Gujo Hachiman is a very small town, deep in the mountains. The traffic is brutal, it looks to be a hidden town. That is why the town keeps its natural environment and traditional lifestyle.

You will be surprised that the town is neat and orderly. Gujo Hachiman has long history of about 400 years. The crystal rivers runs all over the town, and people use it in their daily life.
Of course the water from those rivers is clean and safe. You can enjoy playing in those rivers at ease. There are no factories or fields which discharge pollution.

The people in Gujo Hachiman call their town “The town of water” with pride. They have been trying to keep the beautiful water and town. In general, the summer in Japan is very hot and humid, but It is comparatively cool in Gujo Hachiman.

Gujo Hachiman has 2 famous unique features. Firstly, the “Gujo Odori (Gujo dance)”.
Gujo Odori is the largest Bon dance event in Japan. The small town seethes with exciting people wearing Yukata. The bon dance includes 10 kinds of steps, but you can easily learn them. From beginners to experts, they dance together all night. Gujo Odori is held every July and August.

Secondly, food models. Gujo Hachiman is well known as a production center for wax food samples. These food samples look exactly like the real food and you can try to make the samples.

In addition, Gujo Hachiman has various appeals as the beautiful sakura and autumn leaves and so on. Although my most recommended season is summer, you can enjoy the town from spring to autumn.

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The time-lapse motion picture looks like a miniature set, but it is a real night view of Osaka. Osaka is a large and teeming city, there are many people and cars gather day and night.

The movie was taken from the Umeda Sky Building which is the tallest building in Umeda. Shinnosuke took some time-lapse motion pictures in Osaka and Kyoto, and his beautiful and active movies are a lot of fun to watch.

When you watch the movies you can feel the bustling atmosphere in Osaka. The city looks like a toy box!

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Japanese summer is hot and humid. When you go out from your house, you sweat profusely.
But if you eat anmitsu, the heat of summer will vanish immediately!

Anmitsu is one of the most popular Japanese sweets in summer. It means bean jam, agar, and pieces of fruit served in syrup. You can eat it everywhere in Japanese cafes but I will introduce an especially delicious place in Tokyo this time.
Mihashi is a long-established sweet store which was founded in 1948. The main store is in Ueno, but there are another 6 stores in and around Tokyo. Although there are many sweet stores in Tokyo,　this one is famous for having a strong obsession for the ingredients. They always use Bean jam (adzuki beans) from Tokachi in Hokkaido. The brown sugar is from the south island 200km to the left of Okinawa.

The lightly coloured syrup between black syrup and white syrup. Agar is made from agar-agar blended in Miyake island, Hachijyou island, and Koudzu island.

Creamed anmitsu is 530 yen. Agar, syrup, red peas, bean jam, and oranges are topped with thick soft cream. It tastes very smooth. The Agar is chewy and fresh.
If you go there in the daytime of a weekend, maybe you have to have line up to eat it, but eating anmitsu in the hot summer must be very delicious!

(Translated by Humi)

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Every Japanese knows Peko-chan. She has been one of the original characters in Fujiya (Famous confectionery in Japan) since she was born in 1950. The meaning of her name, ‘Peko’, is calfs.

Peko-chan yaki which is made in the shape of her face can only be bought in Kagurazaka, Tokyo in spite of there being a lot of Fujiya shops in Japan. The outside tastes savory but the inside is fluffy, soft and mellow.

Adzuki beans, chocolates, custard cream, and cheese are standard flavors. In addition, 2 more kinds of tastes are added. They change every month or every season and those sorts are rich in variety! For example, Black sesame bean jam, mangoes, pineapples, vegetables curry, and so on. You can buy them for a really reasonable price (about 1 dollar for 1 cake) so you can enjoy a lot of different kinds of tastes. If you buy some kinds of Peko-chan yaki, you can’t tell what their flavors are from their outward appearances so they wear ribbons marked with their flavors. They look very cute!

Poko-chan who is Peko-chan’s boyfriend has also been in appearance as doll yaki since 2006. There a few of him produced, so if you meet him, you are lucky!

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“Ihee ENVERAAK, Gion” is in the Gion area. The Gion area maintains the style of old Japanese streets, you can see some maiko in Gion. If you want to enjoy more the mood of Japan, why don’t you try the store?

This store is a renovated authentic Japanese style house called “Machiya”. It has a unique mysterious atmosphere and an elegant garden. The antique shelves are full of cute Furoshiki, bags and hats.

Most of these products are designed by Eirakuya. Eirakuya was established 1615, since then, they have produced various unique designs. The flowers, cherries and animal patterns are popular for fasionable women. The many animal designs such as cat, dog and flying mouse are impressive and stylish.

The bags are all made in Japan, and sewn by hand. The carefully dyed and waxed canvas is tough and stained well. Eirakuya has great skills and a faith for dyeing.

If you wonder what to buy, you should take a break in the garden. The Japanese style garden has a relaxing zen taste, it will calm your mind. The staff say “The store has many interesting goods and features. You’re welcome to stay as long as you like and enjoy our atmosphere.”

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The shop streets around Tsukiji fish market are called “Jogai market”. It contains over 400 shops and restaurants, and is crowded with more tourists than inside Tsukiji market. The fresh fish from Tsukiji market and other ingredients such as dry food, meat, eggs, vegetables, pickles and kitchen tools are available here. You can buy everything to do with food. Of course, you can enjoy various restaurants here.

Firstly, I recommend a Kaisen don. “McMore” is a secret retro-diner which provides very yummy tuna sashimi. Somehow a game machine is embedded in the table in McMore. The unique furniture, delicious coffee and yummy tuna is curious, but it will provide good memories for you.

