Activities Hokubō Cosmos Festival 2026 Mid Oct On the second Sunday in October, a colorful cosmos festival takes place at the Hokubo Cosmos Square in Maniwa City, Okayama Prefecture...
Activities Tsuyama Sakura Festival Kim Bergström Tsuyama Castle's Kakuzan Park is home to around 1000 cherry blossom trees, and was selected as one of Japan's top 100 famous..
Culture Kurashiki’s Cotton Story Arlene Bastion Kurashiki spun good from bad with its lucky choice to grow cotton when rice crops failed. It is now Japan's leading producer..
Culture Bizen Osafune Sword Museum’s Deadly Beauties Arlene Bastion The rather romantic allure of the swords at this museum comes from their design intended for slaying power, making them deadly beauties...
7 Culture Kurashiki Bikan Historical Area in Okayama Lily The Kurashiki Bikan Historical area in Kurashiki City, Okayama is a traditional Edo era townscape. It and the surrounding river..
Culture Achi Shrine's Zodiac Sanctum Arlene Bastion No better place to rest in Kurashiki than in quiet Achi Shrine, made interesting with a Zodiac sanctum, a smaller sub-shrine containing..
Culture Osaka to Hiroshima: Stop on the Way Peter Sidell Plenty of visitors to Japan head directly straight from Osaka to Hiroshima, but there's a lot to see and do in between! Here's..
Culture The Truth About Abenoseimei Scott Brause The soothsayer and diviner Abenoseimei fought many battles with the sorcerer Ashiya Doman, but little is known of their last confrontation...