Hunter-gatherer Cave on a Chichibu Mountainside On a recent outing to the ruins of the former Mitsumine Ropeway in Chichibu, Saitama we spotted what appeared to be a cave in the distance. Never to let a good opportunity pass we decided to make the...
Elevator Ride to the Base of the Dam It’s not often you get the chance to take a 121-metre (397 ft) elevator ride deep within the recesses of a working dam especially one perched high up in the mountains. But during a recent trip to the Takizawa Dam...
Greetings from the Chichibukozan Post Office It came to a grand total of 2 yen to send a postcard to myself – a prepaid one with an extra two-yen stamp to make up the shortfall. Why, you may ask? This is not something I generally do and almost...
Old Postcards Reveal Hakone 55 Years Ago Blessed with natural hot springs, Hakone has been attracting travellers since the Edo period. In those early years, visitors travelled there via the Tokaido Road which acted as a thoroughfare between Edo, as...
A case of being stuck next to the wrong neighbour Japanese Buddhist temples are generally places associated with worship and a space to enjoy a moment of quiet contemplation. It therefore seems odd that a temple would have ammunition on display in...
Beautiful Postcards Recall Lake Okutama’s Early Years During the second half of the Showa Period from the 1950s onwards Japan experienced remarkable economic growth with significant investment in large-scale infrastructure. In the Kanto...