KOBE LUMINARIE

This season Kobe is embraced in warm light. 16th 'Kobe Luminarie' event begins in central Kobe。　Some 200,000 electric bulbs were lit up for the 'Kobe Luminarie' event in central Kobe on Dec. 2. The event was set up in 1996 in memory of the victims of the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake and for the reconstruction of Kobe and its vicinity. Some 4,000,000 people are expected to visit the event which will run until Dec. 13(Mon.).
Lights are kept up for about two weeks and turned on for a few hours each evening. Each light is individually hand-painted. Major streets in the vicinity are closed to auto traffic during these hours to allow pedestrians to fill the streets and enjoy the lights. It is viewed by about three to five million people each year.
The etymology of “LUMINARIE” is Illuminazione Per Feste of Italian　 “　illumination for the festivity”. The origin of the ”LUMINARIE” work is a building where the charm of the light that was born as one of the festival and the ornamental art actively created in the European baroque age (Renaissance end in the latter half of the 16th century). It came to include the spiritual value and the festivity of light, and be created as a sculpture of fantastic light that used an electric lighting.

　

COLORS OF AUTUMN LEAVES

The autumn climate in Japan is fine and shrubs and trees change to beautiful autumn colors. Mountains and hills change to beautiful reds and yellows. Many people visit places that are well-known for the beauty of their red leaves. Since long ago Japanese people have been sensitive to the changing of seasons. So, we go on excursions to mountains to enjoy it. Scenes of viewing the changing colors of autumn leaves had already appeared in the Tale of Genji written in the Heian period.　　　　　　
Autumn leaf color is a phenomenon that affects the normally green leaves of many deciduous trees and shrubs by which they take on, during a few weeks in the autumn season, one or many colors that range from red to yellow. The phenomenon is commonly called fall colors and autumn colors, while the expression fall foliage usually connotes the viewing of a tree or forest whose leaves have undergone the change.　　　
Each year, starting in mid September, the "koyo front" slowly moves southwards from the northern island of Hokkaido until it reaches the lower elevations of central and southern Japan towards the end of November. Some trees around Tokyo and Kyoto remain colorful into early December. Colorful leaves are to the Japanese autumn what cherry blossoms are to spring. The viewing of autumn leaves has been a popular activity in Japan for centuries and today draws large numbers of travelers to famous koyo spots both in the mountains and in the cities.

KOBE AIRPORT

Port Island　in Kobe offers facilities to be enjoyed by people of all ages, such as a shopping complex, a large interior shop, Kobe Science Museum that has a planetarium, and Kobe Kachoen. KOBE AIRPORT is an airport on an artificial island just off the coast of Kobe, 8 km south of Sannomiya Station. It primarily handles domestic flights, but can also accommodate international charter flights. It is designated as a third class airport.
KOBE AIRPORT has restaurants and souvenir shops within the terminal, and an observation deck from which you can see the sea, mountains and the city. Port Liner--the world's first unmanned train--connects Sannomiya to Port Island and Kobe Airport.
Kobe Kachoen near the port is a bird and flower park located near the port. It is mainly located in and around a greenhouse. It is one of several theme parks created by Japanese botanist and collector, and was opened in March 2003. This all-weather park is based on the concept of contact with birds and flowers. In the park, visitors are able to touch and feed birds.
Main species of birds and flowers include owls, toucans, African penguin, begonia and fuchsia.

TENNOJI

TENNOJI is one of 24 wards of Osaka. It is named after the Shitenno-ji (Temple of the Four Heavenly Kings), which is located in the ward.　TENNOJI is home to the Osaka Municipal Museum of Art, Tennoji Zoo, the Keitaku-en Japanese garden and the Botanical Garden. The nearby Shinsekai entertainment district was established in the early part of the last century and still teems with scores of eateries. It is overlooked by the Tsutenkaku tower, one of Osaka's most famous symbols.
Tennoji Zoo is located at Tennoji Park, opened on January 1, 1915. The zoo features adjacent savannah zones for herbivorous and carnivorous animals, which are arranged so that the animals appear to be sharing the same space.　 Shinsekai has a few fugu (blowfish) restaurants, but the neighbourhood's real culinary forte is kushi-katsu. The neighbourhood abounds with cramped kushi-katsu restaurants offering various kinds of meat, fish, and vegetables all breaded and deep fried on small sticks for around 200 yen each.
Tsutenkaku is the symbol of this area. Its total height is 103 m: the main observation deck is at a height of 91 m.　 The current tower is actually the second to occupy the site. The original tower, patterned after the Eiffel Tower, was built in 1912. At the time of its construction, its height of 64 meters made it the second tallest structure in Asia. It quickly became one of the most popular locations in the city, drawing visitors from all over the area. The original structure suffered a fire in 1943 which severely damaged it, and rather than repair the structure, it was disassembled and the steel used for the war effort.　After the war citizens lobbied to rebuild the beloved tower. A private company. The new, eight-sided structure was opened in 1956.

