• Hatsumode at Fushimi Inari Shrine

    While most of the world rings in the New Year with partying and fireworks, celebrations in Japan are a little more subdued. That’s because shōgatsu, as it’s known here, is…

    January 11, 2024

  • Hofu Tenmangu Shrine

    Hofu Tenmangu is an impressive shrine that sits atop a hill in Hofu, Yamaguchi. It was the first in Japan to be dedicated to Tenjin, the god of learning. Tenjin…

    November 26, 2023

  • Motonosumi Inari Shrine

    In case you missed it, I’m back in Japan. And one of the best things about it is getting to catch up with old friends. I recently spent the day…

    November 10, 2023

  • Udo-jingū: A Most Unusual Shrine

    During the Age of the Gods, the daughter of the Japanese sea King Ryujin, Toyotama, lived with her father in the underwater palace of Ryugu-jo. One day, the dragon goddess…

    November 22, 2016

  • The Sacred, Starving Deer of Miyajima

    “…so please do not feed the deer,” the announcement played over a loudspeaker as soon as I walked out of the terminal. Wait – what!? There’s deer here? Thanks to…

    September 7, 2015

  • Senganen Garden and the Cat Shrine

    “This… is so wonderful that I don’t know how to express it,” said British diplomat Harry Smith Parkes of his sojourn at Senganen in 1866. “Anyone who visits there must be stricken by…

    June 10, 2015

  • Toshogu Shrine Nikko

    This article is available on GPSmyCity. Download the app for GPS-assisted travel directions to all the attractions featured. More than 1000 years ago, a Buddhist priest named Shodo Shonin crossed…

    April 11, 2015

  • Zenko-ji Temple Nagano

    This article is available on GPSmyCity. Download the app for GPS-assisted travel directions to all the attractions featured. “Oh this isn’t so bad,” I thought as we entered the tunnel.…

    March 30, 2015
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