On sunny beautiful day of early summer, one of the biggest festival in
The AOI-matsuri-festival. Those Heian costume is so gorgeous and impressed many people on the street. I was moved by horse riding ceremony in Kamigamo-shrine .
Green Green May! The Iris Laevigata”Kakitsubata” is fully blooming silently at Ota shrine near the Kamigamo-shrine. Reina
The second Sunday in May is Mother's day in Japan - Yes, it's tomorrow.
I wonder who came up with Mother's day, but I think it's good day to say "Thank you" for our mother as you might know, Japanese are not really good at showing their emotion.
I went to Hankyu department (one of famous department store in Osaka) on the other day to buy a present and the mother's day gift sections were decorated with carnations (It's the symbol for mother's day in Japan) and are very crowded with girls, boys, children with their mother..
I stood in the LONG checkout line and of course I hate it.
But I thought while I was waiting,
"There are so many people come to buy presents for their mother.
That means they LOVE their mother. Filled with love!
Then I felt very happy to being there.
By the way, we are going to have a party tomorrow
We serve French style Crepe and Gyoza(Dumpling)!
Who cook French style Crepe? Pascal, of course!
Gyoza? We Japanese staff!
Who would like to join us? We still have a few vacancies for tomorrow and Anybody welcome!
Will you come with your mother??
The cherry blossom is commonly celebrated by eating and drinking under the trees while enjoying the return of warmness. But even busy people can enjoy them by going at evening to one of the numerous lightups organized at this season. The whiteness of the 'sakura' even get stronger on a dark blue background !
Dear all, I wish you a 2008 year filled by Peace, Love and of course travel in Japan !
Have you ever celebrated new year's eve in Japan ? That's something wonderfull, that's so vivid and colourfull ! I wish you can experience it at least once in your life.
There is actually a lot to do and see before and after midnigth if you're here for the new year which is called "oshogatsu" in japanese. Let me introduce what I know about them (which is certainly extremely few compared to all the traditional things that occurs this night).
To endure the coldness of the night it's better to start with a very hot and consistent dish. There is a dedicated one, called toshikoshisoba. That's noodle with mochi and various others things. Take care to the mochi. It'so sticky that every year some people died by choking on it !!!
Another typical dishes is ozouni. The recipie change in each area of Japan, but basically I would say that's a soup of seaweed and potatoes. If you look for the recipie of each of them have a look a this very interesting page (in japanese only).
I've cooked this one myself with a friend eh eh ! :-)
The white ball are satoimo, a kind of potato, cut in shape of a turtle shell to bring luck.
There is so many typical dishes for the new year in Japan ! Try also the nanakusagayu if you can ...
Ring the bell. It's called Joyanokane and that's the most impressive part of the buddhist ritual for the new year. In some temple you can ring it yourself freely, in some others you have to buy a ticket in the afternoon. Normally the bell is stroken 108 times to protect people who listen to it from the 108 buddhist sins.
The first fire of the year. There is no use for it in our modern time but people keep on doing it. When there was no electricity in the house, fire was of extremely great importance and every house had his small hearth which was well protected. The fire was something sacred and though needed to be purify at a shrine. That's why every year's eve people came to the shrine to light up a little rope and brang it back home to light up the first fire of the year.
Gomiki, the sake of the Gods. You can drink in some sanctuary and sometime they even offer you the small cup to drink it.
Another typical beverage for new year's eve is called amazake. This is also sake but without alcohol, very sweet, and usually served with ginger. You can also drink it for free in many shrine and temples.
Omikuji. This is an oracle for the year coming. There is serveral way to receive it. My favourite one is to shake a big wooden box until a little rod get out. Then you tell to the priest with number was written on it and he gives you this little piece of paper with your future written on it. Once read, you tie it somewhere in the shrine to let the wind bring away the bad news. If everything was perfect you can keep it with you. I've seen small trees completely covered by omikuji just like it was snow on the 1st of january.
