In the shadow of Okayama Castle, enjoy the beautiful garden of Korakuen, rated as one of the top three gardens in Japan. Completed in 1700, the garden was used as a place for entertaining important guests and also as a spa of sorts for daimyo. It’s colorful fauna and picturesque topography surrounds a pretty teahouse abutting a pond where I enjoyed a sip of green tea sitting on its veranda overlooking a beautiful pond. So very quaint and authentic.

A mere thirty-minutes away, I sojourned to Kibitsu Jinja, a shrine that has been revered widely since the remote past and a National Treasure. It is so unique and an unusual to experience the Corridor of Kibitsu Jinja. Imagine corridors covered with curving roofs extending straight through the wooded precinct for almost 360 meters on sloping ground. At the bottom of the precipice is the Kama-domo or Cauldron Hall where I experienced a ritual known as Narokama or cauldron divination in a sacred service held by a Shinto priest, called Asome. This is truly an existential moment to receive his blessings of good fortune in such a sacred setting. What a special experience!

Now off to Kurashiki, a small quintessential village to the south, , with its immaculately preserved merchant quarter that dates to the Edoperiod. Strolling along Kurashiki’s willow lined canals, hump-backed stone bridges and seeing dozens of whitewashed, black-tiled Kura or rice store houses was a real treat. Many small shops, sake breweries and restaurants to enjoy. Kurashiki is a perfect spot to have a relaxing evening at one of our favorite ryokans, Ryokan Kurashiki, perfectly situated in the middle of the village and offering the finest and warmest service.

Just a ten-minute ferry ride from the Port of Uno, I enjoyed a beautiful day seeing blue waters and rocky islands jutting out from the serene Inland Sea. Destination—Naoshima Island, a bastion of contemporary art and natural beauty. With colorful paintings, sculptures and photographic images abound, it’s an unforgettable journey “where one can enjoy enriching encounters with artworks in the changing light over the course of a day.” Naoshima should be at the top of any art-lover’s list of must-see places.

Let JapanQuest Journeys introduce you to Okayama and experience some of the very finest and eclectic spots Japan has to offer.

Scott Gilman

So your plane lands
at Narita and the aisle lights come on. You and hundreds of others get up and
stretch, shaking off blankets and crumbs and whatever else has accumulated over
the hours, taking your bags and shuffling down the length of the plane to your
first breath of non-cabin air. But the herd doesn’t break, and in your
plane-drained state being caught in that flow is enough to convince you that it
is headed in the right direction toward baggage claim just because you don’t
feel like thinking otherwise, but as an extra reassurance you hear and see a
smattering of languages not least of which is your mother tongue, urging you on
to get your stuff.

Narita is a
strangely vibrant airport. It is clean and streamlined, guiding those stopping
by with its stylized but efficient architecture, not so much taking you where
you need to go but rather holding your hand and leading you along. Of course,
like most friends, it will lead you astray from time to time, suggesting in a
veiled tone that you should stop in one or another place against your better,
financially-minded judgment, and the friendly “Welcome!” signs staring you down
along the way surely help the airport’s friendly nudge to, “just  drop in for a look.” It is a potentially
dangerous path, your wallet’s contents not exactly secure, but there are worse
thing than being enticed to spend more than you planned on designer clothes and
tax-free alcohol at the start of vacation.

Through the
gauntlet you go, dragging your things somewhat clumsily through the halls (but
definitely not in any sort of disorientation like that other guy over there)
headed for immigration, where trouble undoubtedly looms, but through which you
pass very quickly, surprisingly so, hardly worth mentioning in fact. Whew. Past
the gates, marking your entrance back into somewhere, you end up at the
turnstile of travel, where you find your luggage, intact, swirling around with
the others. You sigh upon heaving your belongings out of the pool, familiar
stickers and scrapes relieving you of some of the worry of traveling so far
(though you didn’t really expect trouble – it is your lucky suitcase after
all).

