Joining a Yamabushi Initiation Ritual

The forgotten festival and Japanese cultural faux pas #2934

“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.

Here's what I learned.

The Culture Shock I Never Expected—Nor Wanted

Introducing the mountains in the Shonai Region of Yamagata

A story from yamabushi training

The warlord to end all warlords

And the Japanese Colonel Sanders’ golden idea

Knowledge has nothing on experience

Whether by man or by nature, these buildings are disappearing. And they are disappearing fast.

Stop for a moment to be in the moment

Yamabushi gotta yamabushi.

'Foreigner in a suit' and The Beginner's Mind

And the ultimate in Japanese mountain warriors

Chokai-san: The Sparkling Gem in Tohoku's Eye

The one Japanese custom the world needs

The Japanese title for Spirited Away is Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi 千と千尋の神隠し.

One major role for dragons in Japan (besides protecting my house)

This might be the most important thing I write this year.

Spend even a tiny amount of time in Japan, and you may notice a strange yet comforting presence.

Notice I didn't say 'winning'.

The Best Coffee Spots in Sakata, and what I really think of them

Plus the scientific basis behind it all.

The pilgrim's lodge village of Toge on Haguro-san

You’ll find him near waterfalls all over Japan.

And the legends they created.

Why do I live in Yamagata? Why don’t I live in Tokyo or Osaka with the rest of them?

How to capture nature in the written word

Those clouds aren't going to watch themselves!

Do this and you can officially call yourself Japanese

‘It’s a piece of crap, but I hope you like it’ - Japan.

Ichigo Ichie - One moment, one meeting. One chance in a lifetime.

At the time, The Unlimited Teddy Bear was watching footage of Minecraft axolotls in English when they realised the English word for Axolotl was, in fact, Axolotl.

That is not a typo. Everyone has to fall in sometime...

Why February 28 Is Biscuit Day (And What Your Japanese Car Has to Say About It)

Watch the view. Or maybe don't.

Quite a lot, actually.

How Japan switched from a Lunisolar to a Gregorian Calendar. Or tried to, at least.

You had me at 'Japanese art'.

And the best way to learn the real meaning of words

I left my Ikigai on Mt. Haguro

Uketamo has a long, long history.

How a Dragon Kami gave us the best rice in Japan.

How this humble plant made it to the top of my list of Japanese foods

The vermillion and white sash represents yin and yang, the vast cosmos and the natural world.

Or 'Marine Day'. If you really want.

I asked the proprietor when the original temple was built.

Death is an everyday thing. So is living.

The Legend of Haguro-san's Bell Tower

And the red man who lead us to it

Yamagata in its rightful place

It was the perfect plan. If only I had considered how Japanese hotels operate.

In your element, in the elements

Well, can you?

The perennial question for us followers of Shugendo

Why do Shinto yamabushi wear the strange vermillion sash? What special meanings does the Futodasuki hold? What does the mirror represent?

How to prove you are smarter than a Japanese person.

Ask the wives of court nobles of the 14th century...

Feat. Sakata Rice Crackers!

Featuring The Legend of how Japan's most famous mountain man couldn't quite handle it

Focus on the step in front of you, not the mountain in the distance.

Starbucks is decidedly NOT a Kissaten

How I came to live in rural Japan

One Traffic Light at a Time

The waterfalls of Chokai-san

The creepy legend of how Chokai-san (Mt. Chokai) got its distinct shape, and how Yamagata Prefecture's only inhabited island was formed.

It's not where you think