One of places I wanted to visit in Mino was the Mino washi museum. Yet the museum is located about half an hour's drive from the town centre, and there are no buses that could get me there. After enquiring at the tourist office (inside a washi paper stationery shop), the [...]

Katayama Bunzaburo Shoten's flagship store in Kyoto
 
When I was going through my pile of leaflets/ business cards that I picked up from my previous trips to Kyoto, one particular leaflet caught my attention. It was from Bunzaburo, a tie-dyed/ shibori (the term means “to squeeze or wring”)  company in Kyoto. Oddly enough [...]

A view of Tofukuji's Tsutenkyo Bridge
 
It is on every tourist's itinerary to visit at least one/two karesansui (dry landscape garden) in Kyoto, but during the peak season, it is best to avoid the famous ones and head for the less crowded gardens. A few years ago, I visited Kyoto in February and [...]

Since I only had four days in kyoto (including a day out at Miho museum with my friend), I didn't manage to fit much shopping in. Hence I targeted a few shops either close to where I was staying or near a sight I wanted to visit. One of the shops that [...]

 
 
I have wanted to visit Japanese potter, Kawai Kanjiro's former house - now his Memorial Museum for a long time. Yet for some reason, I never made it until this trip... it was a timely visit as the museum was like a quiet sanctuary compared to hassle and bustle in the [...]