Seasoning the Seasons

1. Kyoto: Coloring the Season

Kariyasu, kuchinashi, and moegi -all are Japanese words for colors. The Japan...

2. Kakunodate: Stories of Old Families

Kakunodate is the "Little Kyoto" of Tohoku, a castle town and popular tourist...

3. Spirited Away to Tono

The folklorist, Kunio Yanagita, wrote his "Tono Monogatari" (Tales of Tono) a...

4. Japanese Towers, Memories Past and Present

Towers that reach to the skies. Towering tourist attractions around the count...

5. Matsushima: Islands of Beauty and Prayer

The beautiful islands of Matsushima in Miyagi Prefecture are known as one of ...

6. Suwa: A Celebration Down Through Time

Suwa was a center of culture in Japan in the Jomon period before rice cultiva...

7. Niyodo River: Living with Japan's Clearest River

With its glass-like translucency, the River Niyodo on Shikoku is renowned for...

8. Mt. Fuji

Mt. Fuji is Japan's highest peak at 3776m. Its magnificence and beauty have i...

9. Awa Dance: Obon Festival with 100,000 Dancers

The Awa Odori dance is the highlight of the 4-day Obon Festival of the Dead i...

11. Itsukushima, Island of the Gods

Miyajima, an island 30 km around in the Seto Inland Sea, is known as one of t...

12. Hand-Made in Japan

Our theme this time is traditional crafts. The Japanese have a long history o...

13. Dolls Bearers of Dreams

The Japanese fascination with dolls extends through Neolithic clay figures to...

14. Tracing Rice in Japan

Rice is special to the Japanese. Since rice cultivation arrived here millenni...

15. Blowfish - A Secret Taste from the Deep

The blowfish is an expensive delicacy in Japan that has been eaten here for t...

16. Millennium Guardians The Buddhist Statues of Kyoto

Kyoto is a treasure house of Buddhist statuary. The many statues there includ...

17. Nights of Snow

Areas of Japan experience the heaviest snowfall in the world. The people ther...