Japan Archives - Differentville

Dolls on Display for the Doll Festival in Japan

Hinamatsuri – The Amazing Doll Festival in Japan

January 1, 2020December 21, 2019 by Helen from Differentville

If you’ve been to Japan in February or March you might be wondering why there are bright red staircases full of dolls everywhere. If you’re there now and googling that very question…the answer is you’ve arrived in time to see the Doll Festival in Japan, aka Hinamatsuri, Doll Day or Japanese Girls Day on March …

Anatomical dummies decorate Sanatorium Cafe, Fukuoka

Sanatorium – Fukuoka’s Most Curious Cafe.

January 1, 2020October 26, 2019 by Helen from Differentville

It’s not unusual for someone to wake up one day and decide to start a cafe, however, few people would then decide to theme that cafe around a hospital ward complete with a scan of their own brain as part of the decor, but not everyone is Fukuoka-based artist Sumi Takamasa – and not every …

Billiken statue in a clown suit, Osaka Japan

What are Billiken – And Why is Osaka Full of Them?

January 1, 2020July 20, 2019 by Helen from Differentville

There’s a lot of odd things dotted around Osaka. You’ll find giant pufferfish hanging in the sky, gold turtles climbing up the sides of a building, huge lobster decorating the ceiling of the market – there’s even a giant metal wasp if you know where to look, but among all these fabulous things is one …

Statue of a man with pasta for a head, Kokura, Japan

12 Fun and Unusual Things to do in Kokura, Western Japan

December 28, 2021July 13, 2019 by Helen from Differentville

Kokura is a fascinating city in Western Japan. Saved, through chance, by destruction from atomic bomb, it has castles, pufferfish dinners – and an entire museum full of toilets. Check out our guide to the fun and unusual things to do in Kokura.

Vending machine shaped like a robot in Fukuoka, Japan

28 Fun and Unusual Things to do in Fukuoka

May 26, 2022May 12, 2019 by Helen from Differentville

Fukuoka in Western Japan is Japan’s seventh biggest city, but despite this when you look for suggestions of things to do in Fukuoka not much comes up – yes, there’s the big shiny Fukuoka tower, ruins of a castle and a huge mall, but generally, that’s about all anyone suggests. However, dig a little deeper …

Cool Things to do in Matsue, Western Japan

December 28, 2021April 27, 2019 by Helen from Differentville

It’s home to one of the best castles in Japan. Home to some great modern art and a spectacular sunset. Home to amazing samurai history, delicious food and a short hop from one of the most beautiful Japanese gardens in the world – but when it comes to the average visitor’s plans, Matsue in Western …

Shrine made of hundred red tori gates on a cliff

Motonosumi Inari Shrine: How To Find This Stunning Shrine in Western Japan

January 1, 2020April 14, 2019 by Helen from Differentville

They have good dreams in Japan. Dreams that make things. Things like bright scarlet shrines that balance on the edge of craggy windswept clifftops. Scarlet shrines like the outrageously pretty Motonosumi Inari Shrine near Nagato in Western Japan. It’s a must see if you’re in the areas of Nagato or Hagi – and something to …

Grey cat walking toward the camera on Ainoshima Cat Island japan

Ainoshima: Fukuoka’s Cute Cat Island

January 1, 2020March 23, 2019 by Helen from Differentville

I’m surrounded by kitties – they’re sleeping in fishing nets, chilling out in wheelbarrows, prowling the paths around the bright blue, fishing boat filled harbour hoping for snacks or just sitting in the sunshine doing whatever cats who live on an island do all day. This is Ainoshima, one of Japan’s many cat islands – …

View of the Adachi Museum of Art garden through their frame like windows

The Stunning Adachi Museum of Art Gardens – Designed to be Viewed From The Inside

August 11, 2020March 16, 2019 by Helen from Differentville

Here’s a question…What do you do to encourage visitors when you build a museum containing some of the finest works of Japanese art in the midst of rural Japanese farmland? The answer, if you are Zenko Adachi, a farmer’s son turned influential art collector, is to build one of the most beautiful gardens in the …

Plate of Yaki Udon from the restaurant who invented it in Kokura, Japan

The Tiny Kokura Restaurant That Changed Noodle Eating Forever.

January 1, 2020March 9, 2019 by Helen from Differentville

Today in Japan, and, in Japanese restaurants all over the world, the idea of frying udon noodles to make yaki udon is normal – but, if local legend is to be believed, we can thank a tiny 8-seater restaurant in Kokura, Western Japan for the invention of the dish. I popped along to try a …