Even with the
crowds as large as they are, things here rarely feel truly congested: Narita is
an international hub that successfully directs individuals on to their intended
destinations. You fly in, show your papers, spot your things, move through the
motions, bam-bam-bam one thing after another on the traveler’s checklist is
handily dispatched. Things move maybe a little bit faster than what you are
accustomed to, and things are maybe more crowded than you prefer, but there is
a smoothness underlying it all that makes the pace alright, maybe even a little
exhilarating. Travel is inherently stressful, but here where nothing seems to
stand exactly still and is always
moving at least a little bit forward, there is a giddiness in that stress
suggesting that there are fun, maybe even awesome things awaiting you and that
there is not a moment to spare. Within 90 minutes of landing, with all
possessions, all visas, and now, after spending only so long deciphering the
electronic and not-too-confusing ticket dispenser, all necessary train tickets
in hand, you move on towards the station, to make your way towards Tokyo.

Your reserved seat
ticket, what you bought in case the crowds you came in with got the best of
you, indeed served to alleviate some worry when the mass sure enough swelled to
greater proportions as it lunged for the doors of the train on opening. The
seconds-long window you had to navigate the people around you while the doors
remained open certainly added some unwanted excitement to boarding the train.
An adage about Rome or Romans briefly flickers into your mind as you don’t so
much as actively get on but rather passively submit to the push into the train,
still comfortable in the fact that though the rush is mildly alarming, your
ticket will get you out of it soon enough and to your seat – no worries.

Once on board, a
minor sense of accomplishment for besting the human obstacle coarse keeps a
smile lightly painted across your face as you consider how well things have
gone so far. The specter of stress is on you, but only as the result of worry
that is intrinsic to traveling. Despite having convinced yourself that you’ll
lose something, you haven’t yet, and
the lines keep on moving and so you do too, ever closer to your resting point,
for tonight anyway. That certainty of movement, unlike what you’ve experienced
elsewhere in your travels, is what keeps you positive; tired, sure, but
nevertheless in high spirits despite the thousands of miles you’ve come. A cool
drink, a reclining chair anywhere but on a plane, and an easy train ride to
your hotel should begin the process of depressurization, and that is precisely
what you face as you approach your seat.

Bags up; sit down;
beckon to the stewardess; wallet out; tea in hand, jingle of change and you
recline. You begin to relax and the lights outside of your window fly past,
creating an ambient landscape to accompany the lull of the train running
smoothly over the tracks. Further off in the distance you see the physical
shape of the city begin to take form, and you wonder what, in that giant mass
of blinking color and sky-scraping obelisks, there might be waiting for you.
Surely, a late dinner to rid yourself of the stomach-rumblings of one fed on
pretzels and microwave meals for the past 24 hours is soon to come, but even
that, in this country so Westernized but not at all western, has you wondering
exactly what the results will be. Sure, you’ve just sat on a plane longer than
you care to recall (and are again sitting even now!), and have traveled halfway
around the world to a foreign country with a very foreign language, but as you
are riding a train headed into the heart of Tokyo, and then to who knows where,
all you can think of are the possibilities that await you.

By Matthew Ketchum

My Japan

My Japan is a photography exhibition operating out of Tokyo. We were started soon after the
2011 tsunami, when our director sought out photographs addressing the question,
“What does Japan mean to you?” We have since received over a thousand of
photographs from amateur and professional photographers alike, and we have
selected a number of those to put on display at our exhibition at Nirvana in
Tokyo Midtown and in our new photography book. The money we raise from the
prints and books we sell is, after cost, given to the Japan Emergency Network
(JEN) NGO still working in the Tohoku reconstruction effort.

Our goal is of
course to raise money in order to help those who need it most after the tragic
events of March 2011, but we also wish to see this country make gains on its
own. Our pictures are necessarily of a subjective nature, with each person
having a different experience with this country as the next person. Through the
photography we receive and exhibit, we wish to create a more comprehensive, but
by no means definitive, image of this country that inspires so many, both
within and without its borders. By doing this, we hope to call attention to the
many wonderful aspects of Japan in order to attract interest, be it cultural,
educational, business, or anything in between. By showing the myriad personal
perspectives of what Japan means to many different people, we hope to highlight
all of the things that Japan can be, and through that help this country
overcome the difficulties that still face it and to become stronger than it was
before.

