Hotaru: Tokyo's first and only sake brew-pub
Uchi-Kanda has always been one of Tokyo's most colorful carousing districts. Just to the north of buttoned-up Otemachi and Marunouchi, its narrow streets are lined with low-budget eateries and boisterous izakaya taverns. Hotaru fits in perfectly but with one key distinction: It is Tokyo's ...
Light up the night with a firefly festival
Fireflies, known as hotaru in Japan, have inspired numerous artists and writers, including Haruki Murakami, whose short story "Firefly" was later adapted into the first part of his best-seller "Norwegian Wood." In the real world, however, fireflies are sadly in decline, as their natural ...
Firefly festivals in the summer capture spirit of growing up in old Japan
It's hard to believe there was a time when fireflies outnumbered the neon lights of Tokyo. Luckily there are still places outside the capital where the glowing insects still reign. Throughout the months of June and July, areas across Japan will hold hotaru matsuri (firefly ...
