Hachiko, the famous pet dog of Japan is having some warm time in Shibuya. Yeah its that time of the year, Christmas time and Hachiko is enjoying the annual illumination!!!!The lights are all around the Hachiko Square. Statues of Santa Claus climbing the tress surrounding Hachiko are attracting the crowds to take snaps with the
Mount Fuji is frequently is part of the wood block prints or Ukiyoe. It is common to see towering depictions of the Mount Fuji which was easily visible from most of the locations in Tokyo, then called the City of Edo. With Towering mansions, office buildings and overall development including clean air, being able to see
Visitors to Tokyo spend good money to visit observation decks like the Tokyo City Vie win Roppongi Hills, the Tokyo Skytree or Tokyo Tower. There are many free access observatories in Tokyo and quite popular too. A relatively less well known is the Carrot Tower in Sangenjaya. I discovered it in 2004 when I had visited a
So which is the popular garden for tourists in Tokyo? Apparently Rikugien is very popular as are others like Hamarikyu Gardens. Its a quite old garden built around 1700. The Japanese characters 六義園 in a word to word literal translation means “six poems garden”. The garden attracts huge crowds in autumn and spring season when the garden has
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 (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
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
On the weekend went to the Tokyo Midtown Complex in ROppongi to experience the Summer Light Garden event. Midtown is hosting an event of lights “SUMMER LIGHT GARDEN” with a unique first time illumination of around 54000 LED lights. The event started on 17th of July and will continue until 30th of August every evening
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
Summer time in Tokyo, Hakusan Shrine is famous for the Ajisai/Hydrangea flowers. Over 3,000 hydrangea plants bloom in June with variety of colors. The first week of June to first week of July is the time every years when there is a Ajisai Matsuri (Hydrangea festival) at the Hakusan Shrine. Beautiful lanterns and the Hydrangea flowers at
“Good artists copy, great artists steal” was Picasso’s saying which Steve Jobs used when asked if he copied the idea of mouse and a personal computer from Xerox. He explained that “Ultimately, it comes down to taste. It comes down to trying to expose yourself to the best things that humans have done and then
Going around in Kabukicho in a salaryman suit can be an uncomfortable experience. Popular red light district of Shinjuku it was right next to the place where I used to visit a customer for my weekly meetings. Within all the noise of the services of the entertainment district and LED lights is a blissful and a
Are we in London? NO no, but yes a telephone booth caught our attention today and we though to cover this place in … not London, the city with its ubiquitous red colored telephone boxes. We move closer to the telephone box, some green color item inside and “HIRO” words in the background… any ideas
I have been following the journey of the Tokyo Skytree from the time it came up in 2012 on Tokyo’s skyline. A broadcasting, restaurant, and observation tower in Japan, it became the tallest structure and reached its full height of 634.0 metres (2,080 ft) in March 2011, making it the tallest tower in the world,
What’s so special to write about the cafe chain Tully’s Coffee? So many of them across the town and with the standardized menu you may say… Then we bumped into this Tully’s Coffee Cafe shop in Tokyo and were completely blown by the view it offered! OK, so now that’s an odd boxed shape Tully’s
