Chūsonji (中尊寺) Temple, Hiraizumi, Japan

Chūsonji (中尊寺) Temple in Hiraizumi, Iwate Prefecture, Japan was established in 850 as a temple of the Tendai sect of Buddhism. The temple came to prominence when the northern branch of the Fujiwara clan moved their base to Hiraizumi. At its peak, the temple consisted of a large network of dozens of buildings. [1]

With the fall of the Fujiwara at the end of the 12th century, Chūsonji suffered likewise so that now only two buildings from that era remain intact. Luckily, among these is the most spectacular, the Konjikidō (金色堂). Similar to Kyoto's famous Kinkakuji (金閣寺, literally "Temple of the Golden Pavilion"), Konjikidō is a building completely covered in gold. It dates back to 1124 and stands inside another concrete building for protection. [1]

The opening photograph is the concrete building constructed to protect the Konjikidō and is the typical photograph that all visitors are allowed to make of the "Konjikidō". Once you enter the protective building, any video or photography is strictly prohibited of the spectacular Konjikidō itself.

Please continue reading the rest of the article to see a video of the golden Konjikidō and see more photographs of Chūsonji when I visited on 25 Nov 2017.

The Railway Museum (鉄道博物館, Tetsudō Hakubutsukan), Saitama, Japan

Japan has a rich railway history that continues to this day. From the futuristic Maglev (Magnetic Levitation) trains and the new dedicated rail line currently under construction from Tokyo to Nagoya, to the current pioneering and continual evolving Shinkansen train and rail network that sets the worldwide standard for high speed rail travel, and finally to the everyday electric and diesel passenger and freight trains that form the backbone of the Japanese rail transportation system, it should be no surprise that a strong culture revolving around trains has developed in Japan. Train spotting, where rail fans (or fanatics) make an effort to photograph and record train lines, rolling stock, and/or train stations, is an active and accepted practice whenever a new train line is opened, new train engines or cars are introduced, or a train station opens or closes.

The Railway Museum (鉄道博物館, Tetsudō Hakubutsukan), run by the non-profit affiliate of the East Japan Railway Company (JR East), one of the regional successor companies formed after the break-up the Japan National Railway (JNR), recounts the history of railways in Japan, exhibits many previously used train cars, teaches train operation using interesting simulators, and explains railway technology as it evolved over the years. The museum's big collection of formerly used train cars includes steam and diesel locomotives, and retired shinkansen, passenger, and freight cars. Many of the historical rail cars can be entered and the undercarriage of some can even be viewed from below. The museum further showcases one of Japan's largest (model train) dioramas. In another section, railway concepts, science, and systems are explained through models and hands-on activities. [1]

Please continue reading the rest of the article to find out more about my visit to The Railway Museum on 02 Nov 2018 and to see more photographs. I went to The Railway Museum after visiting the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum (大宮盆栽美術館), which is nearby. You can read about my visit to the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum by clicking here.

Dote No Iseya (土手の伊勢屋 (どてのいせや)) Restaurant, Tokyo, Japan

Dote No Iseya (土手の伊勢屋 (どてのいせや)) is a restaurant  specializing in tempura over rice bowls, Tempura Donburi (天ぷら丼ぶり) - better known as Tendon (天丼), using conger eel (穴子, anago) since 1889. There are many tendon restaurants in Tokyo that are easier to visit and offer tendon at more affordable prices than this restaurant. This 130+ year restaurant is located in the northeast of Tokyo far from any tourist attractions and is accessible by only one subway line. The restaurant only has 28 seats, does not take reservations, is only open 3.5 hours a day, five days a week for lunch from 11:00 to 14:30, and there is always a long queue to enter, especially on the weekends. Eating at this restaurant requires a conscious effort to make the journey and then patience in the queue to enter, yet is always full, and is patronized by both locals and tourists alike. Why would someone make a special trip to an inconveniently located restaurant with limited hours and a long queue to eat a dish that costs more than other similar easily reached restaurants?

