Next, I headed to Kounosu Flower Center, one of Japan’s top class producers of flowers, with many horticultural famers scattered across the Center.

Here at the Flower Center, flowers gathered from not only within the city but also from all over Japan for wholesale. There are spaces for tours, allowing visitors to see what kind of place the inside of a flower markets.

Inside the flower market is as above. Some of the flowers traveled long distance to the market, some even from Hokkaido and Okinawa. You will be able to see a lively sight if you come early in the morning.

On the left is a picture of Seri Ichi where the shipped flowers are sold. Many people come from remote places to purchase flowers here.

Next the flower center is a farmer’s market called the Pansy House that sells local produce.

The Center is surrounded by many flower farms selling flowers that have been grown there.

Besides the flowers are fresh picked vegetables and rice which are equally popular.

Some distance away, there is a place called the Hanahisa no Sato that collaborates flowers and Japanese tradition.

The exterior of the architecture represents an old style Japanese home.

The sight of the blooming flowers with traditional Japanese buildings and gardens gives visitors a relaxing time.

The place where locally picked flowers are sold is gets crowded with people.

Leaving Kounosu, the city of dolls and flowers, we now move on to Gyoda, where footprints of the ancient times remain. Ever since the remains that proved the existence of ancient civilization was discovered here about a hundred years ago, Gyoda became known as the ancient town.

Lets take a look at the Sakitama Kofun Koen, or Sakitama mound park, which is also the symbol of Gyoda city.

Within the park are remains of tombs of the ancient people called mounds, as you can see in the right picture above. The fact that such an old structure still remains is impressive.

You can get a great view of the entire town from the mounds.

There are replicas of ancient pottery on the mounds giving us an ancient feel.

There is an exhibition of artifacts such as swords and potteries were excavated along with the mounds.

Putting aside the remains, you can also enjoy historical architectures within the park such as this house that has been restored from one hundred years ago.

A short distance away from the Sakitama Kofun Kouen is a park callked Kodai-basu no Sato, meaning the village of the ancient lotus.

The name of the park comes from the ancient lotus seeds that were found buried here, from which flowers bloomed.

They bloom during the summer, attracting visitors on a summer retreat.

The lotus flowers in the park are the most beautiful in the morning when they open up.

I then traveled a bit further to Yoshimi Hyakuana (one hundred holes) in Yoshimi-cho, located in a city next to Kounosu.

Like Gyoda, Yoshimi is also famous for its historical locations. Yoshimi Hyakuana is a designated national historical site, and you can also find a rare species of moss called the Hikarigoke (luminous moss) in the caves. The Hikarigoke with a distinct emerald color that appears to be glowing is designated as a national natural species.

You can the entrance fee to take a look inside.

We finally move on to the ending of this trip. The last place that I visited was the Kou Shrine, a shrine in Kounosu city.

The name Kounosu (stork nest) originated from this shrine, where it is told that there once dwelled a stork in a big tree that drove away misfortunes. The place then became known as the stork nest, or Kounosu in Japanese.

A tree that is several thousands years old that can be found within the grounds is said to have been the tree where the stork of fortune nested, and there are also egg shaped good luck charms placed in the shrine.
This historical shrine passes on the tale till this day.

Kounosu, the town of traditional dolls and flowers, and Yoshimi, famous for its ancient mounds and remains, are both definitely worth a visit for experiencing traditional Japanese culture.

Welcome to Sakaisuji Avenue! Better known colloquially as “Den-Den Town” (short for “Denki no machi”), this long street is Osaka’s answer to Tokyo’s Akihabara. Lined with stores like Animate selling toys, Kamen Rider figurines and various kinds of anime goods, it’s a Kansai otaku’s wet dream. It’s here that the annual Nipponbashi Street Festa takes place – a ten-block-long congregation of cosplayers, a veritable celebration of anime, creativity, and… more than a little kookiness.

This year, more than 22,000 people showed up for the parade, either to see or be seen. The overall quality of cosplay was pretty high, and according to a regular attendee it keeps getting better every year. Obviously, it’s fun just to gawk at all the pretty (or weird, sexy, amazing, stunning) costumes, but if you’re into anime at all, a cosplay festival like this turns into a Name-That-Anime game. Very, very fun.

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Taking a stroll in a place where there are stores with tradition. This time, we take you to Kounosu-shi, a city famous for its flowers and doll production, and two others, Gyoda-shi and Yoshimi-shi, which display Japanese history with ancient tombs and remains.

Kounosu-si, found in the center of Eastern Saitama at the North end of Omiya Plateau, is a city of about 120,000 people. It is about one hour from Tokyo.

Let’s begin by lerning out about the history of Japanese dolls. Hina no sato is a tourism center in Kounosu-shi which is used as an exhibition facility for the traditional doll craft.

When the area flourished as inn town during the Edo period, many doll craftsmen moved into the city. The tradition has been passed down until today, and there are still many doll shops in the city.

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A food that now represents Sendai, the beef tongue has become one of the unmoving favorites. They were not originally eaten in the Japanese culture, and Sendai was the first to introduce it after the war.

Beef tongue was an unfamiliar ingredient in the Japanese cuisine, but letting the skinned and sliced pieces in with salt made it an ideal for Japanese food.

It is about 1cm thick, with a strong but soft texture.

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If you want to have a gay old time in Tokyo, there’s no better event to crash than Tokyo Rainbow Pride. Last Sunday we hopped on a train to Harajuku and made our way to Yoyogi Park, where the participants congregated post-parade to watch the performances, browse the booths and take lots of photos of the entire affair. According to the organisers, 2,100 people marched in this year’s parade, and a total of 12,000 visitors showed up to the festival – almost three times as many as last year.

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Time has changed, now it’s time where children are hopping on the elevator to reach to the park. Yes, it is a park in the sky, where kids can play, elders can have a walk and families can have a picnic. The park locates on n the roof of Ohashi junction.

The shape of big tall Coliseum appeared in Meguroku Tokyo. The Ohashi junction is shaped as coliseum, where above has Japanese style’s garden park. The park is 7000square, with height of 24 meter, which accessible from 5th or 9th floor from the connected mansion.

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To fully enjoy the nature of Biei, a snow shoeing tour with a nature guide is definitely a recommendation. Daisetuzan National Park is located at the center of Hokkaido. I was guided to the Shirogane Forest at the base of the Tokachidake Mountains.

First, let’s take a look at the Blue River near the Shirogane hot spring.

The white and blue colors are beautiful sight that can only be seen during the winter.

From here, it is time for the snow shoes. They are a modern version of the traditional “kanjiki” and have heels that bend upwards. Walking on fresh powder snow is a joy.

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The vast lands of Hokkaido in the wintertime get covered with silver snow. Amongst all, Biei has an exceptional view and is used in TV dramas and movies. The unique landscape created by the volcanic eruption of the Tokachidake Mountains turns white with snow. Pine and poplar trees that scatter the land complete the picture perfect view.

February in Biei, located in a basin, is extremely cold but beauty of the frost powdered trees glistening under the morning sun is beyond words.

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The Rafael exhibition, Grace of the Renaissance, will be held at the National Museum of Western Art in Ueno from March 2, 2013. It exhibits the many works of Rafael, an artist of the Renaissance, created throughout his life.
It is the first large scale exhibition dedicated to Rafael that has been held outside of Europe; a very rare opportunity for appreciating so many works of the man who marked the beginning of the Renaissance art.

■Who is Rafael?

Raffaello Sanzio　copyright　Musei Vaticani

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