Do you remember when you go to Point Reyes; on the way, you go through a small grove of redwood trees?
There are Giant Cedar trees on both sides of the high way, clean air and a nice sweet breeze. The Okunoin at Koyasan is just like that with old stone statues, over 1000 years old nestled deep inside a magic forest.

Koyasan is a major power spot in the temple town of Wakayama prefecture. You can choose to stay among 80 temples that offer lodging. There are no super markets, neon lights, nor entertainment centers like in Tokyo.

But there are places to rest your spirit in Koyasan.
Wake up early in the morning and join the temple’s morning sutra- sitting in the HONDO (temple’s main meditation area) and feel the vibration of the rhythmic priest’s chant. It has a rhythm and certain tone that you will be able to resonate with even if you don’t understand Japanese. You remember fond memories and your mind becomes quiet, you are soon filled with appreciation…. You also probably notice your legs have been asleep for a long time. (There are some chairs to use as well)
Your vegetarian breakfast was prepared with local vegetables and soy products. Koya dofu~freeze dried tofu and Goma Dofu (Tofu made of Sesame seeds and Kuzu-roots a kind of potato) is famous from this area and is a staple temple food throughout Japan. After breakfast, you start your walk or take a local bus to Daimon( The big gate).
At the end of town, there is the huge red gate. This is the starting point of Koyasan. Off to the side, a path circles the tow- NYONIN DO (Women’s road). Historically, Koyasan prohibited women from entering the village, but women could walk around perimeter of the temple town through NYONINDO pass and they often did, just to feel the energy emitting from the valley bellow. The Nyonindo was damaged by the typhoon and is hard to walk on now so we had to save this adventure for our next visit. If you walk through the Daimon (Big Gate ) you soon arrive at Danjogaran.
The glowing red structure you see is a clear contrast with the natural wooden structure of Mieido Hall that shares the courtyard.
After walking through Kongobuji Temple I want to spend more time at OKUNOIN. If you spend half of the day at Danjogaran and Kongobuji area you may want to have lunch before you head for Okunoin.

Okunoin is a 2Km long, a stone pavement pass with thousands of graves. You will find the legendry famous shogun’s and swordsman’s grave such as ODA Nobunaga, TOYOTOMI Hideyoshi, DATE Masamune, AKECHI Mitsuhide, UESUGI Kenshin, TAKEDA Shingen, ISHIDA Mitsunari and many more. Oh, Sugen-in (OGO) and Sen Hime’s tomb, the largest of them all is also there. The naturally preserved gravesites are surrounded with green moss and fern leaves, it was really beautiful.
You hear birds singing among the pass and the soft sunshine mixed with a fresh clear breeze helps your mind is getting quieter and quieter. Turning back the way you came you can hear bells ringing just like in the music KOYASAN by Deutur.

The book said that there are over thousand souls sleeping in Okunoin, well I think those sprits have already reached their universal destination. There is a serene sense of peace among the quiet samurai.

If I can describe the color of the feeling, it is clear ~totally clear.
You can spend two to three hours easily wondering through the woods or even a whole day. We took some side paths deeper into the wooded area and discovered more graves tucked away in cozy glens. You are just drawn to these cleared out spaces, they bathe you in sunlight and warm your soul in a special way. Walk back slowly to your temple lodging. Enjoy an early bath and dinner, again a wonderful vegetarian feast. The local sake was also a delight!

We tried drinking the sake cold one night and hot the next night. There are some wild mushroom slices prepared like sashimi, tofu skin sushi, cooked turnips and egg plants ~ those heartfelt meals were absolutely delicious.
At night, you can take a class of SHAKYO where you sit and trace the Chinese characters of the written chants on rice paper with a brush pen. The monk explained what this chant means and shows you what to do. In the quiet room all you hear is your brush strokes on the thin rice paper.
What a peaceful moment!
You go to bed maybe by 10pm and wake up early again the next morning for the 6:00am sitting. During the night you hear nothing, just the moon shining bright on Koyasan.