Another thing you have to throw away are the omamori of the past year. Omamori are amulet protecting you from the bad things. After one year they are supposed to be burdened with all the diseases, disasters, bad luck and so on, instead of you. So it's time to let the shrine burn all of that. Actually the fire is set up few weeks after ...
And of course you have to buy new omamori to protect you all along the next year !
As next year's zodiacal animal will be the mouse, I've choosen omamori having shape of this animal ...
And finally you should try to reach the top of a mountain to look at the first sunrise of the year. Then, it will be time to go to bed ... and start again celebration on the first of january with what it's called hatsumode. No time to lose !!
Akemashite Omedeto Gozaimasu !(Happy new year)
Now we have happy 2008.
As the first outing of the year, many Japanese visit shrines or temples on one of new year days and pray for our health and good luck.
Some of the famous and popular places have full of visitors and sometimes we have difficulty going forward. No problem, there are a lot of gods in
This morning I went to one of the nearest shrines from the hostel with my family.
There is a washplace after the entrance. We wash hands and rinse mouth there before prayer.
Then going to the main shrine.
Shake a bell.
Throw some money for contribution (saisen) into a wooden box (saisen-bako)
Then we pray at the shrine.
There is a formal manner for a prayer:
Bow twice à Clap twice à bow once
After the prayer, some draw paper oracle (omikuji).
If you like, you can also buy a charm (omamori) or write your wish on a wooden plaque.
Some shrine may serve free sake.
This is the way of Hatsu-mode.
Don’t worry, Let’s go to Hatsu-modeSanta Claus in the tram instead of the reindeer sleigh ??
If you are in
It is an lovely event by the tram company.
A retro tramcar made in 1928, presented from
The Christmas tram schedule:
Dec 22nd
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Dec 23rd and 24th
I am not sure the Santa Clauses pay the fare of 150 yen. Of course you can not share the car with the Santa Clauses even you pay 150 yen.
My last post from J-Hoppers Hiroshima !
Yes, I'm going back home to Kyoto. Quite strange to say that for a foreigner actually but ... If you're looking for the french guy of J-Hoppers you will now have to book at J-Hoppers Osaka. I will join Yamaguchi San and Manabe San to prepare you a new wonderfull place to stay and discover the marvels of Kinki area (^_^)
What about my year in Chugoku area ? I've seen of course a lot of places and tried various foods or matsuri, among them here comes my ranking (highly subjective and controversial :-) ).
1) Miyajima Island. Number one of course ! I went there almost once per month !!! What did attract me there ? The famous Tori in the sea, one of the three most beautiful places of Japan. Don't think only about going to see it at low tide, it's also fun to reach it by foot at low tide. And do you what you'll find at its foot ? eh eh secret ... The Itsukushima shrine in front of the Tori. This one must be seen at high tide when it appears floating on the sea. Lot of matsuri here, check for that. Especially the waterscreen spectacle and the huge firework in august. Then the Daishouin, a really wonderfull temple atop the old village. Another secret ? Look for the little stairways that lead under the main hall of the temple ... and try to reach the end before being scared ! If you're a 'buddah in love' you won't have any difficulties. In the old village there is also a traditional artcraft museum which is quite interesting for such a little place. And the Miyajima aquarium has a wide range of funny fishes, and pinguin you can even play with or turtles you can feed. Except the village you can climb up the mountain either by foot, there is several course well indicated, count around 2h to get up and 1h and half to get down, either by ropeway, very impressive ! At the top you may see monkeys even if I've always missed them ... And finally on the opposite side of the island there are wonderfull beaches but you will need to rent a bike and merit them with few kilometers on a steeply road.
2 ) The Peace Museum and the Peace Park monuments. Of course too, unmissable. Emotionally very strong but you HAVE TO go there to spread the Peace culture all over the world.
3) Mitakidera temple. My favourite temple in the Hiroshima area.
