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By Little-Akiko, April 3, 2016 7:13 pm

伊勢駅 Ise station

伊勢神宮外宮 Ise Shrine Gekū
The Ise Shrine (Ise-jingū) is the most important Shinto shrine complex.

河崎の町並み Kawasaki Street
There was nobody around. The Old-timey Buildings were quite nice.

We tried Ise Udon at lunch.

The noodles were thick and soft. The soup was tasty and not as salty as it looks.

伊勢河崎商人館 Ise Kawasaki Shoninkan(Merchant museum)
The building was originally a sake wholesaler (Ogawa Saketen) established in during the mid Edo period. Inside the building was quite spacious. There were a lot things to see.

商人蔵カフェ Merchant warehouse cafe

二見浦、二見興玉神社、夫婦岩 Futamiura, Futamiokitama shrine, Meoto Iwa

Oishiya Ryokan(Japanese style Inn)
The ryokan is steps from The Futamiokitama shrine.

We had dinner in the hotel room. We enjoyed a huge kaiseki meal. We were stuffed.

We borrowed an oil lamp from the hotel and went for a walk on the beach.

It was a sunny day and we had a relaxing time.

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By Little-Akiko, April 1, 2016 4:16 pm

Unfortunately it rained again in Nara.

法隆寺 Hōryūji
I haven’t been Hōryūji since a school field trip.
Hōryūji Temple was founded in 607 by Prince Shōtoku(聖徳太子 Shōtoku taishi). Horyuji is one of the country’s oldest temples and contains the world’s oldest surviving wooden structures.

There were many things to see in the temple, but we rush through.

東大寺 Tōdaiji
The Daibutsuden (大仏殿 Big Buddha Hall) is the world’s largest wooden building.
The Buddha is 14.98 m (49.1 ft)tall.

We didn’t have much time to visit the Nara museum, so we decided to go to the Kasuga shrine which we have visited before.
春日大社 Kasuga Grand Shrine
The shrine is famous for its many bronze and stone lanterns.

興福寺 Kōfukuji
Kōfukuji’s pagoda is a landmark and symbol of Nara. It was first built in 730, and was most recently rebuilt in 1426. The five story pagoda is Japan’s second tallest.

Dinner at Nikko hotel.

We were only in Nara one day, but we were able to visit many places.

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By Little-Akiko, March 31, 2016 5:31 pm

We stayed Otsu Prince Hotel beside Biwa lake. The room which we stayed in was big and very clean. One drawback was the hotel is a little far from the train station.
We got up early and could see the sunrise from the room. We went for a walk by the lakeside park near the hotel. Too bad it was getting pretty dark and cloudy.

Breakfast at Japanese restaurant in the hotel. There were not many people. We are able to enjoy a quiet meal.

嵐山の渡月橋 Arashiyama Togetu Bridge
The bridge was very crowded.

天龍寺 Tenryū-ji

竹林の道 Bamboo Forest Street

When I came here a long time ago, it was quiet and peaceful. But this time, it was quit crowded.

野宮神社 Nonomiya Shrine

京都駅 Kyoto station

lunch- Steamed vegetable dish(Fried oyster lunch set)

東本願寺 Higashi Honganji

Higashi(East)Honganji and Nishi(West)Honganji
Nishi Honganji (West Honganji) was built in 1591 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and it is the head temple of the Honganji faction of the Jodo-Shin sect.
Higashi Honganji (East Honganji) was built only eleven years after and a few blocks east of Nishi Honganji as the head temple of the Otani faction of Jodo-shin Buddhism.

西本願寺 Nishi Honganji

I heard that when they fix the damaged spots of the wood colom, they put some design piece on the wood to cover the spots. There are many of them in this temple. When you vist there, you should look for them.

Dinner at the hotel. Oumi beef Sukiyaki Kaiseki
(Kaiseki is a set menu of select food served on an individual tray)

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By Little-Akiko, March 30, 2016 3:33 pm

Fushimi Inari Shrine
(伏見稲荷大社 Fushimi Inari Taisha) is a very popular Shinto shrine in southern Kyoto. It is famous for its thousands of vermilion torii gates. We arrived there in the early morning, but so many people were already visiting the shrine.

