Todaiji (東大寺, Tōdaiji, “Great Eastern Temple”) is one of Japan’s most famous and historically significant temples and a landmark of Nara. The temple was constructed in 752 as the head temple of all provincial Buddhist temples of Japan and grew so powerful that the capital was moved from Nara to Nagaoka in 784 in order…
Category: Japan
Exploring Japan: Tempozan Ferris Wheel
The Tempozan Ferris Wheel at the Tempozan Harbor Village in Osaka, Japan soars 112.5 meters into the air and has a diameter of 100 meters, making it one of the world’s largest Ferris wheels. One full circuit on Japan’s biggest Ferris wheel takes about 17 minutes. It was opened in 1997 and the designs on…
Exploring Japan: Vegan Ramen
This is the first time I am tasting a traditional ramen and I was mind blown!!! And what’s even better is this big bowl of goodness is VEGAN! Me, being a vegetarian, have been hunting for good spots vegetarian around that served traditional Japanese food, which was hard to find. This hearty bowl made me…
Exploring Japan: Namba Yasaka Shrine
Namba Yasaka Shrine is known as the “Lion Shrine” as it houses the enormous lion head statue called Ema-Den (絵馬殿). The 12 m high x 11 m wide eye-popping lion is the symbol of the shrine as well as the popular photo spot in Osaka City. It is believed that the wide-opened mouth of the…
Exploring Japan: World’s first Tatami Starbucks!
Yes, you read that right! We are aware of Starbucks and all the sugary drinks we get there! It was the go-to place for my chai fix for the 2.5 years I was in the USA! But, in Kyoto, the world’s first Tatami Starbucks was opened as recently as 2017. This is the Kyoto Ninenzaka…
Exploring Japan : Fushimi Inari-Taisha
Fushimi Inari Shrine (伏見稲荷大社, Fushimi Inari Taisha) is an important Shinto shrine in southern Kyoto. It is famous for its thousands of vermilion torii gates, which straddle a network of trails behind its main buildings. The trails lead into the wooded forest of the sacred Mount Inari, which stands at 233 meters and belongs to…