How to get there:
From Tokyo, it will take about 5~6 hours including transfer and connecting time.
Tokyo ~ Shin Osaka by Bullet train (2hours 50min.)
Shin Osaka ~ Namba by subway (15min.)
Namba ~ Gokurakubashi by Nankai Rail road (2 hours)
Gokurakubashi ~ Koyasan by Cable car (5 min.)
Koyasan Station ~ temple by bus (5~10min.)

Useful information:

http://www.shukubo.jp/eng/

http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/regional/wakayama/koyasan.html

Hitomi Takahashi / Class One Travel,inc.

Green tea was growing everywhere—in neighborhoods, on mountain terraces and in plantations manicured to perfection, awaiting their first of three harvests commencing this May. Tea is in fact one foundation of Japanese culture. The expression nichijo sahanji includes the character for “tea” and “meal” and translates as “an everyday occurrence.” This phrase has become deeply rooted in the life of Japanese people and its ultimate art form is the tea ceremony.

Tea is used in many forms and is said to be extremely healthy to ingest. Some Japanese have 6 to 10 cups per day. It can be found in foods, sweets, beverages, cosmetics and more. I had the opportunity to make matcha, the tea of the traditional tea ceremony blessed by nature with a sweet aroma and a brilliant green color. The tealeaves were ground by stone into a fine powder containing all of the natural flavor and nutrients of the entire leaf. Brilliantly delicious.

Wasabi fields nestled near Joren Falls could only surpass this luscious green color. I climbed down nearly one hundred wooden stairs to uncover a gorgeous waterfall abutted by wild wasabi nurtured by its pure waters, a naturally beautiful site found in this indigenous volcanically rich soil. Shizuoka also has some of the finest sake made in Japan and is home to 29 breweries. It was tremendous fun to visit a small brewery and to walk through a complex multi-step process of milling the fine rice, fermentation and aging. What also makes Shizuoka sake so good is the water, which is highly pure and sourced from Mount Fuji. So flavorful and so Japanese. Mother nature was in her glory.

It was lovely strolling through the quaint hot-spring village of Shuzenji on Izu Peninsula with its historic buildings and bamboo groves. The mystery of Shuzenji is what you cannot see from the streets—its world-class ryokans and onsens tucked away on perfectly groomed gardens hidden away from view. Frequented by foreign dignitaries, they offer only the finest of Japanese hospitality in a relaxing, refined and quintessential setting and a must part of the Japanese experience. Only a short distance from Tokyo, it is not a place to be missed.

It is said that timing is everything and I was fortunate to venture to Kawazu, which features the earliest bloom of cherry blossoms in Japan. First blooming in late January, Kawazu’s variety of cherry blossoms are a deeper pink and heartier than their cousin the Yoshino cherry tree. Lasting for over a month, Kawazu’s riverbanks were lined with these magnificent blossoms amidst its annual cherry blossom festival.

For an art aficionado like myself, it was wonderful to find the Tokaido Hiroshige Art Museum, a small boutique museum, exhibiting Hiroshige’s original ukiyo-e or woodblock prints illustrating his depiction of the Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido Road. Also to be rivaled is the cuisine in Shizuoka, which was magnificent and included local specialties such as Alfonsino, a top-class fish on Tokyo tables and kakiage or fried cherry-colored shrimp, and a particular specialty of Shizuoka.

The Shinto deity Princess Konohanasakuya is believed to be as beautiful as a cherry blossom. Refusing to accept the fact that – like the fabled cherry blossoms – one day her beauty would fade, the Princess rode to the top of Mount Fuji on a white horse and leaving her sword behind at the summit, ascended to heaven. This “Cherry Princess” withheld our view of Mount Fuji but only for a short while where a glimpse can surely capture one’s imagination.

