Updated Sept. 8, 2023 Ibuki soba buckwheat noodles (伊吹そば) is a local specialty unique to Maibara, Shiga Prefecture, Japan. It has been cultivated for about 900 years near the western… Read more
Finally had the great pleasure to taste the well-publicized Ukrainian food in Hikone cooked by