In this article, I want offer some suggestions for walking routes where you will discover all of it: historical sites, temples and shrines as well as nature and food!

The temple was built in AD 686 and is positioned near the top of a mountain. There is a covered stairway leading up that’s strewn with flowers and lined with stone lanterns.

I know that learning kanji can seem daunting at first, but after a few years one can learn the 1600–2000 main kanji needed for fluency. Beyond those kanji though, there are 4000+ more kanji that even the average Japanese native might not either know how to write or even be able to read.

Japanese love giving gifts during many occasions and it is a part of their culture. New Year, birthdays, weddings, graduation, school entry, child birth etc. are some of the most delighted occasions in which monetary gifts are presented.

It is synonymous with upscale shopping, eating, fashion, and art, and is conveniently located right next to kawaii culture mecca, Harajuku.

The Sky Circus observatory is situated in the Sunshine 60 Building on the 60th floor. The building can be accessed from Ikebukuro station or Higashi-Ikebukuro station. Close to the shopping center Alpa there is an elevator that takes to the 60th floor.

Here you will find hundreds of wild, yet friendly deer roaming the fields, lounging in the grass and bowing for cookies. But if watching and feeding deer isn’t up your alley, here are a few other recommended places to visit (in no particular order).

The Character Street is like the name says, a street filled with all kinds of character goods shops. It is situated in the basement of Tokyo station and therefore also a good place to visit when it’s raining.

Japan is a country where ceremonies are a traditional and essential part of the life from the moment of their birth until the day of their last breath. Beginning with the pregnancy period and birth, the life of a Japanese citizen becomes a succession of ceremonies, festivals and traditions to follow.

Green tea, so central to Japanese daily life, actually originated in Northern Kyushu! Below, I present a brief guide to three of Kyushu’s main tea producing regions and their particular types of Japanese green tea.

If you grew up in the West, you’ve probably heard about Haiku. This poetic form is inseparable from the image of Japanese culture, but writing a haiku is not too common.

In this piece, I shine a light on a neighborhood which is rarely mentioned in tourist guidebooks–Asakusabashi, located conveniently only one stop from electronics and otaku mecca, Akihabara, on the JR Sobu line with a subway stop on the Toei Asakusa Line as well for easy access to the Asakusa/Sensoji area and Tokyo Sky Tree.