Mount Io
Mount Io is a 512-meter-high active volcano located between Lake Mashu and Lake Kussharo. Its other name is Atosanupuri, meaning “naked mountain” in Ainu. In the past, it was used as a mine to extract sulfur. With the blue sky in the background, the plumes of smoke and the sound of gurgling are quite impressive. […]
- Area
- Hokkaido and Lake Akan / Mashu / Kussharo
川越氷川神社
約1,500年前に創建された、長い歴史と高い格式のある神社だ。 主祭神は素戔嗚尊で、他に素戔嗚尊の妻と子供、妻の両親という合計五柱の神々が祀られている。 これらの神々は一つの家族で、そのうち夫婦が二組であることから、川越氷川神社は「家族円満・夫婦円満・縁結び」に大いにご利益があるとして人々から信仰されている。 特に縁結びが非常に有名で、多くの女性たちが良縁祈願に訪れる。 また、370年以上の歴史があり、毎年10月中旬に約1,000,000人もの観客が集まるほど人気がある川越氷川祭はこの神社の例大祭だ。 1849年に竣工した現在の本殿の建物には、全面に精巧で素晴らしい彫刻が施されている。 また鳥居は高さ約15mと木製の鳥居としては日本最大級の大きさで、扁額の文字は、日本人の間では非常に有名で人気のある幕末の武士、勝海舟(1823〜1899年)によるものだ。 川越氷川神社がユニークなのは、歴史と格式のある神社であるにもかかわらず、絶えず新しい取り組みを行なっているところだ。 メインの参拝客である女性たちが喜びそうな、楽しくてフォトジェニックな企画やイベントを多数打ち出し続けている。 参拝客に喜んでもらい、より信仰心や親しみを持ってもらうとともに、コツコツとお金を稼いで、神社の維持/発展にそのお金を使おうとする前向きな姿勢と努力には感心してしまう。 新しい取り組みに関しては、具体的には以下だ。 ＜絵馬トンネル＞ 参拝客の願いが込められた絵馬が約20ｍに渡って吊り下げられ、まるでトンネルのような形となっている。 本殿の脇にあり、フォトジェニックだ。 ＜鯛みくじ＞ 日本では縁起が良い魚である鯛をモチーフにしたおみくじを、小さな釣り竿を使って釣り上げるのが楽しい。 ＜縁結び風鈴＞ 「天の川に恋の願いが届くように」というロマンティックなテーマで、夏季(7月上旬〜9月上旬)限定で行われる祭事。 この時期、たくさんの参拝客たちが(主に恋の)願い事を書いた短冊を風鈴にかけて祈る。 色鮮やかなガラスで出来た2,000個の風鈴が、涼やかな音を立てながら風に揺れる様子は、綺麗で心が洗われる。 君がすれっからしだったとしてもきっと恋をしたくなる。
BicCamera Ikebukuro Main Store
The main store of BIC Camera. The store is not large, but has a full lineup of products. The staff are knowledgeable about the products.
Abeno Harukas Kintetsu Department Store Main Branch
From level 2 of the basement floor to the 14th floor, the 16 floor department store is the largest of department stores in Japan. As for shops there is something for everyone, fro the world’s most luxurious brands to casual clothing, and product selection that will not disappoint. With all that shopping, you need a […]
Bunka Kissa Kyoshu
The café is housed in a gassho-style building. Through the large windows, patrons can enjoy the beautiful countryside scenery of the four seasons. The classical music carefully selected by the owner and antique interior decorations give a relaxing feeling. The menu is coffee only, and children are not allowed in the restaurant, so please be […]
- Area
- Shirakawago and Gifu
Kappabashi (Kitchenware) Street
The largest collection of 170 shops selling kitchenware, food samples, chef knives and more in Japan. The selections of items are so extensive, and of great quality, many of the customers are chefs. Having said that, there are many tourists and regular folks too, so if cooking is your passion, don’t miss it. The knives […]
Ginza Sembikiya Ginza Honten
Specializing in high-end fruits, Ginza Sembikiya opened in 1894 managing this shop and serving desserts with copious amount of fruits. Fruit parfaits are popular, among them “Ginza Parfait,” which comes packed with specially selected seasonal fruits, a masterpiece gorgeously presented, is the one to order.
- Area
- Ginza / Yurakucho and Tokyo
Sogo Hiroshima
The surface area of the department store is 57,839 sq. m., which is the largest in the Chugoku and Shikoku region;it has everything one needs. Conveniently, there is a bus center on the third floor that is also near the tram and monorails(Astram Line).
- Area
- Hiroshima City Central Area and Hiroshima
Fukubijin Sake Brewery (Fukubijin Shuzo)
Fukubijin Sake Brewery has high technique in sake brewery, where it was once known as Saijo Sake brewing school (Saijo Shuzo gakko) for raising lots of distinguished chief sake brewers and sending them off to various breweries all over Japan.
Nipponbashi ・ Ota Road
Originally centered on household electronics and parts, in recent years the downtown Nipponbashi area has experienced a dramatic increase in the number of otaku shops, much like Akihabara. On the side of Otaroad (“otaku road”) there is a large parking lot, where you can often find “itasha” cars decorated with pictures of cute anime girls. […]
Madame Tussauds Tokyo
Hollywood stars, famous sports athletes, musicians, historically important people, and others are on display as full bodied figures; over 60 personalities are on display. You can touch and take pictures with the figures.
