Odawara Castle is a landmark in the city of Odawara in Kanagawa Prefecture. It was the stronghold of various daimyo, powerful territorial lords during the Muromachi period of Japanese history. Odawara Castle had very strong defenses, because it was situated on a hill, surrounded ... Continue Reading
The Tsukiji fish market is the biggest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world and also one of the largest wholesale food markets of any kind. The market is located in Tsukiji in central Tokyo, and is a major attraction for foreign visitors. On the picture, where you see t ... Continue Reading
On New Years Eve we also went to the Hongakuji temple on our way back home. This temple is beautifully decorated with lighted lamps “akachochin” (red lamps) and “shirochochin” (white lamps). This is the Ebisu-do Hall built by the 1st shogun Minamoto Yorit ... Continue Reading
This is a special time in Japan and a lot of people take their days off to visit family and to go to the shrines and temples. Even banks and post offices are closed for several days, so, you have to be prepared. (We ran into this problem 2 years ago and in Japan a lot is paid by ... Continue Reading
After Nikko we traveled to Mashiko. We had to wait a while in the city Utsunomiya to transfer, where we did some shopping and sight seeing.We saw beautiful big neon signs: “Coca Cola”!!! And of course, we found some beautiful Japanese girls! After riding the bus for ... Continue Reading
The next trip was to Nikko and Mashiko. My youngest son and girlfriend had also arrived in Japan. The next day we left right away because for the Japanese this is a big holiday time too. A lot of places are closed and you have to check everything well before you go somewhere. Ove ... Continue Reading
Two days after going to Koya-san we traveled north-west to an onsen in some other mountains. It was a long trip, but reading, talking, eating, playing games and listening to music passes the time fast. The last ride was way up into the mountains by bus. This is the hotel/onsen w ... Continue Reading
This year we celebrated our holidays in Japan. We got a Japan Rail Pass and with our 2 oldest boys we traveled first to Koya-san, south of Osaka and about 6 hours of travel from Kamakura. Mount Koya, set amid black cedars at an altitude of 1000 m., is Japan’s most venerated ... Continue Reading
When I go to my friends on the other side of Kamakura, I bicycle over the grounds of the Hachimangu Shrine. The atmosphere is great and relaxing, especially, when you pass the very big pond. But there are always people and sometimes big crowds and lots of schoolchildren. They com ... Continue Reading
And there, I finally found the museum! How could I have waited so long! Close to the Engaku-ji temple stands this beautiful old farmhouse, transferred by the owner from the Fukui Prefecture, north of Kyoto. Actually, they are 3 combined farmhouses and were built around 1850 at th ... Continue Reading
