Activities Matsugaoka Alena Eckelmann Japan's Meiji Era (1867-) saw samurai lose their warrior jobs. Some 3,000 samurai of the Shonai Domain decided to swap their..
Culture In Search of the Sakai Daimyo in Tsuruoka City Alena Eckelmann The Sakai, a samurai clan that originated in the 14thcentury, became chief retainers to the Shoguns of the Tokugawa Clan. The Sakai..
Culture The Old Abumiya Residence Alena Eckelmann Sakata, a small town in the northwestern part of Honshu Island, has a rich merchant history. The "Band of 36", a group of powerful..
Activities Akita Port Tower Selion Hitoshi Kawai Enjoy views from the mountains to the city, port and the sea from this tower hovering higher than any building in Akita.
Culture Sankyo Rice Warehouses Alena Eckelmann The heritage of Sakata City in Yamagata Prefecture tells the stories of rich rice merchants and of poor day laborers in rice warehouses...
Culture On the Movie Set of “Okuribito” Alena Eckelmann "Okuribito" (Departures) won the Best Foreign Language Oscar in 2009. The main movie set, the NK Agent's office, is now open..
Activities Morohashi Museum of Modern Art Ashley Cox A collection of sculptures and paintings by Salvador Dali, Paul Cezanne and Pablo Picasso in Fukushima.
Culture The Legend of Sendai Shiro Justin Velgus Sendai Shiro was a real man living in the late Edo/early Meiji era in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. Through a series of almost ra..