niigata
[New eBook] Ryugon – a Ryokan in Niigata
You may remember my blog post about this Ryokan from back in early 2019. Now, one year later, I finally finished the eBook about this wonderful place and its gardens! Actually, I hoped for an opportunity to visit it after the renovations which took place until summer last year but it didn’t happen and I […]
Snow protection for trees and shrubs in Niigata – Yukigakoi 雪囲い
When I visited Niigata last year in November, I found that the trees there are not protected in the way I knew from Tokyo and other regions of Japan. A large amount of snow in winter makes it necessary to create very strong protections for trees on Hokkaido and along the coast of the Japanese […]
An invitation to Ryugon – one of the most famous guesthouses in Japan
In November, right before the first heavy snowfall, I had the chance to visit the famous ryokan (traditional Japanese guesthouse) Ryugon. The Ryugon opened its doors in 1964, the same year the Olympics took place in Tokyo. However, most of the buildings on the grounds are much older! Utsugi, the founder of this ryokan, saw […]