An island festival steeped in history
In 1185, Japan's Taira (Heike) and Minamoto (Genpei) clans played out the final battle of the Genpei War, the result of which would have a profound effect on Japan ushering in its first shogun with Kamakura as the shogunate. In the latter part of the ...
Humanity is sure to come through for those on a modern pilgrimage
As I made my way up the steep road to Kakurin Temple — aka Temple No. 20, I realized how foolish I had been to have bought a bicycle. Rising at dawn, I had ticked off temples 18 and 19 of the 88-temple Shikoku ...
A Buddhist priest reflects on growing up on Shiraishi Island during a time of war
Living on an island that was too small to receive direct attacks didn't stop the people living there from having to take extreme measures.
One woman's story illustrates the bittersweet charm of life in the Seto Island Sea
Mitsuko Amano was born in year 19 of the Showa Era (1944). World War II was still a year away from ending, and at the time nearly 2,000 people made their living on Shiraishi (White Stone) Island, the place she called home in the ...
The lesson from one student-led trash pick-up is that everyone needs to do their part
It's April on Shiraishi Island in Japan's Seto Inland Sea. The nights are still crisp, dipping to 4 degrees Celsius, but the sky is clear and the stars arc over the beach like thousands of glittery sequins on a pop idol's stage dress. The ...
If you want to fix the problem of over-tourism then just look overseas
I was speaking with a woman the other day who had recently been to Japan. She acknowledged that Japan is the "in" place to travel to and, as if to qualify this fact, complained that "Kyoto was so crowded, I couldn't even get a ...
Same gripes, different country: Japan ain't the only place with squat toilets and table charges
It's not easy being an expat. While most of us choose to live in Japan of our own volition, there are still times when we're frustrated with the way things work — or don't work — and the Community page often serves as an ...
Be it ever so graying, there's no place like home
On a recent bus trip in Indonesia, I struck up a conversation with the man sitting next to me who told me he was Malaysian but living in Australia, which prompted me to admit that I was American but living in Japan. This seemed ...
Celebrating New Year's the island way
On the small island where I live in the middle of Japan's Seto Inland Sea, new year celebrations are stalwart traditional. Preparations start a week before when the holiday spirit wafts in on sea breezes tinted with chilling temperatures. The island holds a community ...
Japan has a reputation for cleanliness — just don't look in our closets
The cleanliness of the Japanese is known worldwide. Thanks to the internet, videos of Japanese students cleaning their schools have gone viral, as well as a memorable clip of how the JR staff clean an entire shinkansen train in under seven minutes. The Japanese ...
The death of a Japanese countryside festival
Ancient rites bend to an aging, shrinking population, but how much longer can local traditions hold out?
'My Year in Japan' books offer reassuring words to armchair travelers, but expats need more
The most successful works remain true to both the author's time abroad and to Japan itself.