MANGA

The word "MANGA", which originally meant "random sketches" has become a general term for comic or satiric pictures, cartoons, or comic strips. Japanese people love MANGA.　 Many Japanese, especially young people, read it. From the mid-1950s, there was a MANGA boom in Japan, and today they say it accounts for 30 percent of all publications.　 With numerous weekly and monthly comic magazines now being published, MANGA has established a position as a significant medium of mass communication halfway between print and television. Since 1985, educational comics for adults have become popular. The content of these comics ranges from history to cooking instruction to how to conduct oneself on business occasions.
Among a lot of MANGA, one of the most popular ones is "Sazaesan".　Sazaesan was first published in Hasegawa's local paper on April 22, 1946. When the Asahi Shimbun wished to have Hasegawa draw the comic strip for their paper, she moved to Tokyo in 1949 with the explanation that the main characters had moved from Kyushu to Tokyo as well. The comic dealt with contemporary situations in Tokyo until Hasegawa retired and ended the comic on February 21, 1974. As one of Japan's longest running and oldest comic strips and animations, the series is known to nearly every Japanese person, young and old.

SHOYU

SHOYU, Soy sauce, is basic flavoring agent used in Japanese cuisine which is made by fermenting water, salt, and a yeast of soybean and wheat. Its prototype, a pasty substance made by fish to salt, is known to have been made in the Yayoi period (300BC-300AD). SHOYU as it is known today was first made in Japan in the Muromachi period (1333-1568).　 SHOYU is fermented naturally in giant urns and under the sun, which was believed to contribute additional flavors. Today, some fermented sauces are made either traditionally or in factories. Some SHOYU made in the Japanese way or styled after them contain about fifty percent wheat.　　　
SHOYU is distinguished according to the ingredients used in its preparation and the length of fermentation. Koikuchi SHOYU, widely used, is fermented for a longer time and is thick. Usukuchi SHOYU is fermented for a shorter period. The addition of mirin(aweet sake) gives the latter a delicate color, flavor, and aroma, making its suitable for a seasoning vegetables, flesh fish, and clear soup.　 Both types are now produced mainly in Chiba and Hyogo prefectures.　　　
SHOYU has been integrated into the traditional cuisines of many East Asian and Southeast Asian cultures. It is widely used as a particularly important flavoring in Japanese, Thai, Korean, and Chinese cuisine. Despite their rather similar appearance, SHOYU produced in different cultures and regions are different in taste, consistency, fragrance and saltiness. SHOYU retains its quality longer when kept away from direct sunlight.

MINATOGAWA SHRINE

MINATOGAWA SHRINE is popularly known as "Nanko-san" and is dedicated to Kusunoki Masashige, a loyal military strategist(1294-1336). He died in this area after being defeated in his attempt to uphold the cause of Emperor Godaigo against Ashikaga Takauji (1304-1358), who later founded the Ashikaga Shogunate.　 After the full-scale introduction of Neo-Confucianism as a state philosophy by the Tokugawa Shogunate, Kusunoki Masashige, once-called a traitor by the Northern Court, was resurrected with Emperor Go-Daigo as a precursor of absolutists, based upon the Neo-Confucian theories. During the Edo period, scholars and samurai who were influenced by the Neo-Confucian theories created the legend of Kusunoki, and enshrined him as a patriotic hero, called Nanko or Dai-Nanko, who epitomized loyalty, courage, and devotion to the Emperor. There are many camphor trees on the ground, evidently because Kusuniki means camphor tree. There are still many visitors to to his graveyard in the precinct of the MINATOGAWA SHRINE even more than 660 years after his death.
The shrine has a Noh theater, treasure house and an assembly hall of within its precinct. We can see the armor and swords that Kusunoki Masashige used in the treasure house. On May 25 which is the day of his death, the memorial ceremony is performed every year.

