One of the highlights of my recent trip to Japan was observing the wild snow monkeys at the Jigokudani Monkey Park. The snow monkeys or, more accurately, Japanese…
According to experts, it takes over 55 steps to properly don the 18 pieces of apparel required to correctly wear a kimono. The process is complicated enough that…
On the fifth day of the fifth month, Japan celebrates Children’s Day with a visual feast of koi nobori (carp streamers) flying in the skies. By tradition, individual…
I never imagined I’d be writing a blog post while riding a bullet train through Japan but that’s exactly what’s happening this morning. I’m typing very quietly, in…
The cherry blossom magic continues here in Japan. At this point, I suppose we’ve seen millions of them but every single one is worth admiring. And, judging from…