Nijo Castle is a massive complex in Kyoto Japan built in the early 1600′s as the home of the first Shogun of the Edo Period Tokugawa Ieyasu. The entire Nijo Castle grounds include various buildings, temples, gardens, moats, walls, ponds and watchtowers and unsurprisingly it is one of Kyoto’s...

Starting next month East Japan Railway Company (JR East) will be selling a new JR Kanto Area Pass available to holders of a non-Japanese passport arriving at Haneda or Narita Airport. The discounted pass is valid for 3 consecutive days and allows unlimited rides in Tokyo and the surrounding Kanto area...

Welcome to the second ediition in a series I am calling “practical Japanese” where I share a photo or video showing hiragana, katakana or kanji being used in a practical everyday sense. The aim is to expand the vocabulary of fellow Japanese learners so they may get familiar with seeing and...

One of the three main stops during my 1 day exploration of Kyoto while in Japan was Ginkakuji a Zen temple which was originally constructed in the late 1400′s. It was originally intended to be the retirement villa of Ashikaga Yoshimasa, the 8th shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned in Japan...

Traveling to to a far away land or even to an unfamiliar neighbouring town is not as difficult or daunting as it used to be. With a wealth of information available online and at your fingertips in the form of apps for smartphones and tablets traveling is now a less chaotic affair if you use the tools...

Yoshinoya is a well known Japanese fast food chain that has it’s root in Japan from as far back as 1899. Yoshinoya is famous for it’s Gyudon or Beef Bowls which are prepared quickly with a variety of side dishes and toppings at very affordable prices. I didn’t know much about Yoshinoya...

Honda has updated it’s well known Asimo humanoid robot with what it is calling “autonomous behavior control technology” which the company states advances Asimo from an “automatic machine” to an “autonomous machine” with  decision-making capabilities such as determining its...

Being the rabid Gundam fan I am I was disappointed that I was unable to see the Life-sized RX-78 Gundam in Tokyo or in Shizouka. My last chance to see it was when it returned disassembled in the name of charity but I unfortunately missed out on that opportunity too because I wouldn’t arrive in...

Nara is a must visit for fans of Japanese history, Buddhist temples and.. Deer. Not just any ordinary deer but deer designated as “National Treasures”, all 1200+ of them. Up to the mid 1600′s killing one of them was a crime punishable by death as before World War II they were considered...

I was fortunate enough to have two amazing friends to stay with while in Japan, the first Jamaican pal I met through his blog about his life and experiences being an English teacher in Japan and the 2nd a beautiful Japanese lady who intrigued me because she was a Japanese reggae singer who makes some...