Eiheiji is the head temple of the Soto Sect, a part of Zen Buddhism, in Japan. It was founded by Dogen Zenji in 1244 making this temple almost 800 years old. Eiheiji stand on a hill of a lush, woody forest, about 15 kms from Fukui city. There are about 70 building all together on the hill.

The temple is house to 150 monks and they accept visitors who would like to stay the night there. You can experience the life of a Zen Buddhist monk when you decide to stay in the temple – that means you’ll be eating and living like vegetarian. You’ll probably be invited to listen to buddhist chants as well. Besides accommodation at this beautiful temple, the sights around it is something to behold. You’ll see a little stream flowing through the monastary – it shows how even 800 years ago, the monks have been able to incorporate nature and architecture in a very seamless manner.

You can also stay in the hotels in the main street if the temple is not something you fancy. But if you do wish to stay, the price is 8000 yen for a night or 3000 yen if you’re staying for a few days. Application to stay at the temple needs to made in advance as this is a coveted opportunity that many seek.

How to get there?
Eiheiji is less than one hour from Fukui. How to get to Fukui? There are direct JR limited express trains to Fukui from Osaka (2h, 5360yen), Kyoto (80min, 4300yen), Nagoya (2h, 5040yen) and Maibara (1h, 2770yen) on the Tokaido Shinkansen.

Source: Japan Guide

Kanazawa (金沢市; -shi) is the capital city of Ishikawa Prefecture in Japan. Kanazawa sits on the Sea of Japan, bordered by the Japan Alps, Hakusan National Park and Noto Peninsula National Park. The city sits between the Sai and Asano rivers.

The name “Kanazawa”　(金沢), which literally means “marsh of gold”, is said to derive from the legend of the peasant Imohori Togoro (lit. “Togoro Potato-digger”), who was digging for potatoes when flakes of gold washed up. The well in the grounds of Kenrokuen known as ‘Kinjo Reitaku’ （金城麗澤）was recreated by the Maeda lords to acknowledge these roots.

Kanazawa’s importance grew in the 15th century when the powerful and militant Ikko sect established its new headquarters there after being chased out of Kyoto by the monks of Mt.Hiei.

During the Edo Period, Kanazawa was the seat of the Maeda clan, the second most powerful clan after the Tokugawa in terms of rice production and fief size. Accordingly, Kanazawa grew to become a town of great cultural achievements, rivaling Kyoto and Edo (Tokyo).

Today Kanazawa is one of Japan’s lesser known cities although it is one of the most beautiful. The attractions you can expect from Kanazawa ranges from it’s famous Kenroken garden to ancient samurai historical sites as well as geisha districts.

How to get to Kanazawa?
There are many ways to get to Kanazawa, just click here.

Source: Japan Guide

This is a modern art festival that is held every three years in the rural Echigo-Tsumari region. It is an internationally known event that has gather artists from around the world, each of them exhibiting their artwork in the 760 square kilometer large Echigo-Tsumari region. More than 130 of exhibited pieces remain in place between festivals, making the region a worthwhile visit.

The Echigo region is currently facing the endangerment of being lost forever as its population are left with only the old and the young leaving in search for better opportunities in the cities. There might not be anymore of this beautiful region in a few decades so your visit might help boost its tourism business and bring back the younger generations of Echigo to “plow” the land.

Source: Japan Guide

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

Gardens, gardens, gardens…i think its just me begging for spring to arrive faster. In Kanazawa, there is another beautiful garden that is worth visiting called the Kenrokuen Garden.

Kenroku-en (兼六園, Six Attributes Garden), located in Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan, is an old private garden developed from the 1620s to 1840s by the family of Maeda, the rulers of the former province of Kaga.

Along with Kairaku-en and Koraku-en, Kenroku-en is considered one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan. It is open year-round during daylight hours and famous for its beauty in all seasons; an admission fee is charged.

The garden is located at 1 Kenrokumachi, outside the gates of the Kanazawa Castle where it originally formed the outer garden, and covers 114,436.65 m² (over 25 acres). It first began in 1676 when the 5th Lord Maeda Tsunanori moved his administration to the castle and began to landscape a garden in this vicinity. This garden was, however, destroyed by fire in 1759. Its restoration was begun in 1774 by the 11th Lord Harunaga, who created the Emerald Waterfall (Midori-taki) and Yugao-tei Teahouse. Improvements continued in 1822 when the 12th Lord Narinaga creating the garden’s superb winding streams with water drawn from the Tatsumi Waterway. The 13th lord Nariyasu subsequently added more streams and expanded the Kasumiga-ike Pond. With this, the garden’s current form was complete. The garden was opened to the public on May 7, 1874.

