Seasons and festivals
Cherry blossoms, New Year, Obon, shrines and temples, and the islands far from Tokyo.
- An Okinawan New Year: two New Years, nakami-jiru and the flags of Itoman
How New Year is celebrated in Okinawa compared with mainland Japan: the solar New Year as a family holiday, the lunar New Year (kyū shōgatsu) still kept in fishing communities such as Itoman with big-catch flags on the boats, nakami-jiru pork soup instead of ozōni, prayers at sacred sites, and tips for visitors.
- Coralway's 2012 Kengo Tarumi prize: Okinawa's island photography and the photographer behind it
About Coralway, the in-flight magazine of Japan Transocean Air devoted to Okinawa and its islands; the Naha-based photographer Kengo Tarumi and his books; the 2012 Kengo Tarumi prize within Coralway's photo contest; and a practical guide to photographing Okinawa's outer islands, from light and seasons to typhoons and sacred places.
- Hanami: how the cherry blossom season works, and how to enjoy it
A guide to hanami, cherry blossom viewing in Japan: how the Japan Meteorological Agency observes specimen trees and declares blooming and full bloom, the blossom front from Okinawa to Hokkaido, the Somei-Yoshino and other varieties, how to plan a trip, picnic etiquette, night viewing, and the season's food.
- Japanese New Year (shōgatsu): osechi, hatsumōde and the customs of the first days of the year
A guide to Japanese New Year, the most important holiday of the year: year-end cleaning and decorations (kadomatsu, shimekazari, kagami mochi), New Year's Eve soba and temple bells, osechi and ozōni, hatsumōde shrine visits and omikuji, otoshidama and New Year cards, and mochi safety, with UNESCO's recognition of washoku.
- Kumejima and Okinawa's outer islands: island life, seasons and how to visit
A guide to Kumejima and Okinawa's outer islands: where they are, how island life and the calendar differ from mainland Japan (early cherry blossoms, lunar Obon, typhoon season), Kumejima's sandbar, tsumugi silk and island food, getting there by plane or ferry, when to go, and visiting small communities respectfully.
- Mochi: Japan's rice cakes, from mochitsuki to New Year soup
A guide to mochi: how glutinous rice is steamed and pounded at mochitsuki, kagami mochi and zoni at the New Year, round versus square mochi by region, seasonal mochi sweets, how to cook dried blocks, and the choking risk for older people and children.
- Obon: Japan's summer festival of the ancestors, from welcome fires to bon odori
A guide to Obon, the Buddhist-rooted summer festival when families welcome back the spirits of their ancestors: dates (July in Tokyo and some areas, August elsewhere), mukaebi and okuribi fires, grave visits, home altars and offerings, bon odori dances, lantern floating, Kyoto's Gozan no Okuribi, travel during the holiday, and how visitors can take part.
- Sensō-ji temple in Tokyo: history, what to see and the festivals of Asakusa
A visitor's guide to Sensō-ji in Asakusa, Tokyo's oldest temple: its founding legend, destruction in 1945 and rebuilding, the route from the Kaminarimon gate along Nakamise to the main hall, how to pray and draw an omikuji, neighbouring Asakusa Shrine, the temple's yearly festivals and markets, and tips for avoiding the crowds.
- Visiting shrines and temples in Japan: how to tell them apart, and how to pay your respects
A practical guide to visiting Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples in Japan: how to tell them apart, purification at the water basin, how to pray (two bows, two claps, one bow at most shrines; no clapping at temples), incense, omikuji fortunes, omamori charms and goshuin stamps, photography and dress, and a walk through Tokyo's Sensō-ji.
