Off the Beaten Path Japan

Kamikura Shrine(Shingu City, Wakayama)【Iwa (岩)】 refers to large rocks formed by natural forces, volcanic activity, crustal movements, and lo...

The Tokugawa Art Museum(Nagoya City, Aichi)【 Gosanke（御三家）】 or the “Three Great Tokugawa Houses,” refers to the three branches of the Tokugaw...

Ashikaga Orihime Temple(Ashikaga City, Tochigi)【 Orimono（織物）】 means textiles made by interweaving vertical warp threads and horizontal weft ...

Bannaji Temple(Ashikaga City, Tochigi)【Kamon（家紋）】 are traditional Japanese family crests that signify lineage and social status. For histori...

Ashikaga School(Ashikaga City, Tochigi)【Ekikyō (易経)】 is the Japanese name for the I Ching (Yijing), an ancient Chinese text originally creat...

Kōdōkan(Mito City, Ibaraki)【Gakkō（学校）】 means “school” in Japanese. It is a place where students learn reading, writing, and academic subject...

Kairakuen Garden(Mito City, Ibaraki)【Bai-en（梅園）】 is a garden or orchard where many plum trees are planted. Plum blossoms have long been cher...

Nikkon Museum(Shinagawa City, Tokyo)【Kougaku（光学）】is the Japanese term for optics, the science and technology of understanding and using ligh...

Hebikubo Shrine(Shinagawa City, Tokyo)【Henbi (蛇)】means snakes in Japanese, have long held a fascinating dual identity. Since ancient times, ...

Higashi Chaya District(Kanazawa City, Ishikawa)【Ochaya（お茶屋）】 is a traditional establishment—literally a teahouse—where female entertainers k...

Kenroku-en Garden(Kanazawa City, Ishikawa)【Kenroku-en（後楽園）】is one of Japan’s Three Great Gardens and stretches out beside Kanazawa Castle. I...

Kanazawa Castle(Kanazawa City, Ishikawa)【Hyakuman-goku（100万石）】refers to a yield of one million koku of rice. A koku (or goku) was a unit use...