Sunrise over Lake Biwa

Lake Biwa in Shiga Prefecture is Japan’s largest freshwater lake. Due to its proximity to the old capital, Kyoto, Lake Biwa features prominently in Japanese literature. From the castle town of Hikone, we took an early summer morning’s trip to watch the sun rise over the lake.

As Hikone sits on the

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Higashiyama – Kyoto’s Most Picturesque District

Higashiyama is a district in the east of Kyoto’s city center. Sitting between the Kamo River and the Higashiyama Mountain Range, the narrow streets between Yasaka Shrine and Kiyomizu-dera are lined with traditional merchant houses selling crafts, sweets and local specialties.

In Higashiyama, the feeling of old Kyoto has been preserved, with shops offering

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An Evening Stroll through the Harbor of Kobe

Kobe is a truly international city. After Japan opened up its ports to general foreign trade in the second half of the 19th century, many foreign merchants took up residence in the capital of today’s Hyogo prefecture. Although the houses of western diplomats can be visited in the Kitano-cho district, I feel that nowhere is

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