Several years ago, Kyoto was at a crossroads as the city pushed to adapt to the influx of foreign tourists. The sometimes-difficult process of pivoting to the needs of visitors over the…

For some tourists, all it takes to spoil a lovely day of sightseeing in Tokyo is a few centimeters of raised concrete. Most of us trod over steps, bumps and slopes without…

Late 1945. Four pilots sit on the beach of a tiny Pacific island. Their planes are being fueled on the tarmac nearby. The tanks are not filled completely, for these young men…

Nintendo has become a global phenomenon, but it wasn’t always that way. When they entered the Western video game market in the early 1980s, it was seen as a risky move. By…

If you’ve always been curious about Zen, there’s a silver lining to the situation we now find ourselves in. Self-isolation and working from home allow for plenty of time to explore zazen…

It’s early afternoon on one of those enjoyable early April days that feels more like mid-May, and something remarkable is happening in a remote corner of Kyoto. Otagi Nenbutsuji temple, located on…

Ask a Japanese person to explain the concept of wabi-sabi and you might be met with moment of apprehensive silence. It’s not an easy idea to talk about, and there exists a…

Travelers flock to Kyoto for the temples, shrines, and geisha – all certainly must-see cultural points – but few tourists realize that there ’s a whole prefecture beyond the city itself.  Getting out of the city and exploring the broader landscape of Kyoto opens up a wealth of…