The garden was named by a Shirakawa lord at the request of Lord Narinaga. Its name was derived from the “Chronicles of the Famous Luoyang Gardens” (洛陽名園記), a book by the Chinese poet Li Gefei (李格非), and stands for the six attributes of a perfect landscape: spaciousness, seclusion, artifice, antiquity, waterways, and panoramas.

Kenroku-en contains roughly 8,750 trees, and 183 species of plants in total. Among the garden’s points of special interest are:

* the Fountain – the oldest fountain in Japan, powered by the difference in heights of two ponds

* Yugao-tei Teahouse – oldest building in the garden, built 1774

* Shigure-tei Rest House – originally built by 5th Lord Tsunanori, reconstructed at its present location in 2000

* Karasaki Pine – planted from seed by the 13th lord Nariyasu from Karasaki, near Lake Biwa.

* Kotoji-tōrō Lantern

* Flying Geese Bridge (Gankō-bashi) – made of eleven red stones, laid out to resemble geese in a flying formation

In winter, the park is notable for its yukitsuri — ropes attached in a conical array to carefully support tree branches in the desired arrangements, thereby protecting the trees from damage caused by heavy snows.

Look at these wonderful pictures of the garden:

How to get there? A bus ride from Kanazawa Station to Kenrokuen takes about 15 minutes.

Source: About.com; Wikipedia

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

The Japanese Macaque (Macaca fuscata), also known as the Snow Monkey, is a terrestrial Old World monkey species native to northern Japan, although an introduced free-ranging population has been living near Laredo, Texas since 1972. It is the most northern-living non-human primate. Individuals have brown-gray fur, a red face, hands and bottom, and a short tail. There are two subspecies of this macaque:

* Macaca fuscata fuscata
* Yakushima Macaque, Macaca fuscata yakui

Anyway, enough of the monkey lessons, next question would be Where can we find these monkeys? These wild monkeys can be found in Jigokudani Yaen-koen, which is located in the mountains in Nagano. They are literally all over the place. In fact, people living near the park have grown accustomed to the presence of these monkeys; it is as though these monkeys are a part of their daily lives. There are hot springs around the park and this where the monkeys go to and relax during the cold winter months. In fact, it is the main attraction to watch these monkeys frolick around the hot springs while snowflakes fall on their heads.

Here’s a little trivia about these Snow Monkeys, they are very smart. It is the only animal other than humans and raccoons that is known to wash its food before eating it. Researchers studying this species left sweet potatoes out on the beach for them to feed on, then witnessed one female taking the food down to the sea to wash the sand off it. After a while, others started to copy her behavior. This trait was then passed on from generation to generation, until eventually, all except the very oldest members of the troop were washing their food in the sea. A somewhat altered account of this incident was the basis for the “Hundredth Monkey” meme. You should read up about that meme by clicking on this link, if you’re interested in deepening your worldly knowledge :)

Anyway, do take a trip up the Nagano mountains before winter is over and take a peek at these bizarre looking but cute monkeys taking their annual baths at the hotsprings!

Source: Go Japan
, Wikipedia

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

Mount Fuji (富士山, Fuji-san) is the tallest mountain in Japan. It straddles the boundary of Shizuoka and Yamanashi prefectures just west of Tokyo, from where it can be seen on a clear day. It is located near the Pacific coast of central Honshū. Three small cities surround it, they are: Gotemba (East), Fuji-Yoshida (North) and Fujinomiya (Southwest). Mount Fuji maintains a snow cap year round even though it is in a temperate climate zone.

Mount Fuji is a well-known symbol of Japan and is frequently depicted in art and photographs, as well as visited by sightseers and climbers. Mount Fuji is a dormant volcano, which most recently erupted in 1708.

If you want to enjoy Mount Fuji at a more leisurely pace and from a nice natural surrounding, you should head to the Fuji Five Lake (Fujigoko) region at the northern foot of the mountain, or to Hakone, a nearby hot spring resort.

Mount Fuji is officially open for climbing during July and August via several routes.

source: wikipedia