Ashok Stambha (Pillar) at the panoramic cutting edge of Chiba

This article is about Nokogiri in Chiba, but lets take a small tour into India’s history.. In todays global scheme of things, internet technology has established an effective line for communication and collaboration, which is critical for virtual teams to establish governance, control structures to help blend local talent and execution in regions and gently blend

Enoshima Benzaiten – A mystical shrine on a beautiful island

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

Kameido Tenjin night time wisteria illuminations

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

Kameido Tenjin Wisteria Festival (Fuji-matsuri)

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

Ueno Park Buddha : Buddha statue for bullets and weapons

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).

Top 100 : Cherry blossom illuminations at Inokashira Park in Kichijoji

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

Birthplace of Sumo tournaments : Tomioka Hachiman Shrine at Monzen Nakacho

For a cultural immersion most travelers to Japan head to Kyoto, the cultural capital of the country.  Understandably so, but Tokyo has many hidden gems and one in my neighborhood Tomioka Hachiman Shrine at Monzen nakacho is one of them. If you are interested in the history of the Sumo sport, this shrine should be on your to-do-list

Haneda Airport Shrine : Pray before you fly….

If you are at Haneda Airport to go on a business trip, vacation or other reasons and want to take divine blessings, this post is for you…. The Haneda Airport has a Shinto Shrine to offer prayers, a small place in the airport premises itself. The other day onwards to London I got on to a

Hatsumode at Asakusa Sensoji Temple

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2016 In Japan, the first visit to the shrine in the new year is called Hatsumode, and it attracts quite some crowds every year, and I think it is a great way to start a new year in Japanese-style. Fireworks are the standard celebrations in many cities in the world, but in Japan

Autumn : Kiku Flower Festival at the Yushima Shrine

Japan does not have a national flower as such. I think some might want to call the cherry flowers of spring as one of the most well known ones but there is another flower very popular with the Japanese and that is the Kiku flower in the season of autumn. To know how popular the

Autumn Colors at the Naritasan Shinshō-ji Temple

Tourists and new comers to Japan head out to Kyoto when we mention the word “Autumn”. I did too, but then I started discovering beautiful spots around Tokyo like Nikko, Okutama area etc. In 2003, I remember, I was told by a friend that the Narita Temple near the international airport also was a beautiful

Benzaiten Temple at Shinobazu Pond in Ueno Park

Benzaiten (弁才天, 弁財天) is a Japanese Buddhist goddess, who originated from the Hindu goddess Saraswati. The Shinobzu Pond at Ueno Park has a temple of Saraswati. Floating on the water of the pond, it is a Buddhist temple dedicated to Saraswati the goddess of the arts, knowledge and wisdom. Japanese of todays generation, pray to her

Ganesha Temple in Asakusa : Kangiten at Matsuchiyama Shōten

Stories, symbols and rituals are the primary way to transmit ideas across generations and the Hindu religion uses symbols in form of idols extensively. So to represent Wisdom, you can look at a few attributes like, WIDE EARS – Ability to assimilate a lot of input or listen SMALL MOUTH – Talk less FLEXIBLE TRUNK –

Coffee at Asakusa : Panoramic views from Miharashi Cafe

Asakusa, the well known cultural destination and a tourist attraction in Tokyo has some hidden gems. One of my favorite is a coffee shop with an awesome panoramic view. A few years back, I went to see a rakugo (Japanese comedy show) performance at the Asakusa Cultural Tourist Information Center, together with one of my

Mitama Matsuri at Kudanshita : Honouring the spirits of the dead

It’s July and time for the summer festivals to kick-in. The weekend has the lantern light-up at Odaiba but before that I made my way in the evening on a weekday to Kudanshita. At the Yasukuni Shrine they have an interesting festival in mid-July, a Shinto festival honoring the dead in Japan!!! The poster said 69th

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