Aoi-Matsuri

Hello!! How are you doing??

Here Kyoto, finally beautiful cherry blossom season is over. Did you see and enjoy with it?? It was just amazing.....already really missing it...

Today, we would like you to know a festival called, Aoi-Matsuri(Festival) that is taken place on 15th May in kyoto. It is well-known that the festival is one of the three biggest annual festivals here. The two Kamo shrines, Shimogamo-Shrine and Kamigamo-Shrine, are the host of it. The feature is a gorgeous parade in the style of the ancient Heian Court, and everything in the parade is decorated with hollyhock leaf crest, Japanese name 'Aoi'. The parade leaves the Kyoto Imperial Palace at 10:30 in the morning. The 700-meter-long parade passes Simogamo-Shrine and heads for Kamigamo-Shrine.
It is worth to go and see it for sure. Please check this link. Very kind explanation with some photos!!http://www.kyotoguide.com/ver2/thismonth/aoimatsuri10.html

See you later!!
Masaomi

Golden Week

Dear friends,

Today I would like to introduce a special holiday season in May.

It is called Golden Week.

We all look forward to this holiday because we will have many tourists visiting Kyoto.

I will tell you a brief history of this holiday, and how it is made.

GW (Golden Week) often refers to a particular week that starts from Apr 29.

GW contains four national holidays: Apr 29, Showa Day

: May 3, Constitutional Memorial Day

: May 4, Greenery Day

: May 5, Children's Day

When the national holiday lands on Sunday, thet next day substitutes the holiday. So if we

had Children's Day on Sunday, we will have the coming Monday off.

Let's take a look at this year's calender.

If you take a few paid holiday, you will have maximum 10 days off!

That is why we have many visitors in GW.

We will have many interesting events coming soon, so stay tuned!

Yours,

Teshi

More Arashiyama Updates

Earlier I have posted some pictures of the long-beloved Arashiyama.

Now that the cherry blossom is full in bloom, I roamed around the area once again
in search of beautiful sceneries to share.

This time Iwent to Togetsu Bridge, and a temple called "GION-JI".

GION-JI is located in a remote part of Arashiyama. It takes about 20 min. from JR Saga-Arashiyama Station.

The temple is beautifully accompanied by the moss-covered garden , and in the
midst of the green there stand graceful trees. My poor vocabulary cannot explain the beauty.

Utterly Indescribable!

Also I visited the bamboo pathway. It was dribbling at the time but was still nice.

I just wanted to share the memory ;)

yours ,

Teshi

sakura✿

Hello!! How are you doing??

Here Kyoto, the cherry blossoms are in full bloom finally!! It is absolutely beautiful. There are thousands of people walking down streets, taking pictures, having a lunch or drinking, doing what they like to do, in the fantastic scenery. We hope you are one of them:)

Cherry Blossom full in bloom in ARASHIYAMA

Hello!

As we have been anoucing for so long, Kyoto is now full in bloom.

And I have made my way to Arashiyama by bike yesterday.

It was immensely beautiful. I was very glad to witness such beauty in my life time.

It left me totally speechless. I got a bit welled up!

Here are some excerptions of these sights I managed, rather badly, to capture with my phone.

Just wanted to share the memory ;)





Yours,
Teshi

cherry-blossom season

Hello, how are you doing??

Here kyoto is having a lot of festivals and events with wonderful view of cherry blossom soon.

Today, HostelWorld.com has uploaded this below page on its website.
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Following the massive earthquake and ensuing tsunami that rocked Japan on March 11th, our Shanghai office has been in constant contact with our Japanese properties so we can bring you the most up-to-date information about safe areas to travel in Japan.

Northern areas of the country like Sendai have been devastated by this horrific natural disaster and further revelations of earthquake damage to the Fukushima nuclear plant.

Things are quite different in southern Japan, which wasn’t affected by either the earthquake or tsunami. According to our colleagues in Shanghai and our properties in southern Japan, it’s completely safe to travel to areas like Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, Kobe and Okinawa. All these areas can be reached by flying directly to Osaka Kansai International Airport.

For updates on air travel to and from Japan, check out the following websites:

International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
International Air Transport Association (IATA)

For up-to-date health and safety information relating to travel in Japan, you’ll find everything you need to know on the World Health Organization (WHO) site.

If you’d like to make a donation to support disaster relief efforts in the area, the American Red Cross has set up a Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami Appeal.
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As you see from what they say, there is nothing to worry about travelling in Kansai area, Kyoto, Osaka, Nara etc..
Although we can really understand why people are afraid of comming to Japan, just would like you to know these places are very safe enough to visit.

We all hope that more people come visit Japan and feel how beautiful country is.

Best Regards,
Masaomi