Merry Christmas! - well almost. Although there are very few Christians in Japan, christmas has been widely adopted but mostly for the present-giving aspect of it. Especially young people are fond of this new-found tradition. So what better place to go than to Tokyo’s number one shopping area, Ginza. Every self-respecting company that is worth it’s salt must have a shop in Ginza. So needless to say this is also not really where you can find bargain amongst the designer bags and watches. full story ...

Tags: ginza, tokyo, shopping, stroll, architecture, theatre

Today is a national holiday, for it is the emperor’s birthday. And to mark the occasion, you can see a lot Japanese flags around. The Koban, or police box all have one and even the public buses are decorated with flags...

Tags: tokyo, ginza

Today is the Emperor’s Brithday, a public holiday in Japan and also one of the few occasions where you can enter the imperial palace. So I make my way back to central Tokyo to be there in time for when the doors open.

For his birthday the emperor invites the public onto the Kyuden plaza (map) to give a short speech. There are serveral sessions plannedfull story ...

Tags: emperor, festival, event, tokyo, imperial palace

“Remember, remember the 5th of November” - well not quite, over in Japan it’s the 3rd of November and it is a national holiday known as ‘culture day’. This day is a very significant day in the history of Japan (wp). This day started off as the birthday of the Meiji Emperor (wp) and later became the day of the post-war constitution of Japan was announced. To commemorate his birth in 1852, a festival is held at shrine to emperor Meiji in Tokyo, about which I had written before.
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Tags: meiji, shrine, festival, tokyo

It is almost November, autumn has well and truly arrived and it is more than time for me to visit a japanese garden. Japanese gardens are truly something special, and should not be missed. Even if you are not into gardens, pick the best one or two and take some time to stroll through them, chances are you will be converted.full story ...

Tags: garden, tokyo

I am a bit of fan of flea markets. Turns out there is a flea market held in Shinjuku every 2nd Sunday of the month at the ?? shrine. The temple can be a bit tricky to find but you can ask around if you get lost.

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Tags: flea market, shinjuku, tokyo

This weekend I am off to visit another of Tokyo’s major historic sites, the Meiji Shrine (jg, wp). Along with the Sensoji in Asakusa, this is a major sight and should not be missed. full story ...

Tags: meiji, shrine, temple, tokyo

Yoyogi park in a very large park in the western part of central Tokyo. In itself it does not stand out for its botany or landscape but it is one of the largest green spaces in Tokyo. Many Tokyoites, make the most of this park on Sundays to play sports practice music, dance or martial arts. If you are lucky you may see some Elvis impressionists on Sunday afternoons here.full story ...

Tags: park , tokyo

For my first day I decided to go back to one of the places I liked a lot during my previous visit to Japan in 2005, the Sensoji temple in Asakusa. Located in the north-east part of Tokyo, it is one of Tokyo’s top attractions (jg, wp). full story ...

Tags: asakusa, tokyo, temple