Category: Kyoto Prefecture

KYOTO – Imperial Capital 京都府 Before Kyoto came to be called “Kyoto,” it had a few different names. The most well-known former name is “Heiankyo” (平安京) meaning “peaceful, stable Imperial…

by Philbert Ono, updated: June 17, 2023 “Sato” (佐藤) is Japan’s No. 1 most common family name with about 1.8 million people named “Sato.” This translates to 1.5 percent of…

by Philbert Ono, updated Feb. 12, 2023 “Kyoto by the Sea” (海の京都) is a tourism catch phrase for northern Kyoto Prefecture that mainly faces the Sea of Japan. This region…

After Amanohashidate, the next must-see place is Tango Peninsula, the main part of Kyoto by the Sea (northern Kyoto). On the east coast of the peninsula is Ine (伊根), a…

On a map, Tango Peninsula (Tango Hanto 丹後半島) in northern Kyoto Prefecture looks like a short thumb sticking into the Sea of Japan. Some parts of the coast are quite…

Meet Gion Matsuri’s brand new boat float, the Ofune-hoko (大船鉾). It made its debut in the Gion Matsuri procession for the first time on July 24, 2014, a week after…

by Philbert Ono Whenever I see a new book about Kyoto, I tend not to pay attention. As if world-famous Kyoto needs another book for PR. There’s no shortage of…

I just saw a screening of my friend Peter MacIntosh’s documentary geisha film called Real Geisha Real Women at The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan in Tokyo on June 22,…

I can summarize my thoughts about this movie in three words: It’s not real. I haven’t read the best-selling novel, so I don’t know how the movie compares with the…

I can’t believe it, but the Tourist Information Center in Kyoto (inside the building where you can go up to Kyoto Tower) has closed on Jan. 31, 2004. Just when…