one initially landed in a rice paddy, but when we drove by, it flapped its wings and perched on a tree 400m away.
- Birds
- Ishigaki Island
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Brown shrike
The Brown shrike (Lanius cristatus lucionensis) is one of the most commonly seen birds on Ishigaki Island in winter. It is a subspecies of endangered species, the Japanese brown shrike (Lanius cristatus superciliosus) It used to breed in southern Kyushu, but now it seems to be wintering in the Nansei Islands, having migrated from the continent. Compared to the other subspecies, Lanius cristatus lucionensis is characterised by its generally greyish colouration. In English and French, the shrike is synonymous with noisy or quarrelsome birds because of its noisy voice. In Japan, on the other hand, the kanji 百舌鳥 for "bird with…
- Birds
- Ishigaki Island
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Ishigaki tit
The Japanese tit is found throughout Japan, but the Japanese tit distributed on the outlying islands are divided into three subspecies: the Amami tit, the Okinawa tit and the Ishigaki tit. The two subspecies of Amami and Okinawa are almost indistinguishable in appearance from the mainland subspecies, but only the Ishigaki and Iriomote Islands' Ishigaki tits are clearly different. It is generally a blackish grey colour and the yellowish green back characteristic of the tits is completely absent. A blackened tit was previously found in Eastern Japan, but although the head was completely black, the yellow-green back was still present.…
- Birds
- Ishigaki Island
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Ryukyu flycatcher
The Ryukyu flycatcher is considered a subspecies of the Narcissus flycatcher, but is also thought to be endemic to the Nansei Islands. The Narcissus flycatcher male's throat is orange, whereas the Ryukyu flycatcher's is all yellow, with a slightly olive-red back. Their distinctive call is a subdued fee-fee. They are not few in number, but are one of the most difficult birds to photograph because they move around so much. It is a happy bird when we can find it.
- Birds
- Ishigaki Island