Shizuoka is just a brief journey from Tokyo and offers many special experiences for travelers wanting a weekend getaway or an adventure to incorporate as part of a larger trip. Let JapanQuest Journeys introduce you to Shizuoka and experience the very finest that Japan has to offer.

by Scott Gilman

Wait, what is it?

The Sapporo Snow Festival is an annual winter event where millions of people gather to admire amazing snow and ice sculptures. It takes place during the second week in February, although Neetha and her friends visited Sapporo just for the weekend. While Sapporo is the main attraction, other cities like Otaru and Asahikawa also have snow festivals. Let me clarify by saying that there is a lot more types of statues to see than ones of just anime – some of the larger sculptures include an impressive Taj Mahal snow sculpture, a beautiful ice sculpture of the National Palace Museum in Taiwan, and an incredibly detailed Tsuruga Castle snow sculpture. There are about a dozen larger snow sculptures, and they can be as big as 50 feet high, and more than 80 feet wide.

The different sites

The Sapporo Snow Festival has 3 different sites: Odori, Susukino and Tsu Dome. Neetha said that each place wasn’t too crowded and it was pretty easy getting from Odori to Susukino (and Tsu Dome is only a short distance outside of the center of town.) Odori Park is where you will find the larger snow sculptures, and the park is full of about one hundred smaller sculptures as well. And by smaller I mean that they are around 6 – 7 feet each, still pretty impressive. Odori hosts the International Snow Sculpture Contest at the International Square, and about a dozen national teams from all over the world compete for first prize. This year’s winner was Hong Kong with a stunning Leaping Dragon statue. Here is the list of all the participating teams and their beautiful sculptures.

Even though Odori Park tends to be the main attraction, the ice sculptures at Susukino are no joke, either. At night these sculptures are lit up and really come to life. Also head to Tsu Dome if you want to have some fun on their ice slides.

Escaping the cold – must eats in Hokkaido

Neetha had a great time at the snow festival, but she couldn’t stop talking about how cold it was (well, duh.) To keep the frostbite from settling, Neetha and her friends would break up their time at the festival with several visits to some of the restaurants in the area. Hokkaido is known for its dairy products and miso ramen, and they found a small ramen alley next to the ice sculptures in Susukino that she raves about. Neetha also highly recommends going to the Sapporo Biergarten for its Genghis Khan mongolian beef (unlimited beer addition optional.)

About the festival

The Sapporo Snow Festival started back in 1950 when high school students made a few smaller snow sculptures in the park. The following year members from the Self-Defense Force erected a giant snow statue, and since then the event has grown to include other citizens, businesses, and people from other countries. If you’re curious about the process of making one of these bad boys, here is a brief step by step for the snow sculptures (although I have a feeling this may be a harder DIY than you had hoped.) The festival is definitely on my list of must-sees – hope I can make it out there next year! Anyone care to join me?

All photos taken by Neetha Mony.

Please also visit Let’s Take The Scenic Route.

Shochu, unlike sake which needs cooler temperatures for brewing, can be distilled in warmer areas. Kyushu is the center of production, and Kagoshima, near the southwestern tip of Kyushu, is considered shochu’s traditional home; it is best known for its own inimitable imo-shochu, or shochu made from sweet potatoes.

There are two methods of distillation: one results in allowing the personality of the raw ingredients to shine through, and is called honkaku, or “authentic”. This type of shochu is often enjoyed straight, on the rocks, or mixed with a bit of hot or cold water. The other method results in a lighter tasting shochu, and a much greater quantity of this type is produced than the honkaku. It is very popular because its milder taste allows it to blend well. The crowd-pleasing cocktail called chu-hi (shochu highballs made with fruit flavors), served all over, and also sold as a canned drink, is a testament to this. The true shochu connoisseur would most likely eschew the second type of shochu in favor of the honkaku shochu.

Whichever you prefer, shochu is now enjoying its day in the sun. Consumption has steadily increased over the past few years, especially among young people, while beer and sake consumption have dropped.

