Kyoto Travel Journal: Gion Matsuri 2023

Chigo, Yasaka Shrine Influences and Beginnings When I was in my early twenties, and without much experience of travel, I arrived with my...

Tea Ceremony and Tanabata with Camellia Kyoto

This year's Tanabata could not have been more special. We visited the Camellia Garden Teahouse in north west Kyoto, live on Instagram,...

The River of Heaven - Tanabata in Japanese Poetry

Curious this day on which long ago they must have pledged their troth; like the River of Heaven's waves rising - this is sent out. This...

Tanabata: the July 7th Star Festival!

Tanabata wish cards :) Two Tanabata Poems Don't look up by yourself at the sky where stars meet - the wind from the Milky Way blows cold....

Children's Day, Koinoburi, and the Iris

Our Koinoburi Tenugui is instore here! What is Children’s Day? Children's Day (こどもの日, Kodomo no Hi) is a national holiday in Japan, which...

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