NEWS OF TRAVEL JAPAN

(above:The stone wall of the Ise-Ueno castle) (above:the Castle of Iga-Ueno) The stone wall covered in moss rising high from a moat showed the braveness of the old days of The Iga-Ueno Castle, but shone by the gentle afternoon sun-light of May it added to the texture of calmness. The shape with white walls of the castle above the stone wall relaxed us who had a little bit of tiredness from traveling. We saw many tourists idly from the bench where we sat, when we found many children who were dressed from head to toe except the face in cotton clothes. It was the iconic costume, yes you know, of “ninja”. We payed attention to them, colors of the clothes were red, blue, green, pink and violet. These ninja children were great matches with the background view of the castle. Their parents took photos of hopping ninja children. We already took our attention away from the castle and followed the movement of the ninja children with our eyes, they were very cute. I remembered that Iga was th...

The Rugby World Cup will come to Japan in 2019. At the moment it’s not topical, but people’s interest in the Rugby World Cup will increase gradually. Many foreign supporters will come to Japan together with the Rugby World Cup for the cheering to their country’s teams. All of Japan will welcome foreign visitors because the games of the World Cup will be held at twelve stadiums, so Japan in 2019 will have a great climax different from the climax of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. The role of the “Brave Blossoms” Three years ago Japan’s Rugby team, the Brave Blossoms, had a great impact on the Rugby World Cup of 2015 in Great Britain. It got three wins and one loss in the qualifying round ( it was the best record for the Brave Blossoms of all Rugby World Cups), especially the unexpected come-from-behind victory in the brink of the game-end against South Africa jolted many people in the world. Despite the three wins it couldn’t lift the Brave Blossoms to the tournament games of t...

A shaved ice “kakigori”, is a typical summer delicacy. It is a sweet of fluffily shaved ice with a variety of fruit syrup like strawberry, melon, lemon, mango or green-tea with red beans. Its optimal season is from June to September, the season in Japan is hot and humid.  If you come to Japan during this season, you should try to eat it absolutely. You can do it anywhere in Japan, particularly it is served by many sweet taste shops around popular sight-seeing places. Of course you can find a shop with kakigori in your guide-book, or you may know it by asking a Japanese person around you. Moreover, as a little bit of adventure may make your traveling more exciting, I recommend that you seek and find a kakigori flag (the picture above) on your own. Japanese people love ice creams and Gelato, but on hot and humid days the popularity of kakigori ascends steeply. The appearance of a kakigori in front of you shall limit your sweat. A spoon of fluffy kakigori entering your mouth mel...

Gokayama is one of the world heritage sites in Japan, it’s famous for its gassho-style architecture. Gokayama is near Shirakawa-Go which is the other world heritage site of gassho-style architecture. It is located in a tiny mountainous region deep in Toyama prefecture, it is approximately an hour away by tourist bus from Kanazawa in Ishikawa prefecture. Many foreign tourists come to Gokayama to see gassho-style architecture. In addition you can enjoy being in a clean and quiet atmosphere between looming high hills and the Shokawa River filled with cold water. In a house you can relax among the smell of the thick wooden pillars, the stems of the roof and the ash of a sunken hearth, which all have existed for long time. Moreover the more you know about the long, long history of this region, the more fun you will have in this world heritage site. The Jomon Era:The Era before recorded history The history of Japan is very long. Recorded history started from 16 centuries ago, the Chi...

Do you want to dress in a samurai costume? Dressing in a samurai costume has become a little bit popular among foreign travelers recently. Moreover do you want to know samurai spirit? Unfortunately I am afraid that it isn’t easy from present Japanese people, because thoughts in gaining profit and interest has tainted Japanese people and they have forgotten the spirit. Nonetheless a very malicious incident, which happened during a American football friendship game between two top universities, and many words and deeds after the game jolted Japanese people’s hearts with anger and honesty. Well now, triggered by it I will start a journey of finding the samurai spirit. Reborn of “Isagiyosa” A promising young American foot-ball linebacker injured a quarterback of his rival team by a reckless two seconds late tackle. The quarterback received a heavy impact to his back and fell down. Immediately he was carried off the field to hospital. The general director of the injured player’s te...