Tag Archives: Japan

Japan Views: A Snowfall Walk In Ginzan Onsen (4K)

December 29, 2022 – Ginzan Onsen (銀山温泉, lit. “Silver Mountain Hot Spring”) is a secluded hot spring town nestled in the mountains of Yamagata Prefecture. The area originally developed around a silver mine; however, these days it is better known as one of Japan’s prettiest onsen towns with historic ryokan lined up along the river.

Ginzan Onsen’s traditionally styled ryokan occupy beautiful three and four story wooden buildings that, with their exposed woodwork and white plaster walls, evoke nostalgic feelings of a bygone era. There is one exception, however, in the Fujiya ryokan at the center of town, which was recently rebuilt by famous modern architect Kuma Kengo. Although purists may find it out of place, its unique modern design incorporates many of the traditional design elements of the surrounding buildings, such as the same exposed wood and white plaster.

Filmed by Japan BackpackersXpress

Global Review: Five Top Stories To Watch In 2023

The Economist – From India becoming the world’s most populous country, to an illegal drug that might be approved as a medicine, The Economist offers its annual look at the year ahead.

Video timeline: 00:00 – The World Ahead 2023 00:35 – India’s population potential 04:30 – Psychedelic medicines 08:06 – Japan’s markets mayhem? 12:45 – Repairing the world 15:50 – The coronation’s colonial concerns

Autumn 2022 Japan Views: Shirakawa-go & Gokayama

The Shirakawa-go (白川郷, Shirakawagō) and neighboring Gokayama (五箇山) regions line the Shogawa River Valley in the remote mountains that span from Gifu to Toyama Prefectures. Declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 1995, they are famous for their traditional gassho-zukuri farmhouses, some of which are more than 250 years old.

Video timeline: Shirakawa-go 白川郷 https://bit.ly/3tkP7Nz 0:00 Opening 1:05 Gassho-zukuri Minkaen 白川郷合掌造り民家園 https://bit.ly/3U7A5WV 8:17 庄川 Sho River 9:18 であい橋 Deai-Bashi bridge 11:01 Around Koemon 民宿幸エ門周辺 https://bit.ly/3fx6qYt 11;58 Shirakawago Three Houses 三小屋(三連合掌)https://bit.ly/3E664S2 14:59 Shirakawa Hachiman Shrine 白川八幡神社 https://bit.ly/3WwuBXs 15:17 Around Myozenji 明善寺周辺 https://bit.ly/3t2D9b5 19:43 Around Kanda House 神田家周辺 https://bit.ly/3NDmrII 20:18 Around Wada House 和田家住宅周辺 https://bit.ly/3fAqg51 23:25 Tenshukaku Observatory 城山天守閣 展望台 https://bit.ly/3fE1O2s —————- 24:35 Around Ainokuraguchi Bus Stop 相倉口周辺 https://bit.ly/3DFLI0l 25:26 Ainokura Gassho-zukuri Village 相倉合掌造り集落 https://bit.ly/3FNR9NB Honor system farm stands  29:05 HitokuiTani valley 人喰谷 https://bit.ly/3FNYDA8 —————– 30:01 Suganuma Gassho-zukuri Village 菅沼合掌造り集落 https://bit.ly/3UqDEYb 34:31 Gokayama Gassho no Sato 五箇山合掌の里 https://bit.ly/3Ta1Ixs

Gassho-zukuri means “constructed like hands in prayer”, as the farmhouses’ steep thatched roofs resemble the hands of Buddhist monks pressed together in prayer. The architectural style developed over many generations and is designed to withstand the large amounts of heavy snow that falls in the region during winter. The roofs, made without nails, provided a large attic space used for cultivating silkworms.

Home Tours: The Gardens Of Saitama In Japan (2022)

The Open Gardens of Saitama private residences:

0:00 Ms. Mizue Takahashi ‘s Residence (Herbal House), 7:31 Interiors of her house, 11:05 Her garden at Night

13:23 Ms.Yoshie Saito’s Residence (Garden Cafe Green Rose)

27:07 Ms.Mariko Gonda’s Residence(Le Jardin Secret)

Saitama Prefecture is part of the Greater Tokyo area. In Saitama City, the Railway Museum traces rail history from the steam engines to bullet trains. Kawagoe city is known for well-preserved Edo-era buildings. West, the 3 Kuroyama Santaki falls cascade down mountains. Chichibu city is home to the 34 Buddhist temples of the Kannon Pilgrimage. Near Kinsho Temple, the Iwadatami rock formations line the Arakawa River. 

Japan Views: A Night Walk In Fukuoka, Kyushu (4K)

Walking around the streets of Fukuoka, enjoying the nightlife ambiance from Nakasu to Tenjin.

Fukuoka, capital of Fukuoka Prefecture, sits on the northern shore of Japan’s Kyushu Island. It’s known for ancient temples, beaches and modern shopping malls, including Canal City. Maizuru Park contains ruins of 17th-century Fukuoka Castle. The central Hakata district contains Tōchō-ji Temple, home to a 10m wooden Buddha and the Hakata Machiya Folk Museum, with displays on daily life in the Meiji and Taishō eras. 

Timelapse Travel Views: ‘Magnificent Japan’ (4K)

“雄大 (YUDAI)” means magnificent in Japanese. The film is a Timelapse and Hyperlapse depiction of magnificent Japan.

Japan, island country lying off the east coast of Asia. It consists of a great string of islands in a northeast-southwest arc that stretches for approximately 1,500 miles (2,400 km) through the western North Pacific Ocean. Nearly the entire land area is taken up by the country’s four main islands; from north to south these are  Hokkaido  (Hokkaidō),  Honshu  (Honshū),  Shikoku, and Kyushu (Kyūshū). Honshu is the largest of the four, followed in size by Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku. In addition, there are numerous smaller islands, the major groups of which are the Ryukyu (Nansei) Islands (including the island of Okinawa) to the south and west of Kyushu and the IzuBonin (Ogasawara), and  Volcano  (Kazan) islands to the south and east of central Honshu. The national capital, Tokyo (Tōkyō), in east-central Honshu, is one of the world’s most populous cities.

Filmed and Edited by: Daisuke Shimizu

Cover Previews: World Archaeology – Sept 2022

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The World Archaeology October 2022 issue explores the secrets of Japan’s stone circles, the lost prehistoric cities of Bolivia, women’s everyday lives in the Ice Age, an idyllic alpine region that saw fierce fighting during the First World War, and much more.

The stone circles of Japan are enigmatic monuments. These structures were created by Jomon hunter-gatherers, mostly from roughly 2500-300 BC, and can be associated with burials, seasonal ceremonies, and solar alignments. Such preoccupations are far from being restricted to Jomon Japan, with study of these circles proving influential when it came to early 20th-century attempts to understand Stonehenge. In our cover feature, we take a detailed look at some of the Jomon stone circles, examining both the monuments themselves, and wider activity in the period.