4) Okonomiyaki. The delicious "japanese pizza" ! Egg, bacon, lot of vegetables, noodles (soba power ! forget udon ! :-) ), various topping, ... I will never be able to defend the Osaka okonomiyaki, the Hiroshima one is just so good !
5) Peace Festival. So sad but so important. Please go to hear the testimonies of A-Bomb survivors and transmmit what you've heard. The lanterns on the river at night, the Peace Declaration in the morning, ...
6) The Fuchu City Camping Ground in the Mikumari Gorge Forest. It's just so near from the main station, you have no reason to miss it if you're looking for some hiking in nature around Hiroshima. For example climb the Takao mountain and enjoy the wonderfull view on Hiroshima and the islands.
7) The Food Festival. So many good things to eat in this wonderfull festival in the Chuo Park. It introduces the local food and of course you can try a lot for free ! Go there with empty stomach is a better option ... ;-)
8) Shukkeien garden. The most beautifull garden of Hiroshima.Very unexpensive.
9) Hiroshima Insectarium. Quite uneasy access (look for a bus from the bus center) but the insectarium is quite wide and the butterfly room so romantic ... More over it's inside a huge park with several activities organized in summer.
10) Asa zoological park. Well organized, lots of animals and smart installation that let you get really near from almost all of the animal.
11) The chococro of St Marc Cafe. Well what ? Not Japanese culture, not specific to Hiroshima, ... ? Yes ! But anyway that's here in Hiroshima that I've discovered the top of the top of the croissant banana ! :-) I assume entirely what I'm writing :-)))
12) Sandankyo. A very entertaining hiking course in the mountain at west of Hiroshima. Not so easy to access but rewardable. The main spot of the area is said to be the three waterfalls. Personnally I had much more pleasure in walking the course than looking at these waterfalls.
13) Prefectural Art Museum. Allways a lot of interesting exhibitions...
14) Ujina Island. The easiest place to go to the beach in Hiroshima in summer. Perfect for a picnic too in case you don't feel like swimming in the Seto island sea.
15) Look at cherry blossom (Hanami) in the Peace Park at night. It's full of people eating on the ground under the pure white flowers ...
16) Garasu no Sato, the glass village. A glass factory that opens its door to everyone. You can even blow your own glass cup !!!
17) Fude no Sato, the village of the calligraphy brush. Here this is a brush that you can create yourself under the command of a real master. After you can see what you will be able to do of it ... after some years of training !
18) Gokoku shrine. The main shrine of Hiroshima, near the castle. Several matsuri here of course. I particularly enjoyed the one in January when they burn the past year omamori ...
19) Hiroshima castle. Surely not the most beautifull in Japan, but you still can enjoy viewing Hiroshima from the top of the castle, wear a real samurai armor, or learn some secrets about the construction of such a building.
20) Hondori. If you want to make some shopping you will find it here for sure.
21) Peace Museum Library. At the opposite end of the building. It's free of course and a good place to have a rest, read the english newspaper or even go on internet.
22) Veloce cafe. Chococro has a concurrent : chocoroyaru ! The cheapest coffee in Hiroshima and a wonderfull big chocolate bread full of butter !!!
23) Molly Malones irish pub. Well it's true I'm definitely not a 'party boy' but I went to this pub twice and I had good time there so ...
24) Shimanamikaidou. A road crossing the inland sea by jumping from islands to islands with 7 huge bridges. Do it by bike is a big challenge (80km) but you're so happy when you did it.
25) Hiroshima Children Science Museum. Dedicated to children of course, but you may still have some part of childhood inside you. And there is a small planetarium on the last floor.
26) Yuhua garden. Another garden in Hiroshima. A chinese style garden that suffers from poor maintenance. Go there to appreciate the differences of style.
Last Monday while coming back late at the hostel after playing igo I've seen the illuminations on the Peace Boulevard. Some of them are really impressive and they run on both sides of the boulevard from the Peace Park to the downtown.
