alice in naoshima land
To first time visitors, Japan can be a fantasy land. A world full of incomprehensible neon characters, inhabited by gothic Lolita’s, high tech hipsters, monks, pachinko sounds, vending machines, divine food and salary men. But even after multiple visits, Japan can take you by surprise, because it has more different faces than those of the […] more…
shaken not stirred
Ian Flemming, Bond song composers and 007-directors, they all manage the art of recognition. It is the art of adding some sort of common feature to books, music and movies that tells you: ‘Ah! Bond, James Bond!’ It only takes three pages, keys, images or, on the island of Naoshima, three steps…. ….into a place […] more…
the zen of silence
Silence…. Silence plays hide and seek in Kyoto. But when you look well, when you search hard, you will eventually find it. Hiding in the courtyard of your Gyon ryokan or a temple in a bamboo forest. Riding your bike at the break of dawn through a still sleepy Kyoto towards Ryoan-ji, the temple of […] more…
party with the emperor
When Prince wrote ‘Let’s go crazy’, he most likely did not think of the Japanese. But every year on January 2, crazy the Japanese go, they even get nuts. After the hangovers of New Year’s Eve have been forgotten and on January 1st, the pilgrimage to the Sensō-ji Temple has been made, Emperor Akihito awaits. […] more…
sleeping with the gods
A short anecdote to start with: Despite the fact he teaches English in high school, our conversation with Mr. Teacher is hard work for both him and us. But, like many of his fellow countrymen, Mr. Teacher does not give up easily. Our conversation turns to the future of Japan from the perspective of an […] more…
nagano’s darkroom
The temple is quite of age but still going strong. Japan’s Zenkoji temple in the eloquent winter Olympics city of Nagano is all you imagine when thinking of an important Japanese temple or shrine: covered in clouds of incense, 1400 years old and flooded with 8 million yearly worshippers looking for luck and love in […] more…
Powered by WordPress | Fluxipress Theme
