• Doll Festival in Aya Town

    At this time of year, special dolls are set out on displays in homes and shops around Japan for the annual hinamatsuri (doll festival) celebration on March 3. I’ve always been a teddy…

    March 2, 2015

  • Walking Tour of Obi Castle Town

    After  Naked Man Festival, we decided to drive the hour south to see Obi Castle Town (飫肥城下町), the “Little Kyoto” of Kyushu. The town was built on the remains of Obi…

    February 7, 2015

  • Naked Man Festival

    When I returned to Japan after Christmas break, I found it only a couple of degrees warmer than I left it. Averaging a high of 13°C a day (about 55°F),…

    February 4, 2015

  • Christmas Lights in Miyazaki

    For a country that doesn’t really celebrate Christmas, Japan sure knows how to do Christmas lights. They are the romantic backdrop for Christmas Eve – a night celebrated like Valentines Day,…

    December 15, 2014

  • Nyutabaru Air Festival

    I’ve barely left my apartment these past two weekends: a last effort in tightening the purse strings before my big trip to New York later this month (12 days and…

    December 8, 2014

  • Aya Town

    On the fourth day of Matthew’s visit – and the last day we would have time to do sightseeing together – we decided to visit Aya. An hour or so west…

    November 25, 2014

  • Garden of Statues in Heiwadai Park

    One of the history teachers who used to work at my school (he was transferred to Miyakonojo) sent me on a little treasure hunt one typhoon day. The students weren’t at…

    November 14, 2014

  • Takanabe Lantern Festival

    On any given weekend in Japan, there is at least one festival on somewhere to be enjoyed. Of all the ones I have been to, Takanabe‘s Lantern Festival is one of my…

    October 20, 2014
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