It's light up from 17:00 to 23:00 and will illuminate the city until the 3rd of January. Of Course it's free !
So fiercily brave the cold and enjoy this faery. You will feel like it's allready Christmas !
You surely already know about origami, these little piece of square papers folded to obtain flowers, animals, clothes, ... I've fold origami since I'm a child and always heard that the piece of paper must be perfecly squared. But I discovered last week it was wrong ! Actually you can fold diamond shaped or even round shaped papers... And I discovered that thanks to Keiko San who came to teach us how to realize these very special origami.
Hello.
On Aug. 6th, we had annual ceremony for the A-bomb victims.
Lots of people from all over the country attended. This year, when I woke up it was raining which was fairly unusual for this day. Most of time, it's sunny and very hot with annoying buzz of cicadas.
But once the ceremony started, the sun appeared just like every year.
I watched the ceremony on TV and offered a silent prayer. "The peace declaration" by the mayor of Hiroshima city and "The commitment to peace" by the children's representatives were very moving.
In the afternoon I went to the peace memorial park to float lanterns on Motoyasu- river.
A number of people jumped into the river and died in thirst and burnt.
To comfort the spirits of those people, we write messages on lanterns and float.
It was absolutely beautiful as you can see in the picture above.
Seeing those lanterns with message and also tons of people who were praying for peace, I felt a huge something gather together in this one place. I thought with this huge power,world peace may come true one day.
Thank you very much for those who joined our peace campaign by folding paper cranes.
I did place your paper cranes near the Sadako Sasaki statue in the park.
They can't keep it forever but in stead,they gave me a piece of paper to write about who made this, what's our wish and so on. They will keep our name in the permanent file.
(Hope you can see "J-hoppers Hiroshima" on the tag!)
Next Monday it will be the commemoration of the first atomic bombing in History. In Hiroshima will be held the Peace Memorial Ceremony including several events. If you can attend this ceremony, please do it ! For the peace in the world !
From 8:00 to 8:45 : the main ceremony will be held in front of the Peace Museum. Several personalities, including Prime Minister Abe, will make declaration.
At 8:15 : one minute of silence will be offered in memory of the victims of the atomic bomb
Until 20:00 : the Peace Museum will be open untill 20:00 to allow as many people as possible to come.
From 14:30 to 15:30 : Atomic bomb survivors will share there testimonies in english at the Memorial Hall of the Peace Museum
From 9:30 to 17:00 : There will be guided tours inside the park and around the atomic bomb dome (gathering places are near the atomic bomb dome or under the west building of Peace Museum)
From 9:50 to 17:00 : concerts and conferences will be organised everywhere in the park, paper crane exhibitions will be held and tea ceremony organized in the rest room
From 18:00 to 21:00 : floating lantern will be offered to the river from the atomic bomb dome. You can bring your own lantern or buy one for 600 yen
Furthermore on this day most of the museums and cultural places will be exceptionnally open
For more information contact the International Exchange Lounge : 082-247-9715 / golounge@pcf.city.hiroshima.jp
And if you're staying at our Kyoto guesthouse you won't be in lack of good recommandations either. There is a famous website called "Kyoto visitor guide" which you could also get as a free monthly paper magazine (of course we have it at J-Hoppers). This magazine is full of interesting places to stay, visit, eat, do shopping, ... and they publish every month the list of almost all the events occuring in Kyoto. It's well done, it's needed, it enhances your trip, ... and you may see some of my pics inside ! How could you miss it ?? ;-)
There will be a concert of Koto for foreginers (of course Japanese are welcome too) in Hiroshima next friday, the 13th of July (hope you're not superstitious). It will be perform by Sakaki Kimie at Live Rakuza.
Hi everybody !
Here comes my first message on our brand new blog !!
There is a lot of various things to do when you work in a guesthouse. It makes this job really interesting. But today I've made a very special one : gardener ;-p Look at that :