The simple answer is that the food is very good, but in my opinion people come here for the entire experience of dining on well prepared fresh food in a unique environment. The restaurant is listed as one of the best places to eat tendon in Tokyo by Time Out Tokyo [1] and was also featured in a video segment on Japan's public TV station NHK (the video is no longer available online). The size of the tendon served at this restaurant is large, even by American standards, and the quality and freshness of the ingredients, especially the conger eel, form the restaurant's signature tendon dishes. Finally, the restaurant is housed in one of the few surviving original wooden buildings in Tokyo dating from 1927.

Continue reading the rest of the article to find out more about my visit to Dote No Iseya on 10 Nov 2019 and to see more photographs.

Starfield Library (별 마당 도서관), Starfield COEX Mall (스타필드 코엑스몰), Seoul, South Korea

The spectacular Starfield Library in Seoul, South Korea was a sensation from the moment it opened on 31 May 2017 and I visited soon after on 10 Nov 2017. The library is a massive two story, 2,800 square meter (over 30,000 sq. ft.) space full of light and glass, with 70,000 books and 600 domestic and foreign magazines in three towering bookshelves, each standing 13 meters (about 43 ft.) tall.

What makes this library unique is that it is located in Asia's largest underground shopping mall, the Starfield COEX Mall [1], and is credited with increasing traffic to a mall that had been losing shoppers. [2] The Starfield COEX Mall is located in the Gangnam district of Seoul, where you can find a large number of stores and restaurants. Besides the normal shops and restaurants that you would normally find in a mall, the mall is part of a complex consisting of COnvention centers, EXhibition halls, two hotels, two food courts, an aquarium, a large multiscreen cinema venue, and office towers.

The mall is directly connected by underground passages to two Seoul Metro subway stations, making it easy for shoppers to visit. The mall is also directly connected to a large Hyundai Department store (for those who live in the USA, think about Nordstrom's on steroids) and the City Air Terminal, where you can check-in to your international flight and go through Korean Immigration and Customs (Incheon Airport only) before taking a bus to one of Seoul's two international airports: Incheon and Gimpo.

Continue reading the rest of the article to find out more about the Starfield library, the COEX Mall, and to see more photographs.

Nebuta Museum Wa Rasse (ねぶたの家 ワ・ラッセ, Nebuta no ie Wa-Rasse), Aomori, Japan

This article was updated on 19 Sep 2021 to clarify the train trip to Aomori Station and the museum.

It's been a while since my last post. While international tourists are currently prohibited from visiting Japan due to the pandemic, here's a museum located in the northernmost part of Japan's main island that's possible to visit if you are staying in Tokyo. I highly recommend taking the journey once international travel to Japan becomes possible again.

I visited this museum on 26 Nov 2017, which is in the city of Aomori, located in the northernmost Tōhoku region of Japan's main island of Honshu. The museum contains some of the spectacular illuminated floats (nebuta) used in the annual Aomori Nebuta Festival held from 2-7 Aug. If you can't attend the festival, visiting the museum is the next best thing.

Nebuta Museum Wa Rasse (ねぶたの家 ワ・ラッセ, Nebuta no ie Wa-Rasse) is a museum dedicated to the city's famous Nebuta Matsuri. The museum is housed in a unique building covered in red metal slats and stands along Aomori's waterfront district just a short walk north of Aomori Station. The Nebuta Warasse museum attempts to capture the spirit of the festival and gives visitors a taste of its lively atmosphere, history and traditions. [1]

Please continue reading the rest of the article to find out more about the Nebuta Museum Wa Rasse and to see more photographs of my visit.

Lin Mao Sen Tea Company (林茂森茶行), Taipei, Taiwan

Top: High Mountain Oolong Tea
Bottom Left: Chrysanthemum Tea
Bottom Right: Oriental Beauty Tea

Updated 05 Sep 2021:

Added tips when ordering by email and that English is spoken at both stores mentioned in this article.

