Hi everyone! I hope you have all had a good Christmas break. This is my first day back at work! During the holidays, I spoke to members of the international community here who either currently live in Fukushima or who have lived here, and asked them what they love most about the prefecture. They providedContinue reading “Why We Love Winter in Fukushima”: Local Recommendations
Last week I headed to Mt Adatara to make the most of Japan’s autumn leaves season, and to celebrate the fact that the weather is finally beginning to cool down! There are a number of great viewpoints up Mt Adatara for seeing autumn leaves, including Yakushi Dake, which is located at an altitude of 1,350m.Continue reading Mt Adatara Autumn Hike Photoblog
Hello! I hope that everyone is enjoying cherry blossom season, wherever you might be. I got back from a business trip to Thailand on Tuesday, and made it a priority to go out & see some cherry blossom this week, refusing to acknowledging that most of the sakura spots near me had been in fullContinue reading Searching for Sakura in Nihonmatsu
I’ve recently been lucky enough to try out a couple of farmstays in Fukushima Prefecture. During a ‘farmstay experience’, you will usually spend time with a farming host family, and take part in their everyday work. Sometimes you can try cultural experiences such as making Japanese food or visiting local spots. Farmstay experiences often lastContinue reading Experiencing a Japanese Farmstay
Mt Adatara is one of Fukushima Prefecture’s most spectacular places to go and see the bright colours of the autumn leaves. Japanese people make special trips to scenic spots in autumn just to see these colours, and this practice is called momiji-gari. I went to Mt Adatara in Nihonmatsu to try and do some momiji-gariContinue reading Enjoying Mt Adatara in Autumn
It is rare for the same small Japanese town to be home to 2 festivals as different as those held in Towa, Nihonmatsu City. Towa is a satoyama – this means that the town has been built around the patches of arable land located on the border of mountain foothills. The above photos shown youContinue reading Rural Towa Town & its Unique Festivals
Nihonmatsu Lantern Festival is held annually between October 4 & 6th. These beautiful festival float’ lanterns shining bright in dark should not to be missed!Continue reading Nihonmatsu Lantern Festival
The highlight of my month was visiting Kasumiga-jo Park when its 1700 cherry trees were in full bloom, and enjoying a matcha tea in a traditional tea room from the Edo Period. I have wanted to visited the tea room Senshintei (洗心亭) for ages, so I was glad that I finally got to go. TheContinue reading A Matcha Tea Room With a View
The 180 year old weeping cherry trees at Kassenba, a short drive out of central Nihonmatsu City, are very popular among visitors during the early to mid April hanami (flower-viewing) season. The bright canola flowers that cover the hills that surround Kassenba like a blanket make its scenery rather unique, and it’s fair to sayContinue reading Kassenba’s Weeping Cherry Trees
