The Ashita Honjin

Although only a small town, Ashita boasts the oldest surviving honjin on the Nakasendo. It has also been owned by the same family since its' original construction in the late... Read more...
Castle Towns

At the time of the Meiji Restoration, in 1868, some 250 castle towns (jokamachi) formed the core of a well developed urban network in Japan. Although constructed primarily as defended... Read more...
Kyoto Development Issues

Kyoto holds a unique position in Japan as the ancient, imperial capital and the cultural center of the nation. It was because of these reasons that the Japan specialists who... Read more...
Landslides

The mountains in Japan are very steep and the rocks unstable due to weathering. Landslides are common whenever there are heavy rains. Many rural villages have established themselves along the... Read more...
Namiki

The idea of planting trees along the roadside to provide shade for travelers had occurred to the Chinese when they developed their highway system more than 2000 years ago. Almost... Read more...
The Shinkansen

The Shinkansen is commonly known outside Japan as the 'bullet train' but the word actually means 'new trunk line'. It is a high-speed passenger train system which now stretches from... Read more...
Omote-ura - Public and Private Faces

Omote (the public face) and ura (the private face) are twin concepts that are applied to almost any aspect of Japan or life in Japan. Omote refers to the image... Read more...
Pilgrimage

The idea of making a pilgrimage to visit religious places is present in nearly every culture and religion. In Japan, it is typical of both major religions, Buddhism and Shinto... Read more...

Volcanoes and Earthquakes

Major Disasters

Major disasters such as those caused by earthquakes, typhoons, floods, fires, volcanic eruptions or tidal waves (tsunami) are a preoccupation throughout Japanese history. They have left the Japanese with a profound sense that impermanence is the only permanent feature of life. The list of disasters which has struck Japan is longer than need be related…. [Read more]

Volcanoes and Earthquakes

Volcanoes are common in Japan and are found along and to the west of a line running approximately down the middle of the main island of Honshu, the southern island of Kyushu, and the northern island of Hokkaido. They result from the friction of tectonic plates as the Pacific Plate bends and passes under the… [Read more]

Mount Asama

Mt. Asama is situated at the junction of two volcanic fronts in Japan and is therefore one of the more active of the ‘active volcanoes’. Although puffing smoke constantly, the last major eruption was on August 5, 1783, but 50 other ventings have been recorded. It now stands 8,338 feet high, but like Mt. St…. [Read more]