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Summer begins to show signs!
Springtime is in full bloom, but now we can tell that summer is on its way. With the many flowers out and about, walks through the gardens and parks are becoming more and more beautiful. Wisteria has been adorning many façades around the country, have you seen much of it yet?
Wisteria all around Japan has been showing its colours, from Ashikaga Flower Park in Tochigi Prefecture and Kameido Tenjin Shrine in Tokyo. Temperatures are also rising throughout the country so make sure to bring your sunscreen as well! Hydrangeas, roses, and many other flowers will also be blooming soon, it's a great time to see some of the floral beauty in Japan. Early May also marked Golden Week in Japan, a string of consecutive holidays and time off.
Hitachi Seaside Park, located in Ibaraki Prefecture not too far away from Tokyo, is a great spot for a visit in spring and early summer. In May, you have the chance to see a sea of nemophila, or baby blue eyes, poppies, and roses. The Fuji Shibazakura Festival in the Mt. Fuji areas see pink moss phlox come to life until late May, while Sanja Matsuri in Tokyo and Aoi Matsuri in Kyoto are some of biggest festivals of the year. Sanja Matsuri revolves around the Sensoji Temple founders and Aoi Matsuri involves intricate processions of people with Heian style clothing.
This month we have Kumamoto Prefecture, islands, and more - let's go!
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Kumamoto Prefecture on Kyushu has onsens, mountaintop shrines, and more, let's take a look!
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Japan is composed of thousands of different islands of varying size, let's go and explore some of them!
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Hakodate in Hokkaido is full of wonderful activities and delicious food, well worth a trip!
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It's never too early to start looking at some stunning spots for autumn foliage in the Chubu area!
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Enjoying the sun and preparing for more!
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Many of the spring flowers have bloomed, with warm temperatures and more to come, let's find a kigo for this month!
Our word this time is 夏の朝 ! Read as 'natsu no asa', this word means to 'a summer morning'. Mornings in summertime are quite distinct, especially in Japan. Let's see what sort of haiku we can make!
Haikus are made with a 17 mora combination in 5-7-5 style, with occasional 'kireji' punctuation.
Our first line has our seasonal word and is 5 mora - 夏の朝 (natsu no asa)
Then a 7 mora line - セミに起こされ (semi ni okosare)
And lastly 5 mora - 息をする (iki wo suru)
Completed, our haiku reads as -
夏の朝 (natsu no asa)
セミに起こされ (semi ni okosare)
息をする (iki wo suru)
A summer's morning,
Woken up by the cicadas,
I take a breathe.
Haiku writing can be challenging yet fun, have you written one before?
Send a haiku you've made to our Instagram account @visitjapan_uk and we may feature them in future newsletters!
Here's some highlights of what we've learned over the past few months:
1) Kumamoto has one of the most famous mascots in Japan, do you have a favourite?
2) Japan has four main islands, but thousands more, which one do you like the most?
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There's lots of Japan related events, shows, and exhibitions happening - Let's see what's going on! |
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- Japan House London's exhibition on Japanese carpentry, 'The Craft of Carpentry: Drawing Life from Japan's Forests', is still running, make sure to pop by and learn more about the many skills and techniques employed in Japanese carpentry.
- The Osaka Expo is in full swing! Make sure to pick up some tickets if you are visiting Osaka in the next few months.
- Junglia, a new theme park in Okinawa featuring safari, luxury, and more, is slated to open in July 2025!
- The British Museum exhibition 'Hiroshige: artist of the open road' has recently opened and will stay open until September, if you are interested in Japanese art, especially woodblock prints, now is a great opportunity to learn more about them!
- Royal Albert Hall will be hosting a Sumo tournament in October, this is a wonderful opportunity to see professional Sumo in London!
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Misatocho in Akita Prefecture has a stunning lavender garden, a top spot to see if you are ever in Tohoku in early summer!
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That’s it from us for this month!
Keep up with all this and much, much more by following us on Facebook and Instagram.
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