Tag: mochi

Kyoto and Nara

Kyoto is in most ways a very average large Japanese city. Bulky, gray buildings and power lines dominate the skyline and malls and subways bustle with commerce and traffic. Even Gion, the famed geisha district, is, aside for a...

Takayama and Nozawa Onsen

From Fukuoka, we headed into the mountains, and spring turned back to a chilly drizzle. In Takayama, the sun, breaking through the clouds, left the blacks and whites of the Meiji-era buildings sharp and gleaming, their contrast heightened by...

Fukuoka and Dazaifu

Our first stop in Japan was Fukuoka, a pleasant city that felt very bright and clean in the early-spring warmth. Fukuoka may sound more familiar to some if I mention that what is today Fukuoka was once two cities:...