Enoshima Benzaiten is the Japanese Buddhist goddess who has origins in the Hindu goddess Saraswati. Bumping into Indian gods in Japan is not that rare given the cultural export of Buddhism from India. In Hindu tradition Saraswati holds a musical instrument veena and so does the Japanese version Benzaiten, holding a biwa, a traditional Japanese lute. Enoshima is a beautiful island just an hour
Stereotypes say that girls like all things pink? Well get ready to enter the world of pink, and you will love this place your gender notwithstanding. The Fuji Shibazakura Festival (富士芝桜まつり, Fuji Shiba-sakura Matsuri) proved to be one of the biggest surprise for me in my 18th year in Japan. I have never been to this
Well I travel a lot, but noooo am not in Netherlands…. introducing the Sakura Tulip Festa organised by the Sakura City Municipal Organisation in the Chiba prefecture, near Tokyo. Endless red, yellow and all the other coloured tulips you can dream of with a beautiful windmill backdrop giving it a European experience for you and your
I posted about Kameido wisteria blossoms just yesterday and following up with the same location albeit with a difference. Yesterday I posted about the blue sky and the lavender like color contrast in the morning, but today I want to post a photo story on the night time illuminations of the Wisteria flowers at the
I used to work in the Kameido area for 2 years in 2006 and 2007. This beautiful shrine in the eastern suburb of Tokyo is famous for the plum blossoms n February and the beautiful Wisteria creepers which blossom in the month of April (mid to late April). The Kameido area is my idea of
“He who climbs Mount Fuji once is a wise man, he who climbs it twice is a fool“ OK so this applies to “climbing” and not “watching”, this mystic and sometimes frustrating mountain has its own charm. Year after year I discover new locations around the Yamanashi and Shizuoka prefectures but there in one spot which
War makes people do things which are unthinkable in times of peace. Today with over six seven decades of relative peace in Japan it is ironic to think that a Buddha statue in World War II WWII was melted down for the war effort. Buddha for bullets thats the story behind the Ueno Park Daibutsu (Buddha Statue).
Tokyo Metropolitan Expressway is a complex network of roads across the city. The most complex is at Haokozaki Junction. You plan to drive to Narita Airport and a small mistake and the wrong lane and you could be driving towards the Tohoku Expressway in the northern direction than the south eastern part of Chiba prefecture.
Kiba Park is not known for night time cherry blossom illumination like the Chidorigafuchi or the Meguro River cherry blossom illuminations. The park has regular fluorescent lighting which provides enough light to enjoy the cherry blossoms.The Kiba Park in Koto Ward (if you stay around Koto Ward, Edogawa Ward quite easy to reach here) is
I have known of Inokashira Park on the west side of Tokyo and had visited this place a couple of times in autumn for beautiful color season. Had never been here in spring and it was a discovery that Inokashira Park is one of the top 100 famous cherry blossom spots in Japan! Went over
Tokyo’s hotspots for cherry blossoms implies locations like Kudanshita (Chidorigafuchi), Ueno Park, Shinjuku Gyoen, Meguro River. Sumida River is also one more popular location in the neighborhood of Asakusa. Asakusa or the famous tourist spot of Sensoji itself finds less mention in terms of a destination to see the Cherry blossoms and is mostly overlooked especially in
Tokyo has got a brand new FREE OBSERVATION terrace and lounge. The Tokyu Plaza Ginza. Opened for business on March 31, 2016, Tokyu Plaza Ginza is a brand new department store in the upscale shopping district of Ginza with a brilliant exterior motif of a traditional Japanese craft—Edo Kiriko cut glass.The exterior is brilliant piece
Lined endlessly with a number of cherry trees, Ueno Park main street is a favourite place that many Japanese people would think of when it comes to a beautiful scene of cherry blossoms in spring. During the festival, 1000 lanterns, which were originally intended for nighttime security, illuminate the park and invite people to celebrate
Every year I visit the Rikugien Gardens in spring and autumn. At Rikugien Garden, the shidare zakura (weeping cherry tree) and feudal lord’s garden are lit up, creating memorable spring scenery end of March and early April. Brilliant 20 meters wide and 15 meters tall tree it is one of the biggest weeping cherry tree in
March 29, 2016 : The Cherry blossoms at the base of the Roppongi Hills are now in full bloom. The light up in the evenings is beautiful and you can also go to Tokyo Midtown where too many cherry blossom trees are in full bloom now.The blossoms have been late than what was predicted, but