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21 Nov 09
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Flower Arrangement 生花On a recent visit to the Imperial Palace, in Kyoto, we saw several large examples of Japanese flower arrangement.Both of the pieces were in open arcades within the Palace.They feature flowers and plants seasonally appropriate: autumn in all... |
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20 Nov 09
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Jazz Up Your Japanese with Onomatopoeia Jazz Up Your Japanese with Onomatopoeiaby Hiroko FukudaKodansha InternationalISBN: 4-7700-2956-X238 ppOriginally published by Kodansha as "Flip, Slither and Bang: Japanese Sound and Action Words" as part of their Power Japanese series, this volume has... |
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19 Nov 09
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Chukyo University Nagoya Chukyo University in Nagoya may not be in the Ivy League of Japanese universities but it certainly excels in women's figure skating.Two of Japan's best figure skaters, Mao Asada and Miki Ando, both attend Chukyo.The modern campus building towers above the... |
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17 Nov 09
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Public Bath Neon Sign 銭湯のネオンComing back from a party in north Kyoto, we came upon this wonderful neon sign.The picture at right is seen from the rear, which means that the kanji is inverted.Jutting out of the second story of a building on Kitaoji Dori, not far fr... |
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17 Nov 09
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Kyoto Immigration Office 大阪入国管理局京都出張所Kyoto's Immigration Office is not far from the Kamo River, on the north side of Marutamachi Dori. It is actually a sub-office that comes under the wing of the larger Osaka branch.As Japanese immigration offices go... |
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16 Nov 09
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Nagoya Friends - Party at Red Rock! 11/28 (Sat.) Nagoya Friends 76th party in Nagoya! at Date: Saturday November 28th, 2009 Time: 18:30 - 21:00 Drinks will be served between 6:30pm-8:50pm. Place: The Red Rock (2F Aster Plaza Building, 4-14-6 Sakae, Nagoya (very close to Sakae Station) Fee:... |
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16 Nov 09
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Speed Dating Sunday Dec 6th! Nagoya Speed Dating is holding it’s 9th party in Nagoya! Date: Saturday December 5th, 2009 Time: 6-9pm registration from 6:00 to 6:30pm Drinks will be served between 6:30pm-8:50pm. Place: Nagoya Tsurumai City Public Hall, 1-1-3 Tsurumai (ve... |
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15 Nov 09
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Giant Squid On The Sidewalk 歩道のイカI have seen some odd things dumped on the sidewalks in Japan, especially when city authorities would pick up sodai gomi (large items of household waste) on specific days for free.This much-loved practice, which provided the furniture ... |
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14 Nov 09
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Japan This Week 15 November 2009 今週の日本In Tokyo, Obama Seeks to Improve RelationsNew York TimesJapanese men are no 'peril'GuardianIn Japan, Obama stresses Asia's role in U.S. economyWashington PostLa última batalla de OkinawaEl PaisObama promises to re-engage with Asia but U... |
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14 Nov 09
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Japanese Gal Culture ギャルJapan is well known for its many genres and sub-cultures.They exist in the worlds of manga and animation, sport and literature.And, sure enough, there is a mind-boggling variety of clothing and accessories that identify one as belonging to type... |
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13 Nov 09
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The Breakaway Japanese Kitchen エリックさんの新・和食The Breakaway Japanese Kitchenby Eric GowerKodansha InternationalISBN: 4-77002-949-7 112 ppA dedicated gourmet, the author spent 15 years in Japan but never lost his carefree, Californian touch. Bemoaning the fact that pe... |
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12 Nov 09
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Apita Stores アピタHuge Apita stores are a fixture in central Japan - they sell a little bit of just about everything - food, home furnishings, clothes, kitchen ware.Apita is part of the vast Uny retail group which also owns Piago supermarkets, Circle K / ... |
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10 Nov 09
