February - 2018

Plum Flowers at Kyoto Gyoen National Garden

February in Kyoto is truly freezing. However, during the cold windy days, sometimes we feel a slight hint of spring. At the Kyoto Gyoen...

Honmaru Goten at Nijo-jo castle

Among the many visitors to Niji-jo castle, relatively few make their way to Honmaru Goten (本丸御殿 - a group of castle buildings and gardens...

Ochaya* at Fushimi Inari Taisha

For many of my readers, hearing the name Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine conjures images of Senbon Torii (千本鳥居 - the thousands of Torii...

The famous Russian news program "Vremya" came to Yumeyakata Oike Bettei!

On February 18th, the team from famous Russian news program "Vremya", aired on Channel One Russia, came to our Oike Bettei shop to...

Uji Bridge and History in Japan

We often hear from our customers that they would like to visit Uji (宇治, a city located in south of Kyoto) city. Speaking of Uji, Byodoin...

Karamon Gate of Nishihongwan-ji (Hongwanji) Temple

Hongwanji, also known as Nishi Hongwan-ji, very famous as a World Heritage Site, is the headquarters of the Hongwanji denomination of...

Kimono Culture in Hanamachi

In my previous article of November 5, 2017, "Enjoy Kimono as You Like", I wrote that there were two different cultures in Kyoto...

Sotetsu (Sago Palm) at Niji-jo castle

Ninomaru teien (二の丸庭園 ) garden at Nijo-jo (二条城) castle has been repaired and modified little by little still today, ever since the...

Somei no Mizu, Top Three Mineral Water in Kyoto

Nashiki shrine at the east side of Gosho Palace enshrines Sanjo Sanetsumu and Sanjo Sanetomi, a father and son from a court noble clan,...

Jofu, High-Quality Plain-Woven Linen

Jofu is a type of extremely precious fabric for Japanese summer Kimono, which is exquisitely plain-woven with superfine linen. Echigo...