Hi there! You’re in Tokyo? Maybe staying at Tokyo Family Stay’s Conoe Sanbancho’s Apartment?And you would like to see a park or garden? Then let’s go for a walk! A walk around and through the Tokyo Imperial Palace! Of course, you can start on any side of the Imperial Palace...Continue Reading
Today, we want to explore two popular elements in Japanese gardens. The picture of the turtle and the crane. For this, we will take the garden of Koichi-in in Kyoto as an example, where we have both elements as a rock setting (island) in one garden. However, these pictures can...Continue Reading
虎の子渡し – Tiger family crossing a river 碧巌録に示された臥龍 – Sleeping dragon 星座カシオペヤ – The constellation Cassiopeia 心の字 – Heart character 京都盆地を囲む五山 – Five mountains surrounding Kyoto 光の反射板 – Reflecting of Light 満月を巡る – The moon phases around the full moon Today I want to dig deeper into the manifold interpretations...Continue Reading
Yeah! It‘s this time of year again!I am always happy when December is close and I can decide the pictures for the next Japanese garden calendar. This year, I have looked up which pictures were the most popular on our Instagram account over the last twelve months. Of course, I...Continue Reading
By Mira LocherForeword by Terunobu Fujimori In comparison with Zen Gardens, the complete works of Shunmyo Masuno. Is it worth to buy both books or do I favor one over the other? You can read my detailed review about Zen Gardens, the complete works of Shunmyo Masuno here....Continue Reading
This month we got the amazing opportunity to test one of TokyoTreat’s subscription boxes. Maybe you have already heard of these kind of boxes? If not, let me explain in few words. Over the last years, boxes with treats from Japan became quite popular. Most of them come as subscription...Continue Reading
By Per Oscar BrekellBilingual Edition In spring of this year I started to taste different teas. Not only Matcha but also Japanese green tea. A small local tea shop recommended me a book about tea because it is beginner friendly. And so it really is! Oscar Brekell was no...Continue Reading
The next garden element on my list is the stone lantern. Everyone knows the beautiful withered lanterns made of natural or hewn rocks. Today I want to talk about their origin and use in the Japanese garden. Origin Lanterns weren‘t always a garden element. They were invented in a religious...Continue Reading
The next garden element on my list is the water basin! I guess, the best-known examples for these water basins are the ones in front of Japanese shrines but also the ones in Japanese tea gardens. Both are meant to symbolically purify oneself before entering a special place. To fulfill...Continue Reading
What I always tried to find out was the relationship between the Treasure Ship (takarabune) with the Seven Lucky Gods (shichifukujin), and the Ship Stone (funaishi). Now that I stuck at home, I have time to investigate! Let’s start with a more or less short explanation of these three:...Continue Reading