Ever wondered how Japan’s Meiji era looked like? In Meiji Mura, architecture as well as lifestyle is simulated to the glorious modernization era helm by the Meiji emperor for 45 years.

The Meiji open air museum is open-air architectural museum/theme park in Inuyama, near Nagoya in Aichi prefecture, Japan. It was opened on March 18, 1965. The museum preserves historic buildings from Japan’s Meiji (1867-1912), Taisho (1912-1926), and early Showa (1926-1989) periods. Over 60 historical buildings have been moved and reconstructed onto 1 km² (247 acres) of rolling hills alongside Lake Iruka. The most noteworthy building there is the reconstructed main entrance and lobby of Frank Lloyd Wright’s landmark Imperial Hotel, which originally stood in Tokyo from 1923 to 1967, when the main structure was demolished to make way for a new, larger version of the hotel.

The Meiji era was a period of rapid change in Japan. After centuries of isolation, Japan began to incorporate ideas from the west, including building styles and construction techniques. Meiji Mura’s goal is to preserve these historic early examples of western architecture mixed with Japanese construction techniques and materials. Incidentally, many of the buildings were saved from demolition during the post World War II period, another time of transition and rapid progress in Japanese history.

In addition, notable buildings of historical or cultural importance including those of later eras are preserved as well, including a few Japanese style buildings. Nine of the buildings are designated as Important Cultural Assets, and nearly all the rest are registered as tangible cultural assets. The museum includes buildings from Hawaii and Seattle in the United States, and also Brazil. A steam locomotive and street car, along with shuttle buses and horse-drawn carriages, provide transportation within the grounds. An operational historic post office is included among the 67 buildings (as of 2005). Though some buildings are somewhat empty, others have displays showing the history of the building and period, period furniture, and other displays.

The former Imperial Hotel was moved from Tokyo between 1967 and 1985. Though only the entrance and lobby remain, it is the largest structure in Meiji Mura.

Other structures preserved at Meiji Mura include Lafcadio Hearn’s summer house from Shizuoka (1868) and Kyoto’s old St. Francis Xavier Cathedral (1890). The former Cathedral is available to rent for weddings.

Meiji Mura is open from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. from March to October, and until 4:00 p.m. from November to February.

Official Meiji Mura website

Hōnen Matsuri (豊年祭, Hōnen Matsuri) (Japanese for Harvest Festival) is a fertility festival celebrated every year on March 15 in Japan. The most well-known of these festivals takes place in the town of Komaki, just north of Nagoya City. Hōnen means rich harvest in Japanese, while a matsuri is a festival or holiday. The Hōnen festival and ceremony celebrate the blessings of a bountiful harvest and all manner of prosperity and fertility.

The festival’s main features of interest are Shinto priests playing musical instruments, a parade of ceremonially-garbed participants, all-you-can-drink sake, and a 280 kg (620 pound), 2.5 meter (96 inch)-long wooden phallus. The wooden phallus is carried from a shrine called Shinmei Sha (in even-numbered years) on a large hill or from Kumano-sha Shrine (in odd-numbered years), to a shrine called Tagata Jinja.

The festival starts with celebration and preparation at 10 a.m. at Tagata Jinja, where all sorts of foods and souvenirs (mostly phallus-shaped or related) are sold. Sake is also passed out freely from large wooden barrels. At about 2pm everyone gathers at Shinmei Sha for the start of the procession. Shinto priests say prayers and make blessings on the participants and mikoshi which are to be carried along the parade route, as well as the large wooden phallus.

When the procession makes its way down to Tagata Jinja the phallus in its mikoshi is spun furiously before it is set down and more prayers are said. Everyone then gathers in the square outside Tagata Jinja and waits for the mochi nage, at which time the crowd is showered with small rice cakes which are thrown down by the officials from raised platforms. The festival concludes at about 4:30 p.m.

Nagoya is the fourth largest city in Japan. The city was founded on October 1, 1889, and was designated on September 1, 1956 by government ordinance. The city’s name was historically written as the older Emperor of that time (also read as Nagoya), and as the city is located between Kyoto, Shikoku and Tokyo, it was also historically known as “central capital” (中京, Chūkyō?).

Nagoya’s famous sightseeing spots include Nagoya Castle (名古屋城, Nagoya-jō?) and Atsuta Shrine (熱田神宮, Atsuta-jingū?).

Nagoya Castle was built in 1612. Although a large part of it was burned down by the fires of World War II, the castle was restored in 1959, though some modern amenities such as elevators were added. Nagoya-jō is very famous for two magnificent Golden Orca (金の鯱, Kin no Shachihoko?) on the roof. They are often used as the symbol of Nagoya.