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Odori Park Sapporo 大通公園Odori Koen neatly divides central Sapporo in to two. North of the 105m-wide, 13-block east-west park is Sapporo Station and south is the entertainment district of Susukino with its bars, strip joints and the Ramen Yokocho food alley.The ... |
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10 Nov 09
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Tatsuya Ichihashi Arrested in Osaka 市橋達也 リンゼイ・アン・ホーカーTatsuya Ichihashi (now 30 years old), the main suspect in the murder of Lindsay Ann Hawker, a 22-year-old English teacher from Britain, has been arrested by the Japanese police in Osaka tonight.Ichihashi, w... |
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09 Nov 09
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Takase River Art Exhibit Kyoto 高瀬川京都展覧会Kyoto's Takase River is a narrow canal that runs parallel to Kiyamachi Dori (street) from Nijo-Kiyamachi down to Fushimi, in southern Kyoto. It dates from 1611.It has willow trees on one side and is quite graceful, no matter how... |
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08 Nov 09
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Kyoto Imperial Palace Special Opening 京都御所特別公開To mark the twentieth anniversary of the ascension of the current Emperor, the Kyoto Imperial Palace has thrown open its gates to visitors.What is known as "Gosho" in Japanese is a massive park just north of downtown that contains ... |
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07 Nov 09
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Japan This Week 8 November 2009 今週の日本Safety Agency Rebukes Toyota Over Floor-Mat IssueNew York TimesMatsui Goes Wild, and So Do His Fans in JapanNew York TimesLindsay Hawker murder suspect reported to have had face surgeryGuardianJapan, U.S. to avoid bases feud for Obama visit... |
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06 Nov 09
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Tatsuya Ichihashi plastic surgery 市橋達也 リンゼイ・アン・ホーカーOn 24 March 2007, Tatsuya Ichihashi (now 30 years old), a physical fitness freak loner living in Chiba, supported by his rich parents, brutally murdered Lindsay Ann Hawker, a 22-year-old English teacher fr... |
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06 Nov 09
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Life in the Cul de Sac 黒井千次Life in the Cul de Sacby Senji KuroiStone Bridge PressISBN: 1-8806-5657-4216 ppWhat began as a series of interlinking short stories, Kuroi has woven into an unsettling whole in this novel of Japanese suburban dis-ease. The various familie... |
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05 Nov 09
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Tenpin Bowling in Japan ボウリングIf a recent visit to a local bowling alley in Hoshigaoka in Nagoya is anything to go by, the sport is making a comeback after a slump in popularity in the late 1990s.Bowling was all the rage in 1970s and 1980s Japan, with most towns o... |
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04 Nov 09
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Just Japs A reader sent in this image of a men's clothing store in Cape Town - Just Japs.Strange name for a chain of shops. There is also an "Australian importer of high performance Japanese motor vehicles, parts and accessories" of the same name.Just JapsShop... |
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02 Nov 09
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Diwali Festival, Nishi-Kasai, Tokyo ディワリ祭り 西葛西Last weekend I went to the Nishi-Kasai district of Tokyo, in Edogawa ward in the far east end of the city. Nishi-Kasai has the largest Indian community in Tokyo - and probably Japan - and the occasion on Saturday was the 10t... |
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01 Nov 09
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Bledisloe Cup Rugby Match in Tokyo ブレディスロー・カップI had the fortune of getting tickets - per kind favor of the Brastel telecommunications company and New Zealand Telecom - for the Nissui Tokyo 2009 Bledisloe Cup rugby match between the New Zealand All Blacks and the Austr... |
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01 Nov 09
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Japan This Week 1 November 2009 今週の日本Japan Says JAL Can Be Saved, With State BailoutNew York TimesJapan renews effort to free citizens abducted by North KoreaGuardianNintendo profit dives, others in red amid slumpWashington PostHitler en versión 'manga', estrella ... |
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31 Oct 09
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The Moyai of Shibuya Station 渋谷駅 モヤイ像Shibuya Station is famous for its Hachiko statue - so famous in fact that the exit near the statue is named after it. However, the south exit of Shibuya Station also has a statue - a much bigger one - that isn't as famous: the Moya... |
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30 Oct 09
