lee dobson

Affectionately known as “Konpira-san,” Kagawa’s Kotohira-gu Shrine is believed to be one of Japan’s power spots and home to a god...

If you are tired of battling the crowds at the airport during Golden Week, there are plenty of ways to celebrate the spring holid...

It was a cold January evening in 1618. The guard shivered, stifled a yawn and shifted his weight from right to left in an effort ...

According to myth, Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess, and her brother, Tsukiyomi, the Moon God, once soared across the sky together. Aft...

“Mine has been a life of much shame” -Dazai Osamu, 1948 (From his book No Longer Human, or Ningen Shikkaku)   Hardly ...

What is 3776.24 meters tall, weighs a gazillion tons, is revered by millions and is the quintessential symbol of Japan? If you an...

Golden silence reigns with the dawn. There’s little but the sound of the Azusa River as it passes under the bridge like a cerulea...

Magome and Tsumago, two post towns on the old mountain road linking Tokyo and Kyoto, are still great places to rest for the weary...

Head to the furthest reaches of Japan’s least populated prefecture, Tottori, and prepare to be dazzled. In a country where...

According to legend, a poor peasant potato farmer used to wash gold dust from his harvest into a well, a ritual he performed dail...

You’ve spent the last couple of months cursing the heat and humidity, yet you can’t help but lament the passing of summer. As the...

‘Straight lines will lead to the downfall of man’ —Friedensreich Hundertwasser The Austrian artist, architect, ecologist a...