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Located in the beautiful Kiso Valley, the Akasawa Natural Recreational Forest – or more simply referred to as Akasawa Forest – is blessed with numerous ‘hinoki’ (cyress) trees, many of which are over...

For more than 300 years, the trees of Aburagibirin Forest have been protected and cannot be logged. Thanks to this protection, immense trees now populate the forest including Japanese cypress, sawara...

In 1984, a major earthquake in the Kiso area created a landslide that dammed up a part of the Otakigawa River that flowed through Mt. Ontake. The valley and forest where the river flowed were fully s...

Located in the north-east of Nagano Prefecture and within the larger Joshinetsu Kogen National Park, Shiga Kogen Highlands covers approximately 30,000ha / 300km². A landscape formed by volc...

In a region not so far away is Hakui, the southern most part of the Noto peninsula. The city has a cornucopia of places and will surprise you with their diversity. The natural beauty of Chirihama Bea...

Meditation is one the primary Buddhist practices and one which brings great peace and joy to both practicing Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike. ‘Zazen’ or ‘Seated Meditation’ focuses practitioners on...

Buddhists believe that we must subjugate and ultimately rid ourselves of worldly desires in order to see the true nature of existence.  In order to guide and support us in that goal, qualified m...

Japanese calligraphy or ‘shodo’ is an ancient practice which retains its importance as one of the most popular fine arts in the country. Literally meaning ‘way of writing’, shodo embodies the virtues...

The teachings of the Buddha have been passed down to us in the form of written ‘sutras’ or religious scripture. By tracing the sutras in a form of calligraphy called ‘shakyo’, Japanese believe the wo...