MIKOSHI

In short, MIKOSHI is a deity's vehicle. It is usually kept in the treasure house of a Shito shrine. Nowadays, MIKOSHI is a portable shrine used at festivals. The gods temporarily rest in MIKOSHI and travel around the town or village during festivals.　 Often, MIKOSHI resembles a miniature building, with pillars, walls, a roof, a veranda and a railing. Typical shapes are rectangles, hexagons, and octagons. The body, which stands on two or four poles (for carrying), is usually lavishly decorated, and the roof might hold a carving of a Phoenix.　 It is believed to have been first used to transport Hachiman to Todai-ji temple fromUsa ｓhrine in 749.　　　　　
Before the introduction of MIKOSHI, A mirror with a branch of the sakaki tree or some other object symbolic of a divine presence was carried around, sometimes on horseback. By the 10th century, it had become a common practice in Kyoto to carry the deity from a shrine through the community in MIKOSHI on the occasion of the festival aimed at pacifying malevolent spirits believed to cause epidemics.　 Today MIKOSHI is carried on shrine festival days through the parish, the village or ward, on the shoulders of 20 or 30 people. The procession is often raucous, with the participants carrying MIKOSHI zigzag fashion, first on way and then another. This tempestuous movement is commonly thought to reflect the powerful presence of the deity that is enshrined in MIKOSHI.

FUSHIMI INARI SHRINE

FUSHIMI-INARI SHRINE was dedicated to the gods of rice and sake by the Hata family in the 8th century. As the role of agriculture diminished, deities were enrolled to ensure prosperity in business. Nowadays, the shrine is one of Japan's most popular, and is the head shrine for some 30,000 Inari shrines scattered the length and breadth of Japan.　The earliest structures were built in 711 on the Inariyama hill in southwestern Kyoto, but the shrine was re-located in 816 on the request of the monk Kukai. The main shrine structure was built in 1499. At the bottom of the hill are the main gate and the main shrine. Behind them, in the middle of the mountain, the inner shrine is reachable by a path lined with thousands of torii. To the top of the mountain are tens of thousands of mounds for private worship. There are also dozens of stone foxes. The fox is considered the messengers of Inari, the god of cereals.
The numerous red torii gates on the hill were donated by faithful followers. Totalling more than 10,000, these torii form a vermilion tunnel about 4 km long. The stone figures of foxes were also contributed by devotees.

KABAYAKI

Eels have often been eaten in Japan since long ago. Because they are highly nutritious, they are liked by the Japanese people.　KABAYAKI is a dish of eel grilled with sweet barbeque sauce. KABAYAKI is a generic Japanese term for a dish of seafood which is filleted, boned and dipped in a sweet soy sauce-base sauce before broiled on a grill. In general, KABAYAKI refers to the dish made with unagi. Kabayaki eel is very popular as a nutritious, stamina-generating food. Many people still follow customs from the Edo period to eat KABAYAKI during the summer, especially on a particular day called "doyo-no ushi-no-hi", which is in mid-summer. In the Kanto region (eastern Japan), an eel is filleted from its back and is steamed before grilling, while in the Kansai region (western Japan) it is opened at the belly and directly grilled without being steamed. While KABAYAKI is often served alone, it is also served with rice and called unadon when it is in a large bowl and unaju when in a food box.　Umaki is a Tamagoyaki (literally “grilled egg” )or Dashimaki which contains KABAYAKI inside it.

NINTOKU BURIAL MOUND

NINTOKU BURIAL MOUND is the largest Japanese keyhole-shaped tomb in Japan that exists in Sakai City of Osaka. This keyhole-shaped grave is 486m long, 35m high in its highest highest place and covers an area of 465,000sq.m. It is surrounded by a three-ringed moat. It is said that the grave region area is the world's largest. The history of Sakai's burial mound is a lot of more interesting than its present reality. Today it merely looks like a mound. In its time, however, it is thought that some 800,000 workers laboured to fashion the final resting place of the 4th century Emperor Nintoku.
Emperor Nintoku was the 16th emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. No firm dates can be assigned to this emperor's life or reign, but he is conventionally considered to have reigned from 313-399. The Imperial tomb of Nintoku's consort, Iwa-no hime no Mikoto, is said to be located in Nara City. Both kofun-type Imperial tombs are characterized by a keyhole-shaped island located within a wide, water-filled moat. Imperial tombs and mausolea are cultural properties; but they are guarded and administered by the Imperial Household Agency (IHA), which is the government department responsible for all matters relating to the emperor and his family. According to the IHA, the tombs are more than a mere repository for historical artifacts; they are sacred religious sites. IHA construes each of the Imperial grave sites as sanctuaries for the spirits of the ancestors of the Imperial House.
The adjoining area is the spacious Daisen Park which contains many smaller graves or tea ceremony house.

