Monthly Archives: June 2013

Karate In Japan

Karate was developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom and was systematically taught in Japan after the Taisho era.^[4] It was brought to the Japanese mainland in the early 20th century during a time of cultural exchanges between the Japanese and the Ryukyuans. In 1922 the Japanese Ministry of Education invited Gichin Funakoshi to Tokyo to give a karate demonstration. In 1924 Keio University established the first university karate club in Japan and by 1932, major Japanese universities had karate clubs.^[5] In this era of escalating Japanese militarism,^[6] the name was changed from 唐手 (“Chinese hand” or “Tang hand” verbatim, as the name of the Tang dynasty was a synonym to China in Okinawa) to 空手 (“empty hand”) – both of which are pronounced karate – to indicate that the Japanese wished to develop the combat form in Japanese style.^[7] After the Second World War, Okinawa became an important United States military site and karate became popular among servicemen stationed there.

Japans best attractions and nature scenes; Shikoku

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Make sure you take a visit to Shikoku; a region of spiritual perfection and exotic beaches with remarkable temprature. In this great natural region ,blessed with warm climate, you can:

Padlle down the beautiful Shimanto , check it out at http://web-japan.org/atlas/nature/nat31.html
Hike up sacred Ishizuchi – San , one of japans most gripping ascents.
Gaze at the many rare fish including the exotic yellow tail ,one of the most beautiful fish in the world
Sun bathe at Shikoku’s Angel road, a sand path connecting three small islands to Shodoshima.
Pick and mix differrent olives at the famous Olive park near the beautiful coast.
Meditate at the serine temples
Swim lazily in the hazy morning sun at the delicate coasts boasting tropical coral and exotic fish.

This region has a population of 3. 9 million peaple and thousands of forests and diferent landscapes.

Book tickets at http://www.ticketstojapan.co.uk/

By Fiona and Faiyaz

: The illuminous shimanto boasting 300 tributries and is about 1,200 metres long

Temples, Shrines and Castles

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Gaze in wonder at the royal, religious temples of Japan. Visit the wonderful shrines, which are full of blessings and worship. In particular, make sure you step into the mind-blowing world of the Toji temple in Kyoto which will teach you more about the culture of the Japanese.It is a Buddhist temple and was built in late 700s; the shape and design of the current temple is the same as the original

A popular flea market is held on the 21st of each month at Toji Temple from the early morning hours until around 16:30 in the afternoon. The lively market is crowded with vendors on the plaza and in the park that surround the paid temple grounds

As well as the temples why not visit the ancient castles which have been there since 1994 and which will teach you about the kings and queens of the old japan such as Nishiki castle.

Hot springs

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Natural hot springs are highly popular through out Japan.Every region of the country has its share of hot springs and resort towns, which come with them.There are lots of minerals that distinguish and dissolve in the water which makes it relaxing. Although there are hundreds of hot springs across Japan, make sure you check out the ancient hot spring waters of Kusatsu Onsen. These are known to be Japan’s best and most effective. Much of the resort’s water bubbles up in the yubatake (“hot water field”) in the town center.

Exoloring Kyoto on two wheels

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KYOTO GYOEN PARK: Turn right where the shirakawa river crosses sanjo street, then turn left at the next crossroads.After going across the pedestrians you will be able to see the red torii gateway of the helan jigu shrine .

LEAVING HEIAN JINGU: you will soon come within the sight of the lake biwa canal.At the next crossroads turn left in to marutu machi street. Lake Biwa is the largest freshwater lake in Japan.It is also located in shiga prefecture.

KYOTO INTERNATIONAL MANGA MUSEUM: Just past the fourth crossroads along karasuma street,there’s a museum on the right.You can leave your vehicle in the parking lot, and take a breather here.Opens at 11am and finishes at 11pm..

Castles

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Castles are some of the finest sights in Japan, they are beautifully historic and magnificantly built. Feast your eyes on Nagoya castle, an ancient landmark and is placed in the heart of Nagoya city resting on a stone. This fortress once had immense gates and guard towers so that guards can spot intruders quickly and easily. Get there in 15 minutes by subway from Nagoya station to Shiyakugha station. Nagoya Castle Himeji Castle

Himeji Castle is another famous place with its confusing gates scince one gate is discuised as a wall another has a very low ceiling.It survived world war 2 and an earthquake in 1995.Get there efficiantly with train. Himeji castle has its own stop so you’ll find it really fast.

Japanese Films

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Japans kids movies have won so many awards for their outstanding animations and authors. Since the 1960’s, children have loved animated films.Modern authors are popular to the the younger Japanese generation. Like Spirited Away it is a film that children love watching .Films have been tranlated into all different languages because Japanese films have become worldwide.Studio Ghilibi is Walt disney in Japan .They are the most famous studio in japan’s regions ,they have made thousands of films that are just jaw-dropping!

Garden Designs in Japan

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Garden designing is an important art to the Japanese. It has been purified for over 1000 years. Great gardens can be found throughout Japan , especially in the former capital of Kyoto. Japanese gardens are evolved into many styles with different purposes,including strolling garden for the enjoyment of the Edo Period Lords.Also the dry stone gardens for the religious use by Zen monks. Japanese gardens use lots of things such as ponds , streams , islands and hills to create miniature reproductions of natural scenery . The following are some of the most commonly used elements: stones gravel and sand. Since ancient times stones have played roles in the Japanese culture. In Shinto large stones are worshiped as kami, while gravel is used to designate sacred grounds , as seen on some shrines such as the Ise Shrine.

Japanese island bike hopping

One of Japan’s most interesting tours is the Island bike hopping not only can you go to four different islands, which are Inoshima, Onomichi,Oshima and Omishina but also you can go to all these new places on a bike.also you roughly go through ten bridges and this is about 80 km across the sea.After getting of the bridge and arriving and arriving on the island you will see many tourist atractions such as the Murakami Suigun museum, which commemorates Murakami Suigun a famous samurai warrior. As well as going to this very famous museum you will also see Mount Kairo which is a very famous mountain,will be in Imbari city.

At the museum take advantadge of taking a picture with a samurai sword it will feel like a your a genuine worrior.Once you get past the museum and go onto the next bridge you’ll see one of Japan’s most well known whirlpools,Although you can’t see the full effects for once in a life time opportunity it is worth taking a picture of . .

The bridge which is 1,460m long looks like a bird taking off for a flight. It’s beautiful and riding across it,is a realpleasure.

By Karimah Alam and Tahseen Al-Zahra!

Mount Fuji

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Visit Japans tallest mountain/ volcano with the towering height of 3776 metres. This is a special place of pilgrimage in Japan. People worship Mount Fuji because it has been in Japan for over 100,000 years. Many try to climb it in their lifetime, however they have failed and therefore they have made small models called Mound Fuji. This is also another way to worship the mountain. You can see the tip of Mount Fuji from the far end of Japan due to the sheer size of it. A famous artist named Hokusai has painted a collection of pictures of Mount Fuji.