YANAGAWA TACHIBANA-TEI OHANA
The Tachibana Residence was built in 1738 by the fifth lord of the Yanagawa domain as his private residence. In 1910 during the Meiji period (1868-1912), a guest house and Japanese garden were built, and today the entire 23,100 m2 site is designated as a Place of Scenic Beauty in Japan.
Ogi-machi Castle Ruin Observation Area
This observatory was built on the site of the castle of Ujikatsu Yamashita, a vassal of the Uchigashima Tameji clan who ruled this area in the 15th century. The front of the observatory is a precipitous cliff.
Amami Oshima Kaiun Shuzo
It is located in Uken-son in the western area, quite far from the airport and Naze.
Asahikawa Airport
From within Japan there are 5 – 7 flights per day from Tokyo (Haneda Airport) and 1 flight a day from Nagoya. However, JAL and ANA are the only carriers that operate flights to Asahikawa so prices are not exactly cheap. ※ If you reserve a ticket 1 – 2.5 months in advance you can […]
Yadori Beach
It is a beautiful beach located east of the Oshima Strait and almost at the southernmost tip of Amami Oshima, with Kakeroma Island on the opposite shore. Here, the blue sea and white sandy beaches are lined with large banyan trees that shade the sandy beach, creating a truly tropical atmosphere. The shallow waters and […]
- Area
- Amami Oshima and Kagoshima
Lake Kussharo
Lake Kussharo, with a circumference of 57 km and an area of 79.3 km2, is the largest caldera lake in Japan. It was formed about 30,000 years ago inside the Kussharo Caldera, which is the largest caldera in Japan, measuring about 26 km east to west and 20 km north to south. Incidentally, the word […]
- Area
- Hokkaido and Lake Akan / Mashu / Kussharo
金沢芸妓(お茶屋遊び)
お茶屋は「一見さんお断り」なので芸妓さんたちと触れ合うのは至難の技だが、以下の「お座敷体験イベント」では、ネット経由で予約するだけでリーズナブルな価格でお茶屋遊びを体験できる。 具体的には、お茶屋で抹茶や和菓子をいただきながら、芸妓さん達の踊りなどを鑑賞することとなる。
Yodobashi Camera Multimedia Umeda Store
Yodobashi is a large domestic electronics store chain, and this store has the highest turnover in Japan (approx. 120 billion yen) and the largest floor space (approx. 30,000 m2). There is a great selection of items and multilingual staff, and also around 30 affordably-priced restaurants and cafes on the 8th floor.
- Area
- Osaka North and 大阪府
Iccha
This guest house is housed in a 200-year-old gassho-zukuri building. Dinner is a simple local cuisine such as grilled Hida beef with homemade miso and wild vegetable dishes.
- Area
- Shirakawago and Gifu
山錦楼
- Area
- Nishichayagai and Ishikawa
Underwater sightseeing boat Seto
A semi-submersible boat that makes a tour of the Oshima Strait, which connects the Pacific Ocean and the East China Sea. All seats face a large window, allowing passengers to peer into the crystal clear waters and see colorful tropical fish and coral reefs consisting of more than 200 types of corals. The boat ride […]
- Area
- Amami Oshima and Kagoshima
Masuen Bunsuke
A local restaurant in a gassho-style building. River fish such as char and rainbow trout are raised in a fish-pond on the premises using high-quality spring water. The fresh fish are taken out of the pond after an order is placed, and can be enjoyed in a variety of ways: sashimi, grilled with salt, and […]
- Area
- Shirakawago and Gifu
Shikisai no Oka
Located atop a high hill, the garden is one of the must visit spots in Biei with a spectacular view. Enjoy in season flowers from spring to autumn. The garden takes up over 150,000 sq. m. of land and has roughly 30 kinds of flowers planted in stripes of red, yellow, pink, and white, so […]
Abeno Harukas 1-1-43 Abenosuji, Abeno-ku, Osaka
- Activities
- 百貨店
107 Ogi-machi, Shirakawa-mura, Ono-gun, Gifu
- Area
- Shirakawago, Gifu
- Activities
- 喫茶店/カフェ
5-5-1 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
- Area
- Ginza / Yurakucho, Tokyo
- Activities
- 喫茶店/カフェ
6-21 Honmachi, Saijo Higashi-Hiroshimashi Hiroshima Prefecture
- Activities
- お土産
3-5 Chome Nipponbashi Naniwaku, Osaka
- Area
- 大阪府
- Activities
- 商店街通り/街道アニメ・漫画・サブカルチャー
Ogi-machi, Shirakawa Village, Ono-gun, Gifu
- Area
- Shirakawago, Gifu
Sokaru, Setouchi-cho, Oshima-gun, Kagoshima
- Area
- Amami Oshima, Kagoshima
- Activities
- ビーチ
1-1, Ofukacho, Kita-ku Osaka-shi, Osaka
- Area
- Osaka North, 大阪府
- Activities
- 家電量販店
1F Koniiya Fishing Port Terminal Building, 26-14 Koniya Ominato, Setouchi-cho, Oshima-gun, Kagoshima
- Area
- Amami Oshima, Kagoshima
- Activities
- 観光船
1915 Ogi-machi, Shirakawa Village, Ono-gun, Gifu
- Area
- Shirakawago, Gifu
- Activities
- 日本料理