Shōrinzan Daruma: The Market and the Flames
Every 6–7 January, Shōrinzan Daruma-ji in Takasaki holds its great daruma market — before returning the past year's wishes to the flames in the otakiage fire.
Some hiking
Ukiha Inari Shrine
Discover Ukiha Inari Shrine in Fukuoka, an enchanting place known for its vermilion torii, its quiet calm, and its panoramic views.
Comiket: A Day at the World’s Biggest Manga Fair
Comiket is the world's largest doujinshi fair: half a million fans, twice a year, at Tokyo Big Sight. What it is, the next dates, and how to actually go.
Megijima: The Demons Have Retired
Megijima, the oni island of the Seto Inland Sea: a beach, an ageing village, stone walls and a startling retro American cinema, 20 minutes by ferry from Takamatsu.
Off the map
Kyu-Sento-ji: At the Crossroads of Beliefs
Discover the mysterious ruins of Kyu-Sento-ji, an ancient mountain temple blending Buddhism and Shinto on the Kunisaki Peninsula.
Takachiho Gorge: Boats, Gods and Volcanic Walls
Kyushu's most photographed gorge: rowboats under the Manai waterfall, 100-metre volcanic walls, gods, a demon, and noodles that race down a bamboo flume.
Eiheiji: Silence in the Ranks
I came to Eiheiji expecting a sleepy mountain temple. I found the opposite: a living Sōtō Zen monastery, taut with discipline, wrapped in cedar, wood and moss.
Serene
Hasedera: Peonies and Steps
Hasedera temple in Nara, a spiritual jewel nestled in greenery, famous for its legendary 400 steps and its enchanting peonies.
Ishizuka, the Forgotten Village of Yakushima
Ishizuka, a former logging village in the heart of Yakushima, swallowed by moss and a moving witness to the age of the yakusugi cedars.
