Local Japan Guide

  If you’re traveling in Japan, you’ll probably visit several Shinto shrines. Many visitors admire the beautiful gates and peaceful atmosphere — but few realize that shrines are full of hidden meanings. Once you know what to look for, every shrine tells a different story. 1. The Torii Gate: The Entrance to Sacred Ground The easiest way to recognize a Shinto shrine is by its torii gate. A torii marks the boundary between the ordinary world and the sacred world where the gods (kami) are believed to reside. As you pass through the gate, you’re symbolically entering a holy place. Unlike Buddhist temples, shrines generally do not have statues of Buddha or other religious figures inside the worship hall. Instead, the deity is believed to be present spiritually rather than physically. 2. Guardian Animals Protect Every Shrine One of the most fascinating features of Japanese shrines is the guardian animals. Near the entrance, you’ll often find a pair of animal statues watching over the shri...

One of the first things you will notice when you come to Japan is that most streets have no names and building numbers have no order. It's not much of a problem if you are going to famous tourist attractions, but it's a big problem if you intend to drive here. In most parts of the world, the street name + building number system, such as "〇〇 Street No. 〇〇," which is the Western style, is common. It is fair to say that Japan is now the only country in the world that doesn't use this Western style. Foreign people might ask a passerby on a street in Japan, "What is the name of this street?" . The kind Japanese will reply, "This is No. 5 and over there is  No. 8." Foreign people will point to the street on the map and will ask again, "No, it's not that, I am asking you the name of this street." In Japan, most streets don't have names. Streets are simply blank spaces between blocks. With the Japanese residential code, it is easy to ...

  It’s customary to have hot pot dishes in Japan during cold winter seasons. Firstly, pre-heat a hot pot by a tabletop stove and add some kinds of vegetables, seafood, meats, and some ingredients at random. And have cooked ones when the ingredients are dancing. I like really MOTSU-NABE. The word "motsu" means offal, the internal organs or intestines of beef or pork. It is very chewy and the more you chew it, the more flavorful it becomes. Motsu-nabe(hot pot dish) consists of beef or pork offal with vegetables and tofu.  After enjoying eating all the ingredients of the hot pot, we add cooked rice or udon to the leftover soup.  Aside from motsunabe, typical nabe-ryori include sukiyaki, shabu-shabu, yosenabe, oden, mizutaki, chankonabe. There's no doubt Nabe dishes are getting better if you eat them with friends or family.   Manners for eating hot pot dishes - Use the meal serving chopsticks and a ladle.  - Dish out only the amount of food that you can eat.  -...

Oden おでん is a traditional Japanese dish made by simmering various ingredients. It is a popular family dish. Many people enjoy eating it especially during winter. Oden soup stock is generally made from bonito flakes and seaweed.  It is said to sell well at convenience stores in autumn. However, there are also convenience stores where oden is sold all year round, for Japanese who love oden.Oden is a staple food in Japanese pubs. You can also buy ingredients at a supermarket and cook it at home. It is also an attraction of oden that it goes well with sake. ★ Staple ingredients for oden is below.   大根(Daikon)  Japanese radish –   ちくわ(Chikuwa) Tube-shaped fish cake・A mixture of minced fish meat, salt, sugar, egg white and cornstarch   こんにゃく(Konnyaku) Konjak / Konnyaku・Known also as “Devil’s Tongue”.・Interesting texture.   ゆでたまご(Yude tamago) Boiled eggs –     はんぺん(Hanpen) Boiled flat fish cake  ・A mixture of minced fish meat, sticky grated yamaimo...

  - Manners for Eating Sushi Long time ago, it was the manner to eat sushi with hand but now it is ok to use chopsticks. It is considered that a traditional way is to take fresh Nigiri-zushi by hand and eat it in one bite, and it is believed that this is the best way to enjoy sushi.  I make sure to eat sushi with hand at pricey restaurants because I want to feel traditional vibes. If you felt a little greasy or fishy , you should eat "Gari" (pickled ginger)   - The ideal order to eat sushi. Start eating with light taste and move on to rich and fatty taste. But I think you should order what you want whenever you feel like it. That is the good thing about eating at a sushi restaurant.   - How to dip it in soy sauce When you eat Nigiri-zushi, make sure to dip only sashimi in soy sauce. If it absorbs soy sauce too much, makes it more salty and moreover harder to eat it because the rice will break apart. Keeping the topping side down and deliver it to your mouth, you'll e...

