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As travelers to Japan would know, many of the well preserved historic towns have been commercialized and over-run with tourists. However, if you are prepared to go a bit off the beaten mass tourism track, there are plenty of gems to be found. One them is Uchiko, in Ehime Prefecture on the island of Shikoku. […]

For our lovers of Japanese washi “paper”, I recommend checking out the March edition of  “Highlighting Japan” ( a free monthly magazine with various interesting articles about Japan) which showcase washi’s strength, beauty, and its potential. The online magazine HIGHLIGHTING JAPAN is published once a month by the Japanese government to help readers better understand

For the last two years we have been taking groups on the Shio-no-michi (Salt Trail) walk which runs for 120km from Itoigawa on the Sea of Japan to Matsumoto in the centre of Honshu.  We have focused our 7- day walks on the first half of the trail which follows a deep river valley with

As you know, many Australians spend their retirement touring our wonderful country by campervan and caravan, but did you know that is also becoming popular for Japanese to do the same in Japan.? I noticed a tennis court near our home in Nagano was converted into a mobile camping site and is often visited by

Brisbane based artist Tricia Smout wrote a delightful article for the Qld. Papermakers’ of her trip with us to Japan in April last year. It certainly was a busy program encompassing everything from cherry blossoms and Mt Fuji to 6 or 7 textile and paper crafts workshops. download | view the article here in the

For those who love their washi paper crafts you will know that the best time for making washi in Japan is right now, in the depths of winter, because that is when the best quality washi can be made using bone cold water. Here is a recent article in the Japan Times that explores the

Hiking along ancient trails has only become popular with foreign visitors to Japan in the last few years, with trails like the Kumano Kodo and Nakasendo, now seemingly on every foreign traveller’s must do list, and becoming quite over-crowded. So, when an old pal, Tom, contacted us wanting to take a group of hikers on

Those of you who have travelled with us to make traditional washi at ‘Kamikoya’ deep in the mountains of Shikoku will have visited the quaint town of Yusuhara. Yusuhara is a major timber producing centre that was going into decline because of cheaper imported timber so several years ago the town invited Mr Kengo Kuma,

Last May we had the pleasure of hosting Jenny Jackett, a well-known weaver from Brisbane, for a textile and weaving shumi-stay at our home in rural Nagano. It was the first time for us to host a shumi-stay at our home, “Mokurenso”, which means ‘magnolia house’ because we have a huge magnolia tree in the

As you would know Tokyo is hosting the Olympic Games in 2020 and it is good to see that the Japanese are using the occasion to promote all kinds of national culture. One such cultural item is the kimono. Imagine One World Kimono is a project to design and make 196 kimonos to represent every