Category Culture

Saga, Culture, Experience, Kyushu & Okinawa, Location

Imari Ware: Japan’s First Porcelain (Arita, Old Imari & Nabeshima)

An antique Old Imari (Ko-Imari) porcelain bowl decorated in deep cobalt blue, iron red and gold brocade with chrysanthemum and flower patterns, the classic Hizen export style made in Arita, Saga

Imari ware is Japan's first porcelain — made in Arita from the 1610s, named for the port it shipped from, and exported to Europe as Old Imari.

Nobu
June 8, 2026

Saitama, Culture, Kanto, Location

Kurazukuri Street: Kawagoe’s Warehouse District (Ichibangai)

A large black clay-walled kurazukuri merchant warehouse on Ichibangai street in Kawagoe, with a heavy tiled roof and ornate gables, cars passing on the road in front under a clear sky.

Ichibangai, Kawagoe's Kurazukuri street: about 30 black clay-walled Edo warehouses born from the 1893 fire, the 1792 Osawa House, the bell tower and red postbox — what to see and when.

Nobu
June 2, 2026

Saitama, Culture, Kanto, Location, Travel Tips

Toki no Kane: Kawagoe’s Bell Tower (Times, History & Photos)

The Toki no Kane bell tower in Kawagoe, a three-storey wooden tower lit gold by the morning sun, rising above the black-walled kurazukuri warehouse street under a clear blue sky.

Toki no Kane, Kawagoe's ~16 m wooden bell tower in the Little Edo warehouse district, rings 4 times a day. Its history, ringing times, how to photograph it, and what's nearby.

Nobu
June 2, 2026

Nagano, Chubu, Culture, Location, Travel Tips

Matsumoto Castle: Tickets, Hours & the Alps View (2026)

The black five-storey keep of Matsumoto Castle in Nagano reflected in the still water of its inner moat under a clear sky, with the stone base rising straight from the water and bare early-spring trees along the far bank.

Matsumoto Castle admission is 1200 yen (e-ticket, 2026) and the keep is open 8:30 to 17:00. A guide to one of the five National Treasure castles in Japan: tickets, hours, the Northern Alps view, and how to get there from Tokyo and Nagoya.

Nobu
May 30, 2026

Kyoto, Culture, Events & Festivals, Kansai, Location, News & Updates, Seasonal Travel, Shrines & Temples, Weather & Seasons

Gion Matsuri 2026: Yoiyama Dates, 33 Floats & Tsuki Hoko Guide

Two illuminated yamaboko floats with golden paper lanterns stacked vertically into glowing towers on Shijo-dori during Gion Matsuri Yoiyama in central Kyoto with a dense crowd of festival visitors walking between them at night the Naginata Hoko in the foreground and another hoko in the distance

A Yoiyama night during Gion Matsuri 2024 — the Tsuki Hoko, the Naginata Hoko, the chochin lantern arcade, and the yatai food stalls that anchor the experience. Practical route, food list, and 2026 dates from a Kyoto local.

Nobu
May 28, 2026

Mie, Chubu, Culture, Location, Seasonal Travel, Shrines & Temples, Travel Tips

Ise Jingu Guide 2026: Naiku, Geku & 1707 Akafuku Honten

Massive wooden torii gate at the entrance of Ise Jingu Naiku, with visitors crossing the Uji Bridge under a clear blue late-autumn sky, the sacred crossing point into Japan most important Shinto shrine, low afternoon sun raking across the bridge planks

Ise Jingu in late November — pre-koyo blue skies, the vast Naiku cedar forest, the 101.8 m Uji Bridge torii, and Akafuku Honten on Oharaimachi where the same recipe has been made since 1707. A Japanese pilgrimage guide in Nobu first-person.

Nobu
May 28, 2026

Kyoto, Culture, Kansai, Location, Shrines & Temples, Travel Tips

Shimogamo Shrine Kyoto Guide 2026: UNESCO Forest [With Map]

Shimogamo Shrine main Romon gate in vermillion lacquer with curved Japanese tiled roof against a blue summer sky with white clouds, two visitors walking toward the gate, the front courtyard of the UNESCO World Heritage shrine in Kyoto

Shimogamo Shrine in June — Kyoto's UNESCO forest sanctuary with the 124,000 m² Tadasu no Mori canopy at peak green. A first-person guide from a Kyoto local: grounds map, sister-shrine comparison, season-by-season table, and where mitarashi dango was invented.

Nobu
May 28, 2026

Kyoto, Culture, Experience, Food, Kansai, Location, Travel Tips

Yama-ichi Kyotango Mineyama 2026: A Sushi & Kappo Lunch Set on the Tango Peninsula (Near Amanohashidate)

Sushi-Kappo Yama-ichi in Mineyama-chō, Kyotango City, serves a lunch sushi set under ¥2,000 using the same morning Tango-coast catch as the high-end ryotei near Amanohashidate. 8 nigiri + tamago + maki + miso. 5 min walk from KTR Mineyama Station. Walk-in lunch, dinner reservation. About 30 km north-west of Amanohashidate.

Nobu
May 24, 2026

Kanagawa, Culture, Experience, Food, Kanto, Location, Travel Tips

Calbee+ Ebina SA 2026: Hot-Fresh Poteriko + Pizza Potato at Japans Most Famous Highway Rest Stop

Calbee Kitchen Ebina SA is one of just 10 Calbee+ stores nationwide and the only one on the Tomei Expressway between Tokyo and Mt. Fuji. Fresh-fried Poteriko (the hot version of Jagariko, ¥340) and hot Pizza Potato (¥430) served 7:00-21:00 daily. Best Tue-Thu mid-morning.

Nobu
May 24, 2026

Kanagawa, Accommodation, Culture, Kanto, Location, Travel Tips

Yokohama InterContinental + Cosmo Clock 21 Night Stay 2026: Minato Mirai from a 28th-Floor Window and a 112-Meter Wheel

Yokohama InterContinental + Cosmo Clock 21 sit 400m apart in Minato Mirai. Stay at the sail-shape hotel (Bay-view twin typically ¥25,000-40,000), ride the 112m Ferris wheel (¥900) at sunset, return to see the wheel from your room window. Same harbour panorama from two altitudes in one evening.

Nobu
May 24, 2026