TsukuBlog
A Local Perspective on Life in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
All Doors are Open, as the Old Town of Makabe gets DOLLED UP for its annual HINA DOLL FESTIVAL (真壁の雛祭り) -until March 3rd
7 February, 2020
Nearly one hundred of the old houses and shops (including this deliciously rustic book store) will be open to the public with antique Hina Dolls and other heirlooms on display as part of the Hina Matsuri Festival in Makabe, Sakuragawa City ( just north of Tsukuba)- till March 3rd
A pair of antique Hina Dolls (from the 19th century) on display at an old shop which in makabe
TsukuBlog
For the Winter Solstice (冬至)- Yuzu Baths, Pumpkin, and Fire-Walking (火渡り) – on Sunday December 22, 2019
20 December, 2020
By Avi Landau
Up here in the northern hemisphere, we have been watching our daylight hours grow shorter and shorter by the day. It can be startling to leave work at the usual time and find ourselves immersed in complete darkness where just a few weeks ago it was perfectly bright. For the ancients, this gradual waning of daytime was the cause of great apprehension, and a wide assortment of rituals and ceremonies (including human sacrifice!) were conceived of and performed by various peoples around the world to make sure that the sun didn’t continue to weaken and ultimately disappear altogether.