HARBORLAND

KOBE HARBORLAND is a premier commercial and sightseeing destination on the site of the former Japan National Railways Cargo Station. It opened in October 1992 as a cultural hub that links the city and the sea. HARBORLAND features an array of large-scale commercial sites, from department stores, superstores, and speciality shops to hotels. This new cityscape, with its seaside sightseeing spots, pier, and pedestrian bridge so perfectly suited to its Kobe surroundings, has gained growing popularity among local residents as well as fans of Kobe from around the world. An entertainment zone surrounded by lush greenery and the sparkling sea and breeze. The large-scale complex includes a shopping mall, restaurants, cinemas and other recreational facilities, sufficient for people with various needs. We can really feel the harbor city Kobe, when we walk around in this area viewing the scenery of sea shore.
There is the open mall Mosaic facing the ocean and beside it, the small fairground Mosaic Garden. Also in the area are the Renga Soko Restaurants, Two late-19th-century brick warehouses face the sea, which have done fore more than a century. Once they stored cargo from the holds of ships from the world. Today,they are home to a variety of popular restaurants and are a noted sightseeing destination. Pedestrian bridge beside there was the first Japanese bridge to employ a style of construction often seen in Europe, in which both wings can be lifted up to allow ships to pass. In the corner of HARBORLAND, there is E. Presley's bronze statue which was founded last August.

KIYOMIZU-DERA

KIYOMIZU-DERA Temple, which is an independent Buddhist temple in eastern Kyoto, was established in 798, with the old Shinden Hall from the Imperial Palace at Nagaoka moved here. The present temple structures were reconstructed in 1633 by order of the third Tokugawa Shogun, Iemitsu. It takes its name from the waterfall within the complex, which runs off the nearby hills. Kiyomizu means clear water, or pure water.　 Not one nail is used in the whole temple.
The temple is part of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto UNESCO World Heritage site.　 The Main Hall (a National Treasure), standing on a cliff, wooden veranda from which a panoramamic view of Kyoto and its surrounding area can be enjoyed. It is rather breathtaking to look directly down into the deep valley below. "To jump from the balcony of Kiyomizu" is a famous Japanese expression for doing something daring.　 This refers to an Edo period tradition that held that, if one were to survive a 13m jump from the stage, one's wish would be granted. Two hundred thirty-four jumps were recorded in the Edo period and, of those, 85.4% survived.　Of course, the practice is now prohibited.
North of the Main Hall is the residence of the superior, while the Shakado and Amidado are situated on another cliff east of the Main Hall. At the foot of this latter cliff is Otowa Waterfall. Pious believers can be seen here praying to Fudo-Myo-O, who it is believed has the power to punish wicked beings. The three-story pagoda, standing on a hill on the opposite side of the valley, adds charm to the lovely scenery.

100 YEN SHOP

100 YEN SHOP is a shop which sells many items for 100 yen. Shops have steadly gained in popularity over the last several years, and they are everywhere in Japan. They stock a variety of items from clothing to stationery, housewares to food, with each item priced at 100 yen. 100 YEN SHOP sells a wide range of products for 105 yen per item ( 100 yen plus 5 percent consumption tax). This corresponds to roughly one US dollar per item, making the shops a great source for travelers and residents on a budget.
By purchasing products in huge quantities and at big discounts from countries with low production and labor costs, 100 yen shops are able to offer an amazing range of products at a price that is often below the product's actual value. Products typically found at 100YEN SHOPS are tablewares, kitchen wares, tools, garden wares, stationery, household goods, and leisure goods. Some shops sell even foods.
There are thousands of 100 yen shops across Japan, ranging in size from multi-storey "department stores" to small corners in shopping malls. Market leader Daiso operates over two thousand stores nationwide and pursues an aggressive expansion policy.
Recently, some shops sell goods of which prices are not only 100 yen but 300 yen or 500 yen. We can find prices by price tag or information.

NARA PARK

NARA PARK was created from wasteland in 1880 and covers a large area. We usually do a circular tour of NARA PARK area, beginning at the Nara Exhibition Hall of Japanese History, the Kofuku-ji Temple, the National museum, Todai-ji Temple, Nigatsudo and Kasuga Shrine, all in all taking the better part of a day. While NARA PARK is usually associated with the broad areas of the temples and the park proper, there are now previously private gardens open to public. These gardens make use of the temple buildings as adjunct features of their landscapes.
From Kofuku-ji we can stroll generally northeast through the park, towards Todai-ji. The large, grassy area is kept trim by more than a thousand semi-wild deer. They were originally regarded as divine messengers of one of Kasuga shrine's Shinto gods. Post World War II the deer were officially stripped of their sacred status and were instead designated as National Treasures and are protected as such. Today, visitors can purchase deer-crackers ( Shika-senbei) to feed the deer in the park. Jinrikisha services can be found nearby the entrances to popular sites as Todai-ji or Kofuku-ji.
Nara Toka-e is an annual summer night event in NARA PARK amongst World Heritage Sites. Countless number of candles light the NARA PARK, creating a beautiful and fantastic atmosphere. This event has grown to be a famous summer event of Nara, attracting many people every year.