After yesterday's post about the dragon getting ready, it's time to show the dragon in full swing! The only problem with that is that there were too many people on Wun Sha road (and we had not queued up for hours), so once it was 9pm and the dragon was dancing, there was no way… Continue reading Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance 2013 – Part 2
Celebrating mid-autumn here in Hong Kong really is great - there are lots of beautiful lantern decorations everywhere and the choice of moon cakes is almost mind-blowing. But the most beautiful and amazing part of the celebrations is the Fire Dragon Dance in Tin Hau. It is only on three nights per year - this… Continue reading Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance 2013 – Part 1
Last week of one my regular hiking fellows commented that he won't join my next night hikes. I asked him why, and he said that the ghost month is coming up and he believes you should not be out in the wildlife at night time. The ghost month started yesterday (August 7, 2013), it falls… Continue reading Ghost Month in Hong Kong
After our brief visit to Ainokura we travelled to Shirakawa-go, the largest village with gassho-zukuri houses. We first stopped at the Shiroyama Tenshukaku view point to glance over the village with its old style houses with those large triangular roofs. It is a very pretty sight, all year round. Probably even more so in autumn… Continue reading More gassho-zukuri houses in Shirakawa-go
We travelled from Takayama one hour on a bus to reach the Gokayama region. This region is famous for its traditional gassho-zukuri houses, which have survived for hundreds of years because the region's secluded location in the upper reaches of the Shogawa river. This is also the reason that Gokayama's lifestyle and culture remained very… Continue reading Ainokura gassho-zukuri houses
We saw a few women wearing kimonos while walking through Tokyo. Not on many occasions, on just a few - for instance while walking through Ginza we came across this group of women in traditional clothes. Don't they look very beautiful? Kimono are T-shaped, straight-lined robes worn so that the hem falls to the ankle,… Continue reading Tokyo: Kimono wearing women in Ginza and Shichi-go-san
Down the path from the main entrance are two racks of ‘offerings’ to the Emperor and Empress. On the right side are beautifully decorated barrels of sake, donated each year for generations. The barrels are called 'kazaridaru', which means decoration barrels, as they are empty. I've read in one of the guide books that in… Continue reading Tokyo: Sake barrels at Meiji Jingu
Our main reason to visit the Yoyogi Park was to visit the Meiji Jingu, Tokyo's premier Shinto shrine, which was built in 1920. It is also called the Imperial Shrine and is a memorial to Emperor Meiji, who died in 1912, and his empress Shoken, who died in 1914. Their tombs are in Kyoto. The… Continue reading Tokyo: Meiji Jingu
It took me almost 20 months to figure out that there is something unique about Duddell Street, a small street that I have walked past so many times already... on the way to the Hong Kong Park, back from the Peak tram, a work lunch with Patrick (back in 2011 his office was located in… Continue reading What is so unique about Duddell Street?
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