Atsuta-jingū is known as the second-most venerable shrine in Japan. It enshrines the Kusanagi sacred sword (草薙神剣, Kusanagi no mitsurugi?) one of the three imperial regalia of Japan. It holds around 70 festivals in a year, and many people visit the shrine year-round. Also, the shrine has over 4,400 national treasures representing its 2,000 years’ history.

Modern attractions include the Nagoya TV Tower, JR Central Towers of Nagoya Station, the Nagoya Port area, the Higashiyama Zoo and botanical gardens and Italia Mura.

Midland Square, the new headquarters of the Toyota Motor Corporation, features Japan’s highest open-air observation deck.

Source: wikipedia

Learn more about Nagoya

When you go to Japan, you must attend a Sumo match because it’s a traditional japanese sport. Baseball may be big in Japan but Sumo Wrestlers are bigger, literally and figuratively. :)
The sport is surrounded by ceremony and ritual. The Japanese consider Sumo a gendai budō: a modern Japanese martial art, even though the sport has a history spanning many centuries.

The Sumo tradition is very ancient, and even today the sport includes many ritual elements, such as the use of salt for purification, from the days Sumo was used in the Shinto religion.

The basic rule of Sumo is very simple; the first sumo that touches the floor with something else apart from his sole or leaves the ring before his opponent, loses. The fights usually last about a few seconds and its very rare for it to last for up to 1 min or longer.

Six tournaments are held each year and each tournament lasts 15 days. I don’t know how many fights go on in one day with each fight lasting a few seconds. I think they must be many fights but there are also the traditional rituals held before and after a match as well. It’s definitely something that’s worth experiencing.

Three of the 15 tournaments is held in Tokyo (Jan, May, Sept), and one each in Osaka (March), Nagoya (July) and Fukuoka (November).

To know more about Sumo, go to Nihon Sumo Kyokai

Source: Wikipedia ; Japan Guide

Ise Shima is a National Park near the Shima Peninsula. The Shima Peninsula is home to Japan’s most sacred Shinto Shrines, the Ise Shrines. It is in Ise Shima where Mikimoto Pearl Island, an internationally known name for cultivated pearls, is situated to.

So the two places that’s worth the visit in Ise Shima is the shinto shrinese and the pearl island of Mikimoto. There are several sacred shrines to visit while you’re there:

The Ise Jingu consists of two shrines: the Outer Shrine (Geku), which is dedicated to Toyouke, the kami of clothing, food and housing, and the Inner Shrine (Naiku), which enshrines Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess. They are Shinto’s most sacred shrines.

Shinto Shrines

Naiku and Geku are located several kilometers apart from each other at the foot of densely wooded hills. Unlike most other Shinto shrines, the Ise Shrines are built in a purely Japanese architecture style which shows no influence from the Asian mainland

There is also Oharaimachi, a one kilometer stretch of old buildings that is lined with traditional shops and houses. This is the stop for most pilgrims who comes over to Ise Shima to pray. Do stop to savor some of their traditional and local delicacies there.

How to get to Ise Shima? There are plenty of routes to get there, the most popular ones is from either Tokyo or Nagoya. For a better picture, read more about orientations HERE.

Source: Japan Guide

Nagoya Castle (名古屋城, Nagoya-jō?) is located in Nagoya Aichi, Japan. Imagawa Ujichika built the original castle around 1525. Oda Nobuhide took it from Imagawa Ujitoyo (who is a warlord and father to Oda Nobunaga, conquerer of Japan) in 1532, but later abandoned it.

On top of the castle are two golden imaginary tiger-headed fishs , called kinshachi (金鯱 kin no shachihōko); this motif is used as a talisman for fire prevention. They are said to be a symbol of the feudal lord’s authority. Both kinshachi were temporarily lowered from atop the castle and displayed on the castle grounds, and briefly at the site of the Expo 2005 from March 19th until June 19th of 2005, and were restored to the castle on July 9th the same year. As preparation for the World Expo plaques with English were added to most displays as well as a 3D movie showing the paintings in Hommaru Palace.

During World War II, The castle was burnt down on May 14, 1945 by the air raid of the United States, and most of its artifacts were destroyed; many of the paintings inside, however, survived and have been preserved to this day. The rebuilding of the castle finished in 1959. Today the castle is a modern concrete building with airconditioning and elevators.

The castle park is also a popular hanami spot during the cherry blossom season.

How to get there? From Nagoya Station, take the Higashiyama Subway Line to Sakae Station and change to the Meijo Subway Line to Shiyakusho Station. From the nearest exit, it is a 3 minute walk to the castle’s east gate.

Source: Japan-Guide; Wikipedia