Bon Odori Summer Festivals

  Japanese summers are pretty spectacular. They buzz (cicadas) and DON DON DON (taiko drums). They whistle and gong and chant (festivals). They're burning hot and impossibly humid. But if you let the music drifting from the festival grounds carry you along, not only will you make it to fall without melting into a puddle … Continue reading Bon Odori Summer Festivals

Daibutsu in Chalk

At this spring's Hase Ichi (Hase Market), there was a big blackboard for kids to colour all over while their parents browsed booths selling knickknacks, art, and food. I've been struggling to draw the Daibutsu, but after seeing these two chalk drawings, I think I can do it.

Surprising Kamakura

Kamakura can be a bit like a box of chocolates—you never know what you're going to get. Sometimes you come across the most authentically Santa-Claus-y Japanese Santa Claus imaginable (real impeccably trimmed, big beard and all!). Other days, you turn the corner and come across a tour guide group and tourists dressed as samurai and … Continue reading Surprising Kamakura

A Fine Fall Day

The first winds of winter may have started blowing this week, but the afternoons are still gloriously warm. Hisashi bought a small boat the other day, fulfilling a year-long dream, and took Kaede out for a little row. By the time I joined them on the beach, they were back to shore, and Kaede was … Continue reading A Fine Fall Day