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Things you find in Japanese countryside (Hint: Spirits)
As you maybe already know, the Japanese people worship a weird mixture of shamanistic Shinto as well as Buddhist gods. Along with the dozens of gods with large names and long titles usually ending in -kami (神) or -mikoto（尊） (like Amaterasu Omikami or Tsukiyomi-no-Mikoto), there are myriads lesser spirits. Japan has a lot of water.…
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Little X of Japan
I guess every country is proud of its own traditions and culture, that’s what annual festivals and cultural heritage preservation endeavors are for. Similarly, expats tend to create small communities in their new countries that try to resemble the original as much as possible, in order to feel more at home. But what happens when…
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Attempting Oshima # 2: A weekend in Izu Oshima
Ok, by now, I guess everyone is familiar with how bad my trip to Amami-Oshima failed in September. As this was not enough to stop me though, a month later I tried my luck with another Oshima: Izu Oshima. If you are curious about the repetition of island names, it is because Ooshima (大島) means…
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Year in Review 2020 a.k.a. how I lived through covid19 in Japan
[Feature photo: Robo-dinosaurs serving as receptionists in Henna hotel in Osaka] I still remember the day that people around me in Tokyo started feeling anxious about the then new covid19. All eyes were set on Asia and Europe was still quiet. On the 25th of February we were preparing to set off for a trip…
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Απολογισμός του σωτηρίου έτους 2020 ή αλλιώς πώς πέρασα τον κορονοϊό στην Ιαπωνία
Ακόμα θυμάμαι την ημέρα που ο περίγυρος μου στο Τόκιο άρχισε να φοβάται τον κορωνοϊό. Όλα τα βλέμματα ήταν στραμμένα στην Ασία και η Ευρώπη ήταν ακόμα ήρεμη. Ήταν 25 Φεβρουαρίου και ετοιμαζόμασταν να πάμε εκδρομή με το πανεπιστήμιο στο νομό Μιγιάγκι. Το ίδιο πρωινό της αναχώρησης, ενώ είχαμε ενημερωθεί από πριν να φέρουμε μαζί…
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Downtown Tokyo: Hibiya area
The other day, we had to run some errands in the city center, so we decided to head towards the Diet building on the way. Surprisingly, after 4 years in Japan I still haven’t been to the location where all important national decisions are taken. Contrary to the Greek parliamentary building in Athens, which is…
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