This week’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge theme is ‘nostalgia‘. I wasn’t going to do another photo blog this week, but this theme was too good to resist. The word ‘nostalgia’ instantly makes me think of the Japanese word ‘natsukashii’ (懐かしい), which is one of those wonderful untranslatable words the Japanese language has so many of. It’s feeling … Continue reading
It’s time for ‘Japan by Prefecture‘ again! This is the series that aims to provide the highlights of each prefecture of Japan, along with my personal favourites and suggestions from readers. This week, we’re looking at Gifu (岐阜県). Gifu Prefecture is part of the Chubu Region (中部地方) and the capital is Gifu City (岐阜市). I’ve been to a couple of places in Gifu … Continue reading
I’ve been spending the bank holiday weekend here in the UK trying to catch up with life. I still have hundreds of photos to edit and upload, but I’m making progress. Today I’ve reached 16th May, which was the day I left my tour group behind and made my way to Takayama (高山) by myself. It … Continue reading
These koinobori (鯉幟), or ‘carp streamers’, looked beautiful swimming up stream in Takayama today.
It’s time for A to Wa of Japan again! Last week’s post was about things beginning with ち (chi) and we looked at Chichibu (秩父). This week we are looking at things beginning with つ (tsu). A big thank you to everyone who joined in with suggestions this week (I know ‘tsu’ was a particularly tough one!): Japan Australia suggested Tsu (津 … Continue reading
Last week’s post was about Chipsu (チップス), so this week I need to start with す (su). Thank you for all your suggestions: japanaustralia with sukiyaki (すき焼き / a Japanese dish with beef), suika (スイカ / watermelon), sumi (墨 / ink), supōtsu (スポーツ / sport) and suzume (すずめ / tree sparrow), and ラマタ with sumo (相撲). They were … Continue reading
Last week’s post was about Shizuoka ( しずおか/ 静岡), so this week I need to start with か (ka). I decided to write about… Kamishibai ( かみしばい/ 紙芝居) Kamishibai is a traditional form of storytelling, which uses pictures on paper. The pictures are usually placed into some kind of frame, as you can see in the … Continue reading
On December 31st, some friends took my mum and I to Showa Mura in Gifu Prefecture. Sorry, that website is in Japanese and I can’t find any real information about it in English (unlike its slightly more popular cousin, Meiji Mura). Showa Mura, as you would expect, celebrates the Showa period of Japanese history, 1926 … Continue reading
Today I had the pleasure of visiting one of Japan’s old ‘post towns’ – Magome-juku (馬籠宿),. For those of you who don’t know (and I didn’t until recently!) a ‘post town’ (or, ‘shukuba‘, 宿場) is a kind of resting place – a town where people stay the night on the way to somewhere, in ancient … Continue reading
A year ago today I was a jumble of nerves and anticipation because, a year ago tomorrow, I was due to fly to Japan to start my new life as an English teacher in Nagoya. It feels strange to look back at my early posts from my hotel room – I was half on holiday … Continue reading
Haikugirl's Japan 