Another type of distilled beverage that is gaining in popularity is awamori, which is only made in the island group of Okinawa. While it is made from rice, the rice that is used is not the short-grain japonica type used for sake and shochu, but rather the long-grain indica rice imported from Thailand. The distillation process is also different. Awamori is meant to be aged for a long time, and the result of doing so is a richly flavored, mellow drink that some people liken to brandy!

These delicious beverages are integrally tied to the climate and culture of Japan, and you can enjoy shochu at most restaurants and izakaya in the country. Don’t forget to ask for a glass of shochu, or a sip of awamori the next time you’re out on the town!

For more information on where to enjoy shochu, please visit here!

I’m a planner, much to the annoyance of some of my friends and family, the “go with the flow” mantra never sat well with me. Call it long term trauma from being the only and eldest girl, but I have always been the overly responsible one, highly skeptical, asking tons of questions until I felt satisfied. Right or wrong, I also apply this level of due diligence to travel. Before I land in a new country I need to know the national emergency number (because 911 is not universal), what the tipping policy is in that region of the world and whether or not they are “tolerant” of Black folks (yes, people still have to think about this in 2012).

A few months ago I scored an amazing deal with the Russian airline, Aeroflot. My round trip ticket cost 439 Euros from Berlin to Tokyo with a stop over in Moscow. After receiving my email confirmation I immediately started panicking:

OMG OMG Japan what was I thinking? Do I need to bring my own slippers?No, I’m sure they communal slippers…Communal slippers, eww. What if I press the wrong button on one of those funky toilets and go flying through the ceiling? What if I get bitten by a monkey? Does my travel insurance cover monkey-bites? What if some clown tries to slip me the kancho!!! KANCHO! ARGH!

I literally suffered from Japanese toilet operation anxiety for 3 weeks
until I watched this instructional video

Once I bested irrational fear, the logical concerns started to hit me. I would be traveling for two weeks in a country known around the world for being ridiculously expensive. Of course I got the plane ticket but what about accommodations, transport and food? YEEPERS.

The first thing I wanted to tackle was my itinerary. I had no desire to spend all two weeks in Tokyo because the country has so much to offer. After researching online for suggested cities, and bothering my worldly friends, I came up with a list of what I wanted to see. The winners were: Tokyo, Nikko, Osaka, Kyoto, and Kamakura.

Photo Credit: Scene With a Hart

Then I made a list of what specific things I wanted to experience while in Japan, mixing a bit of culture, Japanese hospitality and downright weird stuff ( In no particular order):

Huge perfect fruit in Japan

Now with the cities and a big list of interest, I could map out an itinerary

Feb 20 – Monday – Arrive in Tokyo
Feb 21 – Tuesday Travel Tokyo to Osaka
Feb 22 – Wednesday Osaka
Feb 23 – Thursday Travel Osaka to Kyoto
Feb 24 – Friday Kyoto Cooking Class and Market Tour
Feb 25 – Saturday Kyoto
Feb 26 – Sunday Kyoto
Feb 27 – Monday Travel Kyoto to Tokyo
Feb 28 – Tuesday Tokyo
Feb 29 – Wednesday Tokyo Day Trip to Kamakura Tour
March 1 – Thursday Tokyo Day trip to Nikko Tour
March 2 – Friday Tokyo
March 3- Saturday Tokyo
March 4 – Sunday Tokyo
March 5 – Monday Depart for Berlin

There were two major pieces outstanding, transportation all around Japan and accommodations, this is where the bulk of my budget was spent. Luckily in regards to the long distance bullet train, Japan gives tourist a break on travel, offering the Japan Rail Pass. The Rail Pass can only be purchased from outside of Japan and is sold in 7, 14, and 21 day increments. I bought the 7 day pass which I intend to use to get me from Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and back to Tokyo. The 7 day pass is a whopping 328,300  YEN (277 Euro) for Standard class. You receive a voucher and you pick up the actual ticket in the airport. After examining the prices of single tickets this was totally worth it.

