Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture

Here I am in Yokohama city in Kanagawa prefecture. I only have a couple of hours to have a look around the city. First thing I did was to go to the top of the Land Mark Tower building. You can enjo…

Nakatsugawa in Gifu Prefecture

Nakasendo highway had 69 stations between Nishonbashi in Edo and Sanjo Ohashi in Kyoto a distance of about 532km. Nakatsugawa station is the 45th post town from Nihonbashi in Edo and well preserved…

Osaka Castle in Osaka Prefecture

History of the Osaka castle In late 15th century, monks lived here and they had strong power and influence. A samurai called Oda Nobunaga lived nearby didn’t like it. So he destroyed the buildings …

Manyo Botanical Garden in Nara Prefecture

I visited to Manyo Botanical Garden in Nara Prefecture. The garden is within the precinct of the Kasuga Grand Shrine. The garden is famous for wisteria. Over 200 wisterias and 20 species are plante…

Osaka -Senba Area

Here I am in Osaka! I stand by Sendan-no-ki Bridge and admire the beautiful neo-Renaissance architecture with red brick wall and dome-shaped bronze roof under the morning sun. It is Osaka City Cent…

Kameyama Castle Ruins in Mie Prefecture

You can see what Kameyama castle looked like at nearby museum. Main tower of the Kameyama Castle was demolished by mistake in 1632! It appears that the Tokugawa Shogunate had ordered the same named…

Matsusaka Castle in Mie Prefecture

Matsusaka Castle Ruins The castle was built in 1588. The original castle tower was lost in a typhoon long ago, but the impressive stone wall still stand today. There was no wall neither fense at th…

Temple Tour in Higashi Ward, Nagoya

I joined a walking tour to visit temples in Higashi ward, Nagoya. This area used to be called a temple town because many temples stand together here since early 17th century. In 1610, lord of Owari…

Shoubouji Temple and Aquaignis in Mie Prefecture

I visited Shoubouji Temple (Rinzai Sect, Myoshin school) today. The temple is locally famous as the beautiful colored leaves. Many maple and ginkgo trees are planted in traditional Japanese garden.…

Izumo Grand Shrine in Shimane Prefecture

Izumo Grand Shrine is designed as a national treasure. I’ve been wanting to come here for a long time. The shrine is great place to visit. It is believed that the gods gather at Izumo Grand Shrine …