Hanging Wisteria Flowers

KITA-KYUSHU--An arch of hanging wisteria flowers welcome visitors at Kawachi Fujien.

The 4,620-square-meter park has 100 wisteria vines in colors from various shades of purple to pink and white.


Twenty-two different types of wisteria are grown.

The flowers are particularly bright this year due to cold weather in March and April.

"It's great if everyone leaves the park feeling happy," said Takashi Higuchi, 63, who manages the park.

From Asahi Shimbun
Wisteria

Cebu: The Queen of the South

Located in the wealthy residential suburb of Beverly Hills about 6 km north of downtown Cebu is an enormous Taoist Temple. It was built by Cebu's substantial Chinese community (the Chinese make up about 15% of Cebu's population).

The temple is the a center of worship for Taoism, the religion which follows the teachings of the ancient Chinese philosopher, Lao Tze. You can see Taoist devotees following their rituals on Wednesdays and Sundays, as they climb the 99 steps of the temple to light joss sticks and have their fortunes read by the monks.

Built in 1972, the Taoist Temple is constructed in a highly ornate and, some would say, gaudy style of Chinese architecture, and is topped with a pagoda-style roof.

The temple has an elevation of 300 meters above sea level, and if you climb the 99 steps to the entrance, you will be rewarded with a good view of Cebu City and in the distance Mactan and Bohol islands. Nice sunset views too.

Bantayan Island is an island in the Philippines located at the western portion of the northern tip of Cebu Island, Philippines

Malapascua Island is situated in the Visayan Sea, located across a shallow strait from the northernmost tip of Cebu Island.

Osmena Peak is known to be the highest peak in the province and Island of Cebu. Base on actual GPS altitude, it stand approximately 1000 meters above sea level. Osmena peak is located in the vicinity area of Mantalungon, (a town that is around 700 to 800 meters and probably one of the highest towns in Cebu. Mantalungon has been known as the vegetable kingdom of Cebu. Its really unusual finding this town where you feel it was like an area in the Cordilleras were they have their trading post for vegetable dealers and townfolks and children are wearing jackets at high noon.

Its towering facade blends Muslim, Romanesque, and neo-classical architecture, this church of the Señor Santo Niño de Cebu–which translates literally as “holy child of Cebu.”

Cebu’s oldest Roman Catholic Church, the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño, also still retains the original stone texture and natural color it had in 1735. (Click on photo to view larger image.)

The structure, located right in the heart of downtown Cebu City, is way, way older–it is the Philippines’s oldest church, but it was made out of hard wood, mud, and nipa when it was first built by the Spaniards in 1566 on the very spot where the image of the Santo Niño, left behind by Portuguese and Spanish explorers in 1521, was found preserved in a burned wooden box.

Picture Sources:
Kawasan Waterfalls
Bantayan Island
Malapascua
Osmeña Peak
Basilica del Sto. Niño

Nihon Sankei—the Three Most Scenic Spots in Japan

Japan is island nation of unique beauty, but three locations are traditionally accepted as being the three most scenic spots of Japan. We may ask, how were these places selected? During Japan's Edo period(1600-1867) a Confucian scholar, Shunsai Hayashi, wrote a book based on his experiences as he traveled throughout Japan on foot. In his book, Nihon Kokujisekikou (Observations About the Remains of Japan's Civil Affairs), he bestowed his unqualified praise on the three locations in Japan he thought offered travelers the most scenic beauty in the nation.



The scenic masterpieces of Matsushima, Amanohashidate, and Miyajima are as spectacular today as they were in the Edo period. These three remarkable sites, textured by the sea and abundant greenery, have not only touched the hearts of millions of people but also have served as a colorful background to history itself.



The exquisite beauty of these sites has inspired poets, writers, and artists to immortalize the scenic charm and awe inspiring vision of Japan.




Japan's Meccas that everyone wants to visit at least once.


Essay from Nihon Sankei

Picture Sources:
Matsushima
Miyajima Toori
Amanohashidate- The kid bending over is a student in iTalk. He is Shinossuke. He has a bright future in translating Japanese literature into English.

Yamazaki Returns from Space Station

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Florida--Naoko Yamazaki and her fellow astronauts returned to Earth on Tuesday after a two-week mission to the International Space Station.



She was reunited with her husband Taichi, 37, and daughter Yuki, 7, who handed her a bouquet of roses. "It smells good, thank you," Yamazaki told her.

Yamazaki, 39, and the six other crew members blasted into space aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery on April 5.



About one hour and 40 minutes after the shuttle landed here, Yamazaki and her colleagues met with some of the people who had made the mission possible.




"Thank you to the Japanese people for cheering for me," she told a televised interview. "I'm happy to have seen and felt Earth's beautiful nature" (from space).

News from Asahi Shimbun

Two-headed Snake in Kagoshima

TANEGASHIMA, Kagoshima — A two-headed Japanese ratsnake has been found here and is currently being kept at Tanegashima Municipal Government Hall, town officials said.



