Mt Aso, Kumamoto
Not far from Kumamoto is the real live active volcano, Mt. Aso, one of several on Kyushu. There are three main viewing areas. Scattered around the rim are mushroom shaped pill boxes so people can take cover from spewing ash and cinders when the volcano gets REALLY active. Mist and gas makes it a bit difficult to see the lava lake, but every once in a while the mist clears and you can get a clear look of the it. The smell of sulphur permeates the air all around the rim and you can buy bags of sulphur or figurines made from volcanic ash from various vendors.
Kusakabe mingei-kan
This house belonged to the Kusakabe family, successful Takayama merchants who thrived in the late Edo and early Meiji periods. It was built in 1879 to replace an earlier home and business lost in a fire. It is a two storey structure, foot-square cypress timbers are as perfectly fitted as cabinet work, as might be expected from builders of this Hida region (famous throughout the country for their skills in woodwork and carpentry). Its most noticeable feature is perhaps the fireplace – a sunken hearth made of iron known as an irori and above it a huge adjustable hook for hanging a pot or kettle, known as a jizai-kagi. This is the heart of the daidokoro or family room.
Pontocho, Kyoto
Pontocho is the most centrally located of Kyoto’s Hanamachi, or geisha districts. Pontocho has a thriving nightlife area which attracts both Japanese and Westerners alike. Similar to Gion, the traditional houses are well preserved, giving visitors a glimpse of the past. While the area has many restaurants, geisha tea houses, it also has many Western-style restaurants and pubs.
Omochi
A popular confectionery around the New Year’s season in Japan is mochi. Mochi is often translated to “rice cake”, it can either be more like a soft “rice gummy”, usually stuffed with sugary foods like sweet beans, strawberry, or even ice cream; or like a “condensed rice block”, which is often basted in soy sauce, grilled, and wrapped in seaweed. If you have tried the mochi in Japan, tell us do you like it sweet OR salty flavor of it?:)
1st sunrise of 2014
It’s the First Sunrise ! of the New Year of Horse 2014. View from Tokyo, Edogawa river. Left: Tokyo Skytree, far Right: Mt fuji. One thousand lucky people observed the year’s first sunrise from Tokyo Skytree. They had a spectacular view after the sun peaked through the clouds at 6:50 a.m.