Lunch at Nezameya. Inarizushi and Nishin(herring)Soba noodle soup.

Inarizushi (稲荷寿司) is a pouch of deep fried tofu(油揚げ aburaage)filled with sushi rice. It is named after the Shinto god Inari, who is believed to have a fondness for fried tofu.

寺子屋本舗 Terakoya honpo’s Rice crackers.

宝玉堂 Hogyokudo’s Shiro Miso crakers.

銀閣寺 Ginkaku-ji
Silver Pavilion

哲学の道 Philosopher’s walk
the path begins around Ginkakuji and ends in the neighborhood of Nanzenji.

禅林寺(永観堂)Eikando Zenrinji
Zenrin-ji is the head temple of Jodo-shu Seizan Zenrin-ji sect. The temple has more than 1,100 years of history and is dedicated to Amida(Amida is one of the loftiest savior figures in Japanese Buddhism).

南禅寺 Nanzenji

青蓮院 Shōren-in

平安神宮 Heian Shrine(Heian-jingū)
When we arrived at the shrine it was almost closing time. So we could only visit for 5 minutes.

Gion district

清水寺 Kiyomizu-dera
Kiyomizu temple’s light up event. There were so many people.
It took so long to enter the temple and we gave up on some of the sites.

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By Little-Akiko, December 25, 2015 6:11 am

Christmas decorations in Japan♪

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By Little-Akiko, November 14, 2015 7:36 pm

We arrived at Haneda International Airport and we went to the Royal Park Hotel, straght away. The hotel was clean and the staff were very nice. The room was a bit small but comfortable and quiet. We slept well.

On the fifth floor of the airport, there are some big structures, a wooden bridge(Nihonnbashi), restaurants and shops.

The next morning, we went out find breakfast around 6:am. Most restaurants and shops were closed so the whole floor was deserted and quiet.

We found that a few restaurants were open and spotted an Ochazuke place.

Ginza Odenya. Dashi ochazuke.
The dishes were simple (rice with toppings, pickled vegetables, fresh tofu, oden dashi broth) and delicious.
The staff was courteous and friendly.

Later on, we sat down for some green and brown tea ice cream at an Ito-en tea salon.

Green tea and hojicha ice cream. Hojicha.

We had ramen noodles for lunch at a Setagaya chain restaurant.

Haneda is now comprised of 3 terminals following a recent expansion. Terminals are connected by shuttle buses. There is a huge array of shops and restaurants across all terminals.

We were already having a good time and had yet to leave the airport(^-^)

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By Little-Akiko, December 11, 2011 6:34 pm

I have created some new products for TinyShiny.

Sterling silver Turtle Pendant.

Sterling silver Shachihoko Pendant. Shachihoko is a creature in Japanese folklore.
In Japan, these ornaments are used to decorate the rooftops of castles.

Handmade cotton Furoshiki with Kokeshi painting.

Check Deatails of Pendants at: TinyShiny Pendants Page
Check Deatails of Furoshiki at: TinyShiny Furoshiki Page

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By Little-Akiko, November 29, 2011 7:28 pm

I have created some new Hanging Origami Crane Mobiles at TinyShiny.com.

Check the details at:TinyShiny Origami Mobiles

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By Little-Akiko, November 25, 2011 6:47 pm

TinyShiny will join the Crafts show at St. Michael’s Church on December 3rd and 4th(sat- sun).

Date:
December 3rd and 4th, 2011
11:00am – 6:00pm (both Days)
Place:
105 Saint Viateur West, corner St.Urbain、Montreal
Basement of St. Michael’s Church

Old Skool Crafts

Basement of this Church.

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By Little-Akiko, November 24, 2011 2:55 pm

I have added a new baby blue colored Alligator earrings at TinyShiny.com.
I used Tiny Shiny Beads for alligators and sterling silver for hooks.

You can check the details at: TinyShiny Earrings