Tag Archives: Japanese culture

June 30

Making soba noodles

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Fresh soba noodles – one of Japan’s finest culinary delights.  

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June 25

Blue Hydrangeas – Harbingers of the rainy season in Japan

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July is here and that means gorgeous hydrangeas, or ajisai (アジサイ), in gardens across Japan!

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March 25

Flower Power – Tsubaki Shrine and Suzuka Forest Park, Mie.

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Near the mountains in Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, lie two sites of quite different flower power.  The Tsubaki Shrine (椿大神社), whose name means camellia shrine, is one of the oldest Shinto shrines in Japan, while the Suzuka Forest Park (鈴鹿森園) is a explosion of glorious pink blossoms every March as 200 weeping plum trees herald spring’s […]

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March 10

Silvered by snow – Kenrokuen, Kanazawa.

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There’s just something magically timeless about a traditional Japanese garden blanketed in heavy snow. With the new shinkansen (bullet train) from Tokyo commencing services this weekend, this garden will be just 2.5hrs from Toyko!

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February 12

Takayama – A glimpse into Edo Japan high in the Alps.

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Seven years after my first visit, Takayama is just as cold as I remember.  The heart of this mountain town is the preserved merchant houses of the old town dating back to the Edo Period (1603-1868).  Today, these streets are filled wit sake breweries, local artisan shops and food stalls.

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January 27

A White New Year

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The towns along the Sea of Japan around Fukui and Kanazawa welcomed in 2015 with more than enough fresh snow. Happy Year of the Sheep everyone! Look forward to plenty more posts this year on Inaka Biking now that I’m back on deck with a new laptop after my faithful Sony Vaio Z decided to […]

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November 29

Yabusame

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The annual yabusame, mounted archery, festival at Tado Taisha, a small shrine in far northern Mie Prefecture.

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