Takahiro Takiguchi

1 week ago | japan.stripes.com | Shoji Kudaka |Takahiro Takiguchi

Constant gray skies and gloomy showers can only mean one thing in the so-called Land of the Rising Sun: The rainy season. It starts to fall on Okinawa in mid-May followed by mainland Japan and Kyushu Island in early June. Cold northerly and warm southerly air masses collide to create 45 to 50 days of a continuous dreary weather front of clouds dropping anything from drizzle to torrential downpours. But there’s no reason to let the bad weather get you down. Look on the bright side.

1 week ago | japan.stripes.com | Takahiro Takiguchi

soba (Photo by Takahiro Takiguchi) About a 3.5-hour drive from Yokosuka Naval Base, Kiso Valley in Nagano Prefecture is home to beautiful landscapes made up of majestic Japanese Alps, clean rivers and impressive villages where old traditional buildings, temples and shrines await. Kiso Valley, or Nezame no Toko, is known as one of Japan’s five most beautiful valleys.

1 week ago | okinawa.stripes.com | Shoji Kudaka |Takahiro Takiguchi

Constant gray skies and gloomy showers can only mean one thing in the so-called Land of the Rising Sun: The rainy season. It starts to fall on Okinawa in mid-May followed by mainland Japan and Kyushu Island in early June. Cold northerly and warm southerly air masses collide to create 45 to 50 days of a continuous dreary weather front of clouds dropping anything from drizzle to torrential downpours. But there’s no reason to let the bad weather get you down. Look on the bright side.

1 week ago | okinawa.stripes.com | Takahiro Takiguchi

Hiroshima Okonomiyaki (Photo by Takahiro Takiguchi) Often called Japanese pizza or pancake, Okonomiyaki is one of the most popular casual pan-fried dishes in Japan. Just as the name (“okonomi” literally “to one’s liking”) indicates, you can use your favorite ingredients, any kind of meat and seafood, along with a mixture of cabbage, flour and water to bake them into a flat, round-shaped dish.

2 weeks ago | japan.stripes.com | Takahiro Takiguchi

(Photo by Takahiro Takiguchi) Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu and within a 3.5-hour drive from most military bases in the Kanto Plain, Hamamatsu is a large castle city that is home to many natural and historical attractions. Hamamatsu is also known as the “City of Music,” as it’s home to several of the world’s top- music instrument companies, including Yamaha and Kawai. Classical music has been a major part of my life.