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Tokyo Vice Book Review Tokyo Vice: An American reporter on the Police Beat in Japanby Jake AdelsteinPantheonISBN: 0-521-58810-3346 ppWith so many books promising untold riches, then failing to deliver, this journalistic adventure by Jake Adelstein is rare: it is unputdownable... |
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29 Oct 09
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Tokugawa Yoshinobu Grave 徳川慶喜お墓Tokugawa Yoshinobu was the 15th and final shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. He attempted to reform the shogunate system - but failed.He resigned in late 1867, and retired into relative obscurity (though was throughout his lif... |
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27 Oct 09
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Yukimi Daifuku from Lotte 雪見だいふくLotte, the giant confectionery maker from Korea, is huge in Japan, and, naturally, produces a lot of food and sweets here in Japan with a distinctively Japanese twist.Mochi, or pounded rice cake, is a delicacy in Japan. So is ice cr... |
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26 Oct 09
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Japanese Manhole Covers From Gifu & Kofu マンホールの蓋These manhole covers are from Hida Hagiwara near Gero Onsen in Gifu Prefecture, Kofu in Yamanashi, Ise in Mie Prefecture, Kira in Aichi and Himakajima, a small island off the tip of the Chita Peninsula, south of Nagoya.Japanese manhol... |
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26 Oct 09
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Kabukicho Tokyo 歌舞伎町Kabukicho is one of Tokyo's largest "entertainment" areas and well-known for its red-light sleaze.Kabukicho near Shinjuku Station is home to over three thousand bars, cinemas, hostess joints, karaoke boxes, nightclubs, pachinko parlors, love... |
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24 Oct 09
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Japan This Week 25 October 2009 今週の日本Beauty and the Bento BoxNew York TimesTokyo festival to screen Japanese dolphin slaughter filmGuardianJapan FM: U.S. base should stay on OkinawaWashington PostLa emperatriz Michiko cumple 75 añosEl Pais2010 bill eyed to give foreigners ... |
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24 Oct 09
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Kameido backstreets - lost Tokyo 亀戸 裏道Kameido, just one stop east of Kinshicho, is an area in Tokyo's east end - in Sumida ward - with a vibe more in common with Osaka than the rest of Tokyo.Casual, unpretentious, with no aspirations to anything but life and its pleasures as li... |
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23 Oct 09
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Tsukiji: The Fish Market At The Center Of The World Tsukiji: The Fish Market At The Center Of The Worldby Theodore C. BestorISBN: 0-5202-2024-2456 ppLong a popular destination for foreign visitors to Tokyo, Tsukiji, the world's biggest fish market with some 450 different types of fish and a daily turnover... |
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22 Oct 09
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Insho Domoto Museum of Fine Arts Kyoto 堂本印象美術館A little bit of Barcelona lurks in northwest Kyoto.Just across the main gate to Ritsumeikan University, a bit down the road from the Golden Pavilion, is one of the oddest buildings in Kyoto.The Insho Domoto Museum of Fine Arts Kyoto w... |
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21 Oct 09
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Japanese Woman in Fur Boots 女性毛衣靴A beautiful young woman on her bike pulled up next to me and stopped to wait for the light to change in northwest Kyoto.We had just been to an exhibit at the Domoto Museum and were on our way to a cafe.The woman was texting, phone in her ... |
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20 Oct 09
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Crows in Japan カラスWith the possible exception of stray cats and barking dogs (both pet hates of mine), the biggest urban pest in Japan are crows - karasu (in Japanese).Crows are the Taleban of Tokyo - large, aggressive, noisy and clad all in black.With wingsp... |
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18 Oct 09
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Kyoto Cityscape 京都町並みKyoto is the home and soul of traditional Japanese culture.Seventeen World Heritage Sites are sprinkled throughout the city.Many other sites not recognized by the UN are equally stunning.Several hundred geisha work in the city's four licen... |
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18 Oct 09
