A Statue of Kobo Daishi (courtesy Alvin Kawakami)

Koyasan was founded in 816 by a young monk named Kukai. I kid you not. He established the Shingon sect of Esoteric Buddhism. This is the only buddhist sect that believes enlightenment can be reached in this lifetime. He was posthumously known as Kobo Daishi. He had to get rid of the Kukai. Actually, he is not believed to be dead but in eternal meditation waiting for the coming of the future Buddha.

I get to the tourist info center and pay for my two night shukubo (temple lodging) stay. There are about 53 temples that offer this type of lodging. The first night is at Sekishoin and the second at Shojoshoin. But it's not gonna turn out that way as you shall soon see. There's this monk there who seems like the mayor of Koyasan or something. He parks himself at the center and greets people as they come through. Very friendly and personable. Found out later he also teaches high school at Koyasan. He speaks some english and I tell him I'm staying 2 nights. He seems surprised and chuckles a little bit. Does he know something I don't? more...

Two Japanese Girls Trying to Catch Goldfish        (courtesy Natalya Brodie)

This picture was taken during the Bon-Odori festival in the Azabu-Juban district of Tokyo. Bon-Odori is an annual event where most Japanese people return to their hometowns to spend time with their families, and it is believed that spirits of relatives that have passed away come home to visit for the celebration. Each community organizes their own local festival and everyone gathers together to celebrate, relax and spend time with their families.

The celebrations in Azabu-Juban are some of the largest in the country. The area is home to many of Tokyo's embassies and foreign residents so the event takes on an international flavour with hundreds of food stalls selling not only Japanese food but also treats from Spain, Germany, Mexico and around the world. In addition to this the festival is celebrated with taiko drumming  and traditional Japanese dancing that everyone joins in for. The festival is also a time for people to wear traditional Japanese kimonos and yukatas like the girls pictured here trying to catch goldfish as part of one of the carnival games at the festival.

If you would like to see more of Natalya's photos, please visit her trip journal here or her personal site here.

Tsukiji Sushi (courtesy Natalya Brodie)

This month I thought we would take a little break from the technical tips and talk about another important part of the travel experience... FOOD!

From Sashimi to Sake, from Donburi to Daikon, Japan has a rich history and culture in food. When you think about Japanese food your mind probably immediately thinks of sushi, but there is a lot more to Japanese cuisine. Japanese cuisine usually consists of staple foods, shushoku, normally noodles or rice; soup and okazu (dishes made from tofu, vegetables, meat, or fish). Soy sauce (shoyu), dashi, and miso customarily are used to add flavour to the dish. A traditional meal commonly includes a base of Japanese white rice or gohan, with a few assorted okazu, a bowl of soup, and pickles (tsukemono). The okazu are prepared employing various cooking techniques such as grilling, steaming, deep frying, simmering, dressing, or leaving raw (sashimi).

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