Original 27 Sep 2020 article:

I am not a coffee drinker, having never acquired the taste. Consequently, I have always consumed Asian tea both by itself and with meals. When I was growing up, the tea choices were Oolong (烏龍茶), Jasmine (茉莉花茶), and Bo Nay (博奈茶; a type of Pu-Erh (普爾) tea). You poured boiling water over the tea leaves to make the tea. The teas were purchased at the local Chinese market and the main criteria for selection were quantity and price, with taste and fragrance never being a consideration. If you think of tea in terms of purchasing wine, the tea I grew up on was the equivalent of "2-Buck Chuck" (for those not familiar with this term, this phrase is used to describe the US$2 bottles of wine that can be purchased at a famous food specialty chain store in the USA). Like tea, there are better and more expensive bottles of wine, but for everyday use, "2-Buck Chuck" is perfectly acceptable.

As with wine, Asian teas have distinct flavors, fragrances, and are graded, with a wide range of prices. Making tea does not always mean always using boiling water, but choosing the correct temperature to maximize the flavor and fragrance depending upon the tea. Also making tea is not limited to just the physical act of making tea, but is elevated to an art and is part of a long standing Asian tea culture, with one of the most well known arts being the Japanese Tea Ceremony (茶道, chadō, "The Way of Tea").[1]

In Japan and Taiwan (among other places in Asia), a full range of tea varieties and prices are available for purchase at local tea specialty shops, some having been in operation for over 100 years. The quality of the teas available in Japan and Taiwan far surpass any Asian tea that can be purchased in the USA. Tea in Asia is bought depending upon fragrance, taste, and freshness. One of my favorite tea shops in Taipei is Lin Mao Sen Tea Company (林茂森茶行). Established in 1883, the shop sells a full range of graded Taiwanese teas at various price points. Due to the global pandemic, international travel to Asia is not possible from the USA. Since visiting Taiwan is not an option, ordering and purchasing tea is still possible since Lin Mao Sen Tea accepts remote orders and ships overseas.

Please read the rest of the article to find out more about buying Taiwanese tea and this tea shop in Taipei.

Yasurai Matsuri (やすらい祭, Yasurai Festival), Imamiya Shrine (今宮神社, Imamiya-jinja), Kyoto, Japan

This article was updated on 20 Sep 2021 to correct rail pass information.

The Yasurai Matsuri (やすらい祭), or Yasurai Festival, started in the Heian Period (794-1185) and is now held every year on the second Sunday in April at Imamiya Shrine (今宮神社, Imamiya-jinja). The festival is considered to be one of the three most unique Kyoto festivals (the other two being the Uzumasa Bull Festival ((太秦牛祭, Uzumasa Ushi Matsuri) and Kurama Fire Festival (鞍馬の火祭り, Kurama no Hi-matsuri)). The purpose of the festival is to suppress evil deities who are believed to appear in this season and spread infectious diseases. [1]

Kyoto hosts hundreds of festivals, both large and small, throughout the year. The largest and most well-know festival in Japan (not just Kyoto) is the Gion Matsuri (祇園祭), which occurs every year in July with events scheduled for the entire month. Unfortunately the 2020 Gion Matsuri has been cancelled due the pandemic, but when the festival is held, all hotels in Kyoto and the surrounding area are fully booked, and it is impossible to travel around Kyoto due to closed streets and the thousands of people coming to see the festival. On the other hand, the 1000-year old Yasurai Matsuri is not well known (despite being labeled as one of the three most unique of Kyoto's festivals) and is more of a local neighborhood festival that attracts fewer outsiders. The 2020 Yasurai Matsuri was also unfortunately cancelled due to the pandemic. I believe that attending these small festivals gives a foreigner, like me, a better view into Japanese traditions and local life. I have to say that this festival was one of the more memorable experiences I have had in Japan, so I would urge you to consider attending for a more intimate festival experience if you're visit to Kyoto coincides with the annual date.

I attended this festival on 10 Apr 2005, over 15 years ago. Please continue reading the rest of this article to find out more about my experience and to see more photographs.