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Japan This Week 18 October 2009 今週の日本Obama Becomes Japan's English TeacherNew York TimesJapan Rethinks a Dam, and a Town ProtestsNew York TimesJapan begins to shake off US foreign policy influenceGuardianJapan urged to solve global child custody disputesWashington PostCrys... |
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17 Oct 09
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Sunshine Sakae Nagoya サンシャインサカエSunshine Sakae Building in Sakae, Nagoya is a large shopping and entertainment building with a 42m-diameter Ferris wheel tacked on to the font.The six-story building is just west of Oasis 21 and the TV Tower. The building is i... |
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16 Oct 09
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The Unfettered Mind 不動智神妙録The Unfettered Mindby Takuan SohoKodansha International Translated by William Scott WilsonISBN: 4-7700-2947-0William Scott Wilson has made a name for himself translating the martial-philosophy classics of 16th-century Japan. He is best k... |
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15 Oct 09
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Can Recycle Man リサイクルA common site in the early mornings near where I live in Nagoya is a man on a bicycle festooned with tin cans. Each area puts out its plastic, cans and bottles on a different day to be picked up by the city's recycling trucks.Before... |
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14 Oct 09
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FILM PREMIERE Gay Squirrel and the Tail/Tale of the Cat on the Moon ゲイの栗鼠と月に住む猫のおはなしef Gallery presents a new film by Dutch artist Johan Peter (J.P.) Hol"Gay Squirrel and the Tail/Tale of the Cat on the Moon!"OPENING RECEPTION/ FILM PREMIERE19:00 - 21:00 Thursday 15 October 2009The film,... |
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12 Oct 09
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Japanese kids kendama dance to Michael Jackson 大久保祭り 剣玉 マイケル・ジャクソンToday, October 12, is a holiday, Health and Sports Day, (usually October 11, but moved to the 12th this year) and it is also the day of the Okubo Festival in the Okubo district of Tokyo's Shinjuku... |
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12 Oct 09
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Nagoya Friends Halloween Party 10/31 (Sat.) Nagoya Friends is holding it’s 75th party in Nagoya! at Date: Friday Oct 31st, 2009 Time: 6:30-9pm Drinks will be served between 6:30pm-8:50pm. Place: The Red Rock (2F Aster Plaza Building, 4-14-6 Sakae, Nagoya (very close to Sak... |
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12 Oct 09
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Four Stories Osaka AWARD-WINNING, INTERNATIONAL LITERARY SERIES RETURNS TO OSAKA ON November 8, 2009Featuring four distinguished authors reading in English under the theme “As the World Turns: Tales of Changes and Transformations"OSAKA, JAPAN, October 7, 2009... |
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10 Oct 09
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Japan This Week 11 October 2009 今週の日本Former Japanese Finance Minister Is Found DeadNew York TimesMandelson calls on Japan to lift 'invisible' barriers to free tradeGuardianSouth Korea, Japan press North Korea to return to talksWashington PostMaehara: 48 of 56 dam proj... |
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09 Oct 09
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Ramen Yokocho Sapporo Ramen ラーメン横丁Sapporo is known for its ramen (Chinese egg noodles). The whole city is scattered with ramen joints, but the most famous place to try ramen is in Ramen Yokocho - an alleyway packed with steaming, crowded, noodle restaurants.Ramen st... |
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08 Oct 09
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Nakano General Hospital 中野総合病院Asameshi-mae means "before breakfast" in Japanese, and is a phrase used to mean "a walkover," "easy-peasy," "piece of cake," "do it with my eyes closed." And that's how I cut my finger two days ago: before breakfast - while scooping my ... |
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08 Oct 09
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Velotaxi Kyoto ベロタクシー京都The other evening in Kyoto, not far from Keihan's Sanjo Station, we saw a curious vehicle parked in front of the Sanjo Ohashi Bridge.Known as a Velotaxi, three of them have been ferrying tourists and locals around the city since 20... |
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06 Oct 09
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Old Sign Kurama Kyoto 古い看板鞍馬京都On a recent hike from Kibune to Kurama, in northern Kyoto, we strolled the last stretch from the trail head in Kurama to a local hot spring.The homes that line the road, new and old, are all tastefully done in a "Kyoto" tradition... |
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