Fukuyama: The City of Roses
Fukuyama is Hiroshima’s second-largest city. I’ve often passed through on the Shinkansen, admiring its five-tiered yamajiro from the train window. The station-adjacent castle is the city’s most obvious draw. Its…
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The Town That Inspired ‘Ponyo’
Studio Ghibli’s hand-drawn films are some of Japan’s greatest treasures. Co-founder Miyazaki Hayao has directed more than half of the animation studio’s works, including the highly acclaimed My Neighbor Totoro…
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A Quick Guide to Arita Porcelain Town
In the forested mountains of western Saga is a small town called Arita, which is known for its porcelain. Every Golden Week, it hosts one of Japan’s largest ceramics fairs,…
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A Walking Tour of Saga City
Even though I lived in Kyushu for four years, I only ever spent time in Saga once. It was for the International Balloon Fiesta, which I decided to attend with…
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Sculpture and Sakura at Tokiwa Park
For the past three years, I’ve called the small coastal city of Ube home. Once a thriving coal-mining town, it’s now the third-largest city in Yamaguchi Prefecture, mostly known for…
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Touring the Iya Valley
The Iya Valley region of Tokushima, located on the island of Shikoku, is one of the remotest areas of Japan. So remote, in fact, that it was once a refuge…
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Inside Japan’s Scarecrow Village
Deep in the mountains of Shikoku, where no trains and few buses go, lies a tiny village populated almost entirely by scarecrows. Outnumbering the residents by 10 to 1, the…
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The Yokai Benches of Fukusaki
Just 25 minutes north of Himeji City by train lies the town of Fukusaki. Surrounded by mountains with the Ichikawa flowing through it, it’s just far enough off the beaten…
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Hinamatsuri in Shimonoseki’s Samurai Town
Hinamatsuri, also called Girls’ Day, is a doll festival held every year in Japan on March 3. Traditionally known as Momo-no-sekku, or the Peach Festival, it began as a cleansing…
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Inside The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (USJ)
I still remember the first time I read Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (as it was titled in SA). The book was a gift for my 11th birthday, and…
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Katsuoji: The Temple of Winning Luck
In the mountains of Minoh, Osaka, is a centuries-old Buddhist temple decorated with thousands of red daruma dolls. Known as “the temple of winning luck,” visitors from around the world…
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