Culture

Japanese culture for travelers: temples and shrines, festivals, crafts, etiquette, and the traditions you will actually encounter on the road.

Location, Culture, Kansai, Nara, Shrines & Temples

Yakushiji Temple: Nara’s Twin-Pagoda World Heritage Site

The reconstructed Golden Hall of Yakushiji Temple in Nara flanked by its two three-story pagodas, the vermilion and white Hakuho-style buildings of the World Heritage temple under a clear blue sky.

Yakushiji in Nara's Nishinokyō is a World Heritage temple founded in 680 — its East Pagoda (730) is the only original building left, and its bronze Yakushi Triad is a National Treasure.

Nobu
June 13, 2026

Location, Culture, Experience, Kyushu & Okinawa, Saga

Yoshinogari Historical Park: Japan’s Great Yayoi Village in Saga

An elevated panoramic view over the reconstructed Yayoi-period moated village at Yoshinogari Historical Park in Saga, with wooden palisades, thatched-roof buildings, green rice fields and distant mountains.

Yoshinogari Historical Park in Saga preserves one of Japan's largest Yayoi-period moated settlements — reconstructed watchtowers, a ceremonial hall and a leaders' burial mound on a 117-hectare site.

Nobu
June 12, 2026

Saga, Culture, Experience, Kyushu & Okinawa, Location

Imari Shrine: The Vermilion Gate, the Sweets God & Tontenton

The striking vermilion two-storey tower gate (romon) of Imari Shrine in Imari, Saga, built over a white arched tunnel with stone steps leading up to the shrine, framed by trees

Imari Shrine in Saga: a photogenic vermilion gate over a white tunnel, a rare shrine to the god of sweets, and the Tontenton fighting festival.

Nobu
June 8, 2026

Saga, Culture, Experience, Kyushu & Okinawa, Location

Arita Sera: Where to Shop for Arita Porcelain in Saga (2026)

The long covered shopping arcade of Arita Sera in Arita, Saga, glass-fronted porcelain shops with displays of plates and vases on one side and a paved walkway with planters and trees on the other

Arita Sera: 22 Arita-porcelain shops on one hilltop in Saga, open year-round with free parking — the easy place to buy the real thing.

Nobu
June 8, 2026

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