Japanese bullet train or Shinkansen

The hardest part of this trip was arranging accommodations. I haven’t actually counted but I am changing places a lot, and totally running the gamut. For starters, I will be losing my Couch Surfing virginity. ::pause for dramatic effect:: Considering the cost of accommodations in Japan and the fact that some of the coolest people I know swear by couch surfing, I though this would be the perfect time to give it a try. So I am staying with two hosts, one in Osaka and another in Tokyo. They seem really cool and I am anxious to meet them. Before agreeing to even put in a request for their couches, I read their profiles in detail and scoured their referrals. One guy is actually a friend of Adam from Travels of Adam, so I think I am in good hands, which reminds me I need to buy gifts!

As you might remember, I wanted to stay at a ryokan and a capsule hotel. In Kyoto I will be spending one night in a capsule hotel with a twist called First Cabin. The hotel has an air plane theme. I will only do that for one night and head over to NISHIYAMA Ryokan to experience Japanese hospitality at it’s best. (and yummy food)

I will also be sampling a few hotels. After my long flight I wanted to treat myself so I will be checking out the Claska in Tokyo, a really funky hotel I found in my LUXE Tokyo City Guide. I also wanted to check out this beautiful boutique hotel in Kyoto called Hotel Mume.

Lastly for my final weekend in Tokyo I decided to rent an apartment where all the action is in Harajuku. I found the place on Roomorama.com and believe me when I tell you, for the location, renting a studio apartment for a few nights was the best option.

The Wind Room in Hotel Mume, Kyoto

I still have to sort out food and local transport within the individual cities. Luckily my buddy Fidel wrote a post about cheap eats in Tokyo, so I will be pulling that up when I am in Japan. Local transport is a mystery to me but I have a few days to figure it out, cabs are way expensive in Tokyo and I won’t be throwing any money away.

You all will be able to keep track of my travels throughout Japan because I will have PocketWifi, provided by a new Japanese provider called eConnect. As the name implies, PocketWifi is a mini portable Wifi router that will enable me to check in all over Japan as well as update you guys on Facebook and Twitter. I won’t have to be tethered to an internet cafe or pay insane data charges if I just want to stay connected.

I am so geeked for this trip, and even more excited to be able to share it will all of you. Be prepared for some great photos, interesting observations, reviews and of course lessons what I will be learning along the way.

For the record 119 is the emergency number in Japan, tipping is seen as horribly offensive, and Japanese people have an odd fascination with Black people, so I might end up a celebrity, wish me luck!!

Read more about Nicole’s journey through Japan at nicoleisthenewblack.com

This love of nature is reflected in Japanese arts and culture. The haiku, which I am sure that most of you are familiar with, and which is the pinnacle of Japanese poetic expression, must and most prominently features a reference to nature

If you ask Japanese people which season they most enjoy, most will say, “Spring.” Given how Japanese are moved so much by nature, I am sure that you can imagine how wonderful spring in Japan must be. As the snow begins to melt and the days gradually become warmer, spring is the time when one can directly feel thanks for the warmth of the sun. Spring is also a time to enjoy wonderful seasonal foods including sansai ryori, a delicacy the taste of which reflects the transition of the seasons. Sansai or mountain vegetables have an initial bitter taste but after a few moments, their wonderful aroma and sweetness prevail in the same manner that the spring visits after a long, cold winter.

For many Japanese, the cherry blossoms that emerge in the spring are Japan and embody the Japanese view of the world. The Japanese love for cherry blossoms in not something that is felt on a rational level, but rather it is in the Japanese DNA. Unlike a gorgeous rose or lily, the cherry blossom has an ephemeral beauty that is enjoyed but for a brief period of time before they scatter in a warm spring breeze. The Japanese love for cherry blossoms is difficult to explain in words but one, which you will surely feel and understand when you visit Japan during this beautiful time of the year.

This spring, under the snow like cherry blossoms, enjoy delicious sansai ryori and Japanese sake while composing your own haiku and enjoy the best that Japan has to offer.

by Mitsuna Satooka