Hi, how is everyone? I have a bit of free time today at the shop so I had a look through some recent/old photos, and realised that I haven`t yet uploaded the Shimonoseki photos. It`s weird how quickly time seems to be passing by recently, which is probably not a bad thing this year as… Read More Shimonoseki and Mojiko.
Well, spring has come and gone for 2020, here in Japan. Everyday passes by so quickly one often forgets how quickly life also passes us by. This year began as any other but we were soon reminded that human life is very susceptible to viral infections. This year Japan and the world suffered a terrible… Read More Spring in Fukuoka 2020
Hello everyone and Happy New Year! Just a quick post to say thank you to my followers. Last year was the best to date with the most number of people who visited my blog and read my stories. I have many more exciting places to visit and explore on my list this year. Over the… Read More Best Year To Date!
Mysterious Kunisaki Peninsula, Oita Prefecture, Kyushu The Kunisaki Peninsula in Oita is one of those rare regions in Japan that is untouched. It is a place of misty mountains and valleys, old forests, rivers and, excuse my French, a crap load of temples. For a visitor to the region, its remoteness is a blessing but… Read More Kunisaki Peninsula, Oita, Kyushu
I finally got around to editing the photos from my trip to Oita earlier this year. Here is Nakatsu castle. It’s not a bad castle to visit. Lots of history here too. It’s small enough to walk around in about an hour and the museum inside is alright. Not enough English unfortunately. For me, the… Read More Nakatsu Castle, Oita, Kyushu
A little while ago when I lived in Mihara in Hiroshima I had the opportunity to see a beautiful sunset. Living in Mihara wasn’t the best of times for me but luckily I had some friends who showed me around the area and cheered me up. One day we went to Onomichi and walked around… Read More Seto Inland Sea Sunset, Onomichi, Hiroshima – Pictorial
Last May a friend of mine (Audrey) from Australia came to Fukuoka and we had a chance to meet up for dinner. It was great to speak to another Aussie again. She has her own blog which I’d like to introduce here. During her time in Fukuoka she did some research into ‘shotengai’ and ‘yatai’. … Read More Shotengai in Japan: Nostalgic, Atmospheric Streets Crammed with Cheap, Delicious Eats
Ikedaya Incident The Ikedaya Incident, in which members of the Shinsengumi attacked and killed anti-Tokugawa activists thwarting their supposed plans to torch Kyoto, took place 155 years ago on July 8, 1864. The attack is known as the Ikedaya Incident, as the rebel Choshu (modern-day Yamaguchi Prefecture) and Tosa (now Kochi Prefecture) clan samurai had… Read More Shinsengumi Attack Rebels- Ikedaya Incident, 1864
Thankyou to the new people who have followed me. I hope you can enjoy Japan as much as I do. Every spring the little town of Arita is host to one of the biggest ceramics festivals in Japan. But Arita is not about pottery, the surrounding town and environment is stunning, so let’s dive in.… Read More Arita/Imari Pottery, Saga, Kyushu
Yoshinogari is a a large moated town from the Yayoi Period (300BC-300AD). The Yoshinogari Yayoi ruins were found in 1986 while surveying for a new industrial site. Luckily this was put on hold and a 3 year excavation began. The site uncovered the largest Yayoi village ever found in Japan. The village is thought to… Read More Yoshinogari – Historical Yayoi Park, Saga, Kyushu
I have been to the Sapporo Beer factory a few times but the mission was always to eat as much ‘Jingiskan’ and drink as much Sapporo beer as I could. This time I allowed some time to explore the museum and outside gardens as well. Sapporo Beer was the first brewery in Japan. The beautiful… Read More The home of Japanese beer. Sapporo Beer Factory, Hokkaido
I visited Akizuki castle ruins last Thursday. It was a nice drive from Fukuoka. The region of Asakura city quite historic and is famous for fruit picking and onsens. I haven’t done a lot of research of the area as yet. The castle is more like an estate, similar to Nijo-jo but not as big.… Read More Akizuki Castle Town, Asakura, Fukuoka.
Last summer I went to Beppu for a few days. Unfortunately as the trip drew closer Kyushu was hit by a bloody typhoon. The typhoon passed but we were still on the back end of the weather so it rained for most of the time 😦 Anyway here are some photos of the 2 day… Read More Welcome to hell! Beppu Jikoku, Oita.
During the ‘isolation period’ of Japan also known as the Edo Period a few nations were still allowed to trade in Japan. The Dutch, Koreans and Chinese were the only nations granted trade rights. The Dutch company ‘VOC’ were famous around the world and they set up a trade port in Nagasaki. Dejima was established… Read More Dutch trade port of Dejima, Nagasaki.
While I was living in Kumamoto one of things I really wanted to do is visit the cave Musashi Miyamoto retired to after his last duel with Kojiro. Musashi spent the last 5 years of his life at Reigando, a cave located on the western side of Mt Kinpo just outside of Kumamoto city. Unganzenji… Read More Reigando (Musashi’s last resting spot) – Pictorial
Happy Thursday! I’m going to start posting some new blogs which only focus on my photography. Articles are great but time consuming and I have so many photos just sitting on my hard drive. Anyway I’m going to try and start posting a little more regularly between writing in depth articles with some great photos.… Read More Nanzoin Temple, Fukuoka, Kyushu
I’m delighted to let you know that I am now writing articles for http://www.taiken.co. This is a link for my first article with them featuring the great Fujisaki Hachimangu horse festival held in Kumamoto, Kyushu in mid September. Enjoy https://taiken.co/single/fujisaki-hachimangu-horse-festival-in-kumamoto/ Stu
A couple of weeks ago I visited Raizan Sennyoji in Itoshima. Itoshima is a nice little country suburb a little to the west of where I live in Fukuoka. It is famous for beautiful beaches, mountains and the countryside. Many people also farm and produce a lot of great produce. It’s a nice place to… Read More Raizan Sennyoji and early Buddhism in Japan. Itoshima, Fukuoka
Miyamoto Musashi Died On June 13, 1645. Considered one of the greatest samurai of all time, Miyamoto Musashi’s reputation has grown to mythic proportions over the years, despite much of his life remaining a mystery. The undefeated swordsman, master of strategy, calligrapher, painter, writer and martial arts icon, Miyamoto Musashi was born towards the end… Read More Reigando Cave and the life of Miyamoto Musashi
Miyajidake sits in the northern region of Fukutsu city about 1 hour from central Fukuoka. It is famous for the ‘road of faith’ and stairs leading up to the main temple which look out directly to the sea about a kilometre away. More on this later. Sunsets around October are supposed to be really beautiful.… Read More Miyajidake Shrine, Fukutsu City, Kyushu.