The 27-centimeter long snake with heads that each extend about 2 centimeters in length was found last week in a Tanegashima man’s garden and is being temporarily cared for at the local government offices.

“I don’t know why it’s got two heads, but it’s an extremely rare find,” a spokesman from Kagoshima’s Hirakawa Zoo said.



Apparently snakes are sometimes seen as a sign of good luck in Japan, so they expect a lot of visitors looking to have their lotto tickets blessed by the snake’s two-headed super powers.

From Japan Probe

Ins and Outs of Marriage

TOKYO —Actor Junichi Ishida, 56, held a talk show recently for 125 couples planning to tie the knot. He lectured them on how to keep things going smoothly, explaining, “I fight with my wife too. A few days ago we were going somewhere in a hurry, so I tried to get on the expressway, but she yelled at me, ‘That’s a waste of time!’ In essence, it’s all about being considerate.”

Ishida also revealed plans to release a book together with famous neuroscientist Kenichiro Mogi.


News from Japan Today

Mt. Fuji

Photographers gathered before dawn to capture pictures of the sun reflecting off Lake Tanukiko after rising at the peak of Mount Fuji in Fujinomiya, Shizuoka Prefecture.

The sunrise glare on the summit Monday is a phenomenon known as "Diamond Fuji."

It was a particularly auspicious day because an absence of wind left the surface of the lake as smooth as glass, creating a breathtaking reflection.

The phenomenon can be seen for several days in late April and late August each year. It was expected to last until around Wednesday.





News from Asahi Shimbun

Naruto Whirlpool

NARUTO, Tokushima Prefecture--A famous whirlpool in the Naruto Strait drew crowds of sightseers Sunday as relatively calm conditions and strong tides created a huge vortex.

The whirlpool between Shikoku and Awajishima island in Hyogo Prefecture reached a diameter of 15 meters shortly after 2 p.m. on Sunday. During the afternoon and evening, tourist boats crowded into the narrow straight to watch the spectacle.

Uzu no Michi (road of whirlpool), a tourist center run by Tokushima Prefecture and located under the Onaruto Bridge which crosses the strait, was also packed with visitors. According to Uzu no Michi, the whirlpool will reach its peak at 3:50 p.m. on Tuesday.


News from Asahi Shimbun

Japan: Its Culture and Attractions

A geisha stands with sealed lips symbolizing a code of honor. Entertaining Japan’s male elite through music, dance, song, and conversation, geisha are valued as much for discretion as for beauty. The famed icons of Japanese culture have practiced their gei, or art, for over 250 years.




Geisha







A brilliantly decorated lantern float stands out against the summer night sky during the Neputa Festival in Hirosaki. Often depicting warriors and shaped like fans, the floats are accompanied by traditional drums. Folk festivals featuring traditional music, dance, and costume are an important cultural element in Japan.









Sumo wrestlers clash in a ring in Nagoya. Once supported by the patronage of emperors, Japan’s national sport has roots going back nearly 1,500 years. Short but intense, most matches last less than a minute, with the grandly attired gyoji serving as referee.










Paper lanterns decorated with script glow orange in Japan. The Japanese language commonly uses 15,000 kanji characters, which are borrowed from Chinese. Schoolchildren as young as seven must confront the language’s complexities, such as learning to write some of the 200-plus characters for the sound “shou.”






Rice cakes, or mochi, are a favorite in Japan, particularly during the New Year, when they are traditionally given as gifts, set out decoratively in the home, or offered at shrines and temples. Their surfaces dusted with flour, the sticky, glutinous cakes are often stuffed with sweet beans or served in soup and, when not made by hand in a complex process, are widely available in supermarkets.









Photos are from National Geographic.

Japan: Its Culture and Attractions

Soaring bamboo stalks dwarf visitors to Arashiyama Park in western Kyoto. Known for its vertiginous growth, bamboo has numerous uses in Japan, particularly in Kyoto, where it is made into baskets, flutes, pipes, benches, dolls, garden fences, and artifacts for tea ceremonies.

Kyoto










Kinkakuji



Outside Shibuya Station in Tokyo, a crowd of pedestrians crosses a busy intersection beneath the glare of lighted billboards and neon signs. Japan’s capital is the planet's largest urbanized area, with some 36 million people.




Shibuya



Snowcapped Mount Fuji casts a bright spot on the frozen surface of Lake Yamanaka. The 12,388-foot (3,776-meter) volcano, which last erupted almost 300 years ago, is for the Japanese an enduring national symbol of serenity and strength. On a clear day, the iconic peak can be seen from Tokyo, 70 miles (112 kilometers) away.



Mt. Fuji


Standing at low tide, the torii on Miyajima is thrown into silhouette as the sun sinks behind a mountain. The famous vermilion gate was built in 1875 and is the largest in Japan, standing about 53 feet (16 meters) high. Torii are traditionally built as entrances to Shinto shrines.



Miyajima

Pictures are from National Geographic