Next, you should have a ramen. “Inoue” is a famous ramen buffet restaurant which is always crowded. Its ramen is soy sauce based and non-fatty. They make a little lukewarm soup for busy dealers so they are able to eat it fast.

I want to try more restaurants in Tsukiji. My Tsukiji boom is never ending!

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Tokyo Cherry Blossom: @Komazawa Park

This sakura photo is remarkably beautiful like a painting. Is it a real landscape not CG?

The photo is taken by Atlas, a popular photographer on Flickr. He is living in Japan and takes some great photos in Japan.

Toba Hinode: Sunrise in Toba,

These photos are HDR rendered. The vivid color is the feature of HDR. The unrealistic colors attract people.

Paradise Island: Sea Paradise in Yokohama,

Actually, real Japan is not such a vivid country. Though the photo world of Atlas is very great and catches up us. Check more great photos on Flickr.

Ise Torii: @Ise Shrine (Ise jingu)

Sunrise in Akasaka.

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Tsukiji is the city that never sleeps. It works for 24 hours as the kitchen of Tokyo, the metropolis.

If you want to enjoy Tsukiji fish market from the start, you should go to Tsukiji on the last train. The market opens about 3:00AM. There is an around-the-clock diner called “Jonathan’s” near the market, which is useful for waiting. You can see some fish trucks driving fast and screechily, it is exciting.

The bidding starts at 5:00 AM. The shops of the middle traders open at 7:00 AM and many fish dealers and cooks come to the market to buy fish. During this time, the market is the most crowded with people. Be careful not to disturb the dealers and enjoy the air of excitement.

If you want to have a cup of coffee for staying awake, “Coffee shop Aiyo (愛養)” is good. The cafe, next to Sushidai, opens at 3:30 AM. It is a very small cafe but popular among Tsukiji dealers. I love yum-yum toast and cute cup.

Other shops and restaurants open after 4:00 AM. “Mosuke dango” is a Japanese style sweets shop which opens at 5:00 AM. Try the delicious dango!

Or do you want to try real sushi? The famous sushi restaurants such as “Yamato sushi” or “Sushidai” are all crowded in the early morning. Hurry up and have a fresh and yummy sushi!

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The Sakura season has come! Many people come to Tokyo in the spring.
When I started living in Tokyo, a beautician told me. “Tukiji has all the attractions of Tokyo”. I considered it as a joke at that time, but when I went to Tukiji for the first time, I was really surprised. The market was filled with the excitement of many people and food. The energy of the market impressed me and it is situated in exactly the center of Tokyo. Since then, I have been a big fan of Tukiji.

Tsukiji fish market has a sea of fins. Various kinds of food and shops are interesting, and there are a lot of restaurants around Tsukiji market.

Some advice for Tsukiji beginners;
1. You should enter the market early in the morning. It gets especially crowded on Saturday. The restaurants are closed at 13:00 hours.
2. Many motorcycles and traders rush through the market. Be careful and follow the rules so as not to have an accident.
3. Tsukiji is filled with the strong smell of fish. In addition, there are a lot of puddles. You should select your clothes carefully. Some Tsukiji fans often use rubber boots.

I will introduce some nice restaurants in Tsukiji in my next article.

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Kinkakuji, Kyoto. Photo by http://k-kabegami.com/

Leaf peeping, seeing the foliage, is the biggest entertainment in Japan. Many Japanese go to enjoy the changing colors of autumn leaves. From October to December, mountains change into vivid red and yellow colors. The glowing colors are spectacular, they delight a lot of tourists.

The Japan Tourism Association announced the top 10 popular ‘leaf peeping’ places. I will tell you about the top five.

1st: Arashiyama (”嵐山”, Kyoto)

Arashiyama, Kyoto. Photo by Suzuden

Arashiyama is located on the western side of Kyoto city. It is surrounded by mountains, and its tranquil atmosphere is popular for tourists. It is completely surrounded by colored mountains in autumn. You can enjoy them from a sightseeing tram and an illuminated walking trail called “Hanatoro“.

There are some historic temples such as Houkyou-in, Nison-in and Rokuou-in which have beautiful gardens, famous for having wonderful foliage.

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2nd: Korankei (”香嵐渓”, Aichi)

Korankei, Aichi. Photo by TAKAKI Nobuyasu

Korankei is a valley located to the northeast of Toyota city. The contrast of the tinted foliage and a stream is just great. The illuminated foliage is very popular. (During the month of November)

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3rd: Nikko (”日光”, Tochigi)

Nikko, Tochigi. Photo by ziro_d70

Nikko is well known as the tomb of Shogun TOKUGAWA Ieyasu (Nikko Toshogu). There are some historic temples and beautiful waterfalls. The mysterious buildings of the TOKUGAWA family will attract you.
Nikko has many interesting places, you won’t get tired for several days.

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4th: Higashiyama (”東山”, Kyoto)

Kiyomizu temple, Kyoto Higashiyama. Photo by Totoro

Higashiyama is on the eastern side of Kyoto city. There are many famous and old temples, such as Shinnyo-do, Kiyomizu temple, Eikan-do, and Nanzen-ji. If you travel to Kyoto, you must go to Higashiyama. Kiyomizu temple is illuminated during Nov.11-Dec.6. The illuminated foliage is fantastic.

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5th: Oirase stream (Aomori)

Tobinuma, Oirase stream Aomori. Photo by Maririn340

Oirase stream is located in Towada-Hachimandaira national park, designated as a natural monument. The stream is famous for its many unique waterfalls. You can enjoy the foliage in a rustic atmosphere. It remains an area of rich pristine nature.

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