Whilst I was at HYPER JAPAN recently I came across a stall selling old kokeshi (こけし) dolls (the stall was part of Kimono De Go). As a collector of kokeshi I was curious to see how much they were charging for dolls which were probably found at flea markets. They hand a range of dolls in … Continue reading
This week’s Weekly Photo Challenge is on the theme of ‘yellow’, and yesterday I just happened to pick up a brand new sunshiny addition to my kokeshi (こけし) doll family: ‘Yellow’ is making me think about this beautiful piece of craft right now. She’s my first yellow traditional kokeshi doll – most of my other … Continue reading
Continuing on from my Naruko Onsen (Part 1) post, I’m finally back with Part 2! (Sorry it’s taking me forever to write up my Japan adventures!) On Wednesday 28th May, I woke up relaxed and refreshed in Naruko Onsen (鳴子温泉) and ate the most amazing breakfast at the Taishokan (大正館) ryokan. The food there was just so good – … Continue reading
On Tuesday 27th May my Tohoku adventure continued. Just before midday I left Yamagata Station on the Tsubasa shinkansen and travelled north to Shinjo. At Shinjo I changed to the JR Rikku East Line, a local line with small trains full of character. My destination? Naruko Onsen (鳴子温泉). The journey to Naruko was simply gorgeous. The … Continue reading
Last week’s post was about maiko (まいこ / 舞妓), so this week I need to start with こ (ko). A big thank you to everyone who joined in this week and played the game – UK Seikatsu who suggested koi (鯉 / carp), kokeshi (こけし / traditional Japanese dolls), cosplay (コスプレ/ costume play), kotatsu (こたつ / a … Continue reading
Haikugirl's Japan 