Clik here to view.
Festival Season Begins
August is summer festival season in Japan, and no one does festivals quite like my region. In my part of the peninsula, a festival is not done properly unless large quantities of fire and water are...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Love Song in the Melting Snow
Last week, I took some vacation time and headed out to Shiramine 白峰 in Ishikawa for the Snow Sculpture Festival 雪だるま祭り. Shiramine is one of the villages that was incorporated into the city of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Battle of Kawanakajima, Part 1
On 3 May 2010, I fought in a re-enactment of the Battle of Kawanakajima in Yamagata-ken. I really wanted to start this post by saying I rode into battle, or even that I strode into battle, but, in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Tonami Tulip Fair 2011
The weather on the long weekend that kicked off Golden Week was supposed to be sunny and 27 C in Tonami, Toyama, when I checked on Wednesday. By Friday night, Saturday’s weather was supposed to be...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Fire-Flowers: Kawakita Fireworks
On 6 August, I headed down to Mikawa for the Kawakita Matsuri (川北まつり) and Hokkoku Shinbun Fireworks (北國大花火川北大会), the biggest fireworks display in Ishikawa. The festival is held every year in Tedorigawa...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Let’s Merry!: Buying Mochi Rice
New Year’s in Japan means it’s the season for mochi-gome (餅米), mochi rice, a sticky, glutinous rice. Mochi rice is used for two traditional New Year’s foods: mochi, a smooth rice “cake” made of this...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Let’s Merry!: Osaka German Christmas Market
While Kanazawa (and most of Hokuriku) got its annual white Christmas, I got a set of Seishun 18 Tickets (青春１８きっぷ) and my husband and I made the trek down to notably sunnier and warmer Kansai for the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Moonlit Road: Kanazawa Tsukimi Koro Light-Up 2011
On Sept. 22-23, Kanazawa’s Higashi Betsuin and Nishi Betsuin Temples are hosting a light-up with votive lanterns and hikari no objet (光のオブジェ), light-up objets d’art, some of which were displayed in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Seihakusai Festival
Held in Nanao, Ishikawa pref., every May, the Seihakusai Festival (青柏祭) features three enormous floats that are said to ward off evil monkeys. (There’s lots of good information in English on Experience...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Hina Matsuri, Now with More Dinosaurs
I’m a few days late for Hina Matsuri (ひな祭り), celebrated on March 3, but trust me, there’s always time for dinosaur courtiers. Via Fukui Shimbun 2014 is the third year in which the Fukui Prefectural...
View Article
