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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