  We call Saizeriya a family restaurant. The word "famiresu" is a Japanese English that is a combination of "family" and "restaurant". I recommend it to a family as well as to those travelers who are on a tight budget. I often go to Saizeria which is a casual, inexpensive, and family-oriented Italian restaurant, so I recommend it for family with small children or budget traveler. I think it is one of the top three family restaurants in Japan. My recommended point of Famiresu is below. - Japanese family restaurants have an excellent system where you push a button to have a waitress comes to you. - Many family restaurant menus have pictures to make it easier for children who cannot read to choose, and they also have touch screen menus for easy access and multilingual menus for foreign diners (English, Chinese, etc). - The restaurant is designed to make every diner feels comfortable. For example, they have infant seats so you can tag your babies along. It als...

    ◆ Why is the TORII (鳥居) Gate in vermilion?  ◆   If you find a TORII GATE(鳥居), you are in shrine. TORII is facing south so that the sunlight can enter. The reason is that the philosophy of Feng Shui is behind the creation of the shrine. It is said that the Torii is the entrance of shrine which divides the sacred world and the ordinary world.   Why is the TORII (鳥居) in vermilion?     There are several interpretations about the color vermillion. Firstly, vermillion is the color of happiness. Secondly, it is believed that vermillion wards off evil  spirits. We can purify ourselves spiritually by passing through a Torii gate. "Tori" in Japanese means bird. "I" means house. It is said that Torii originated as perches for sacred birds within shrine compounds. Thank you for reading my article! Feel free to leave a comment! I hope you’ll have a great time in Japan！ Happy traveling !!  

◆ DAISO IS YOUR BEST FRIEND ◆ DAISO is one of the most popular stores in Japan! As you already know, everything is sold at 100 yen (tax excluded) in DAISO, products are affordable but also great value for money. Moreover, DAISO amazes us with its wide variety of products. Apparently, each store houses over 70,000 products on average! If you haven’t been to Daiso Japan yet, it would be a journey worth taking a look. I'd introduce the most useful items for travel that will make your trip comfortable moreover.    * USEFUL ITEMS FOR YOUR TRIP      1. Refill bottles Refill bottles are must-have items for a trip. DAISO promised a wide selection of them in different sizes and shapes, moreover, the quality is absolutely great for the value.　 There are so many types of refill bottles! There is a limit to the amount of liquid that can be carried on board, so refill your favorite makeup and go on a trip. 2. Pill CASE / BOX  There are many types of pill cases: - subdiv...

  ◆ Good manners ◆ LEARN HOW TO SAY 'THANK YOU'  If you’ve seen any popular Japanese movie or TV show, you must have heard the word ‘ Arigatou ’. ‘ Arigatou ’ is a fast and easy way to say ' Thank you' in Japanese. Yet, there are even more ways to say Thank you and it depends a lot on who you say it to! You may already know the expression ありがとう Arigatou or its full form ありがとうございます Arigatou gozaimasu .  'Arigatou'  ありがとう  > listen 'Arigatougozaimasu' ありがとうございます >  listen This is a past tense version of ありがとうございます 'Arigatou gozaimasu'. This expression is used when you thank for something that has been done to you, for example, you can say ' Arigatougozaimashita ' to your teacher at the end of a lesson and so on. Also the past tense version is the one to use when you write a Thank you letter. ' Arigatougozaimashita '  ありがとうございました  >  listen   LEARN HOW TO SAY 'EXCUSE ME' You might be thinking that ' Sumimase...

◆ Japan Rail Pass ◆ You can currently buy a Japan Rail Pass in Japan after you have arrived. If you'll visit various cities, Japan Rail Pass would be an essential item. It’s better to buy one in advance as it will save money. JAPAN RAIL PASS, a joint offering of the six companies comprising the Japan Railways Group (JR Group), is the economical and convenient means of traveling throughout Japan by rail. There are two types of PASSes: PASS for Green Cars and PASS for Standard Cars. Each type can be purchased for 7 days, 14 days or 21 days. There are certain conditions for use. For example, "NOZOMI" and "MIZUHO" trains on the Tokaido, Sanyo and Kyushu Shinkansen Lines cannot be used. ◆ NOTE You are a foreign tourist visiting Japan from abroad for sight-seeing, under the entry status of "temporary visitor."  ◆ Eligibility for use Temporary Visitor entry status, according to Japanese Immigration Law, allows a stay in Japan of 15 days or 90 days for ...