Popular articles - Tim Bunting

山伏

Popular articles

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Kumomi: The Next Japanese Sensation

Those clouds aren't going to watch themselves!

Emperor on a Boat Day

Or 'Marine Day'. If you really want.

What does it mean to be ‘Spirited Away’?

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

The Slow Demise of the Japanese City

One Traffic Light at a Time

Autumn’s Peak Ritual 2024

Joining a Yamabushi Initiation Ritual

The Town of Dual Dragons

And the legends they created.

Yamabushi Gear Explainer: The Futodasuki Sash

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

The Dragon Deity and Japan’s Number One Rice

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

The Deep Meaning Behind Tea Ceremony’s Most Famous Concept

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

My Love Affair with North Japan’s Tallest Peak

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

Yukidaruma: The Japanese Art of Always Building Snowmen With Two Balls Instead of Three Because Why Waste Your Time and Energy?

You had me at 'Japanese art'.

Japan is in the year 2683?

I asked the proprietor when the original temple was built.

Why do SHOGUN deserve their own shrine?

The warlord to end all warlords

women in red and white kimono standing in front of the temple

How this little-known Japanese craft changed my life forever

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

Japan’s Most Popular Destination You’ve Never Heard Of

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

The real star of Japanese cuisine

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

Why is this Buddha EVERYWHERE in Japan?

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

My Japanese Hotel Rookie Mistake

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

Say Sayonara to Sayonara: Japanese words that are misunderstood

And the best way to learn the real meaning of words

Mongols, Kamikaze, and a mountain in northern Japan

The Legend of Haguro-san's Bell Tower

‘Foreigner in a Suit’ and The Beginner’s Mind

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

The mystical mountain men of Japan

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

What do Yamabushi do? What does it mean to be a Yamabushi?

The perennial question for us followers of Shugendo

Mountains and Moments

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

Hiking Guide: Mountains of The Shonai Region of Yamagata

Introducing the mountains in the Shonai Region of Yamagata

The Best Sushi in Japan

And the red man who lead us to it

Biscuit Day: Why Do Japanese Cars (and Appliances) Talk So Much?

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

The Astounding Waterfalls of Chokai-san

The waterfalls of Chokai-san

Japan’s Two Biggest Obsessions

Starbucks is decidedly NOT a Kissaten

Dragons and how they protect my house in Japan

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

Hand holding chopsticks drawing, vintage

Why we eat what we eat at Obon

How to prove you are smarter than a Japanese person.

Japan’s Rothschilds and The Port City of Sakata

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

Cucumber Horses and Eggplant Cows

The one Japanese custom the world needs

person holding world globe facing mountain

Searching for your Ikigai? Read this first.

I left my Ikigai on Mt. Haguro

What The Mountains of Japan Taught Me

Knowledge has nothing on experience

The Curse of Yamagata’s Mountains

Watch the view. Or maybe don't.

I Never Thought I’d See This in Aotearoa New Zealand

The Culture Shock I Never Expected—Nor Wanted

I spent a week in the Japanese mountains training as an ascetic.

Here's what I learned.

The Badass Fudomyo’o: Your new Favourite Buddhist Deity

You’ll find him near waterfalls all over Japan.

The Uniquely Japanese Superpower

Do this and you can officially call yourself Japanese

On Ramen: The Best Food in Japan

Yamagata in its rightful place

Don’t trust the chrysanthemums.

The forgotten festival and Japanese cultural faux pas #2934

One with the Mountains

In your element, in the elements

This Yamabushi Brought Me To Tears

A story from yamabushi training

Falling for the Gaijin Trap Trap

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

Why do Japanese Shrines have lightning-bolt tassels?

Plus the scientific basis behind it all.

Joining a Local Japanese Coffee Brewing Competition

Notice I didn't say 'winning'.

Why do yamabushi do yamabushi training?

Yamabushi gotta yamabushi.

Prescribe Nature

And the ultimate in Japanese mountain warriors

The Creepy Legend of the Yokai of Chokai-san (Mt. Chokai)

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 eel day. Don’t mow your lawn.

And the Japanese Colonel Sanders’ golden idea

A Jizo statue at the top of Mt. Kyogakura in Sakata

Uketamo: the philosophy to live by

Uketamo has a long, long history.

What does The Last Samurai have to with Japan’s Silk Industry?

Quite a lot, actually.

Can you believe this is *not* Tokyo?

Well, can you?

The World’s Best Dojo

It's not where you think

Atomic Habits highlights something the Japanese have known for millennia

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

Uketamo and What The Mountains Teach You

Stop for a moment to be in the moment

photo of peeled banana on yellow plate and background

The MONSTROSITY that is Tokyo Banana

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

Dealing with death: Some practical Yamabushi advice

Death is an everyday thing. So is living.

(Re) Discovering my origin story

How I came to live in rural Japan

Living in a Dying Japanese City

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

How Cup Noodles and Kawaii Culture made Axolotls famous in Japan

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.

Why are greengrocers called the ‘800 store’ in Japan?

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

The Land of Salmon and Sake: How Sakata (Sake Rice Field) got its name

Feat. Sakata Rice Crackers!

The Land of The Rising Moon-Sun

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

Matsuo Basho and The Power of Haiku

How to capture nature in the written word

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