Explore Tokyo Through the Eyes of Travelers

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Perhaps the most anticipated and beloved celebration in Japan is the season known as Ohanami. The word translates as flower watching, and depending upon the weather in mid-spring, sometime during the month of April, the entire nation of Japan bursts into bloom with the ubiquitous sakura, the flowering cherry tree. The sakura create a frosty-pink canopy over city parks and country hillsides alike, and the people of Japan emerge after the long winter to rejoice in this ephemeral season. Beneath a canopy of blossoms, street vendors offer an array of traditional foods, including yakitori, skewers of savory grilled chicken.

The Taste of Japan

A story told with photos.

Japan Robert George

Childless Japan

Barely a month goes by without some report or expert on demographics lamenting the ageing of Japa...

Japan AFP/Francoise Kadri

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I am writing about the silkworm. In my travels in Japan, I had seen the remnants of silk farms. W...

Japan Stefan Chiarantano

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Getting Settled in a Brave New World

In the best of all possible worlds, when you arrive in Japan, you'll be met at the airport by sev...

Japan Celeste Heiter

Yu-Gi-Oh on the Web

As Yu-Gi-Oh grows in popularity, more and more places on the web are carrying Yu-Gi-Oh cards and ...

Japan Will Raus

Film Review: Firefly Dreams

With its debut in Nagoya Japan under the title Ichiban Utsukushii Natsu (The Most Wonderful Summe...

Japan Celeste Heiter

In contemporary Japan, urban architecture is an eclectic juxtaposition of old-world traditional, post-war Bauhaus, and ultra-modern futuristic styles. And sometimes--it's a combination of all three!

High Rise Japan

A story told with photos.

Japan Robert George

Sunomono - Vinegar Salads

A favorite way to begin a Japanese meal is with a light vinegared salad made with cucumbers and o...

Japan Celeste Heiter

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Mr. Lowell Goes to Asia

A review of Percival Lowell's The Soul of the Far East, a dusty but nevertheless interesting book.

Japan / China / Korea, S Kenneth Champeon

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Eyes on the Prize........ Immigration Nihon-do (Japanese Style)

If you think going to the DMV is a pain in the you-know-what, just wait 'til you've done time at ...

Japan Celeste Heiter

The water is coldGive me strength to endure itAs I purge myselfOn the second Sunday of the New Year, wearing nothing more than loincloths called shitaobi and headbands called hachimaki, many Japanese men brave the icy waters of Teppozu Inari Jinja, a Shinto shrine in central Tokyo, to practice a yearly purification ritual.

Japanese Expressions II

A story told with photos.

Japan Robert George<br>Haiku by Celeste Heiter

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The Shadow of Perfection: Kawabata (Part I)

Before Wittgenstein arrived to spoil the party, artists used to populate shabby cafes asking ques...

Japan Kenneth Champeon

The Prints of Isoda Koryusai

Title: The Prints of Isoda Koryusai, Floating World Culture and its Consumers in Eighteenth-Centu...

Japan ThingsAsian Booklist

20 things in Tokyo

I’ve now traveled to Japan twice, below I will list some of the exciting activities I did d...

Japan Bebe

Hanetsuki is a kind of Japanese badminton game played with shuttlecocks called hane and decorativ...

Japan Robert George<br>Text by Celeste Heiter

Wrong About Japan

For the West, Japan has always been an enigma. From the day that Commodore Perry opened Japan to ...

Japan Will Raus

Amaimono - Japanese Sweets

Japanese cuisine is not widely known for its luscious desserts. Theirs tend to be more dainty and...

Japan Celeste Heiter

Japanese salarymen are expected to show devotion to the company by working long hours, often six days a week. So, a sunny lunch hour provides a welcome opportunity for a little R&R.

The Streets of Tokyo

A story told with photos.

Japan Robert George

The Cafe at Grand Hyatt Taipei

Breakfast in Asia

Dinner inspires all the glamour, and lunch is often a great adventure. But breakfast, lowly break...

Japan / Indonesia / Taiwan Bart Conley

Steamed Rice and Sushi Rice

The preparation of rice for serving plain as a side dish or as a base for donburi rice bowls is a...

Japan Celeste Heiter

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About ThingsAsian

ThingsAsian is an Asia travel website with stories contributed by a worldwide community. Although we cover a wide range of topics, our emphasis is on art, culture, history and travel. Our writers, photographers and contributors are real people who tell you the stories of their personal travels and experiences. Some of the countries we currently cover are Burma, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

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