“Early the next morning, we visited Shiogama Shrine, rebuilt by Masamune, Lord of Date, when he was governor of the province. The fine wooden pillars were of impressive girth, and the rafter beams were brightly painted. The shrine was at the top of a long flight of stone steps, and its vermilion lacquered fence was … Continue reading
Has it really been almost 5 months since I woke up in Naruko Onsen after two peaceful nights and set off on the next part of my adventure? Time flies, doesn’t it? I really must get a wriggle on and finish sharing all these stories! So, it was 29th May and, after a delicious breakfast … 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
After the excitement of Rokkonsai I opted for a more solitary day, taking my first steps along haiku poet Matsuo Basho’s ‘Narrow Road to the North’, or ‘Oku no hosomichi‘ (奥の細道). In the late spring of 1689 Matsuo Basho (松尾 芭蕉) and his haiku poet apprentice Kawai Sora (河合 曾良) set out on their epic journey, and … Continue reading
Today I continued following in haiku poet Basho’s footsteps and visited parts of the ‘Oku no hosomichi‘ (おくのほそ道), or ‘The Narrow Road to the Deep North’. One day I would love to come back and walk as much of the trail as is possible, but I think that would take a lot of careful planning! … Continue reading
Yesterday I finally made it to the ‘mountain temple’ – Yamadera. The 1000 or so steps to the top were a bit of a killer, and I’m feeling it in my legs today, but boy was it worth it! It was incredible to tread the path that haiku poet Basho once trod…
A book that starts with a map is always a good thing, and a map of Japan is even better. This map, in Lesley Downer‘s 1989 book On the Narrow Road to the Deep North shows the route haiku poet Matsuo Basho (松尾 芭蕉) (1644 – 1694) took in 1689, as followed by the author in the … Continue reading
After spending a few hours in St James’s Park under the cherry blossoms (or possibly some other kind of blossoms, I can’t actually tell), I made my way to the Chelsea College of Art for a haiku workshop. The workshop was run by haiku poets Sho Otaka and Paul Conneally, in English and Japanese, and … Continue reading
Continuing with my A-Z of Japan series, today it’s time for B. I thought for a while about what should represent B – should it perhaps be baseball (a very popular sport in Japan), Buddhism (one of Japan’s two main religions) or bento (弁当) (Japanese lunch boxes made with precision and care)? All are worthy … Continue reading
Senso-ji in Asakusa is probably Tokyo’s most famous temple, and I have visited there a number of times. However, this time (on 15th April) I approached it from a whole different angle and saw things in a new way. I usually approach the bold red temple gate from the “main entrance”, by which I mean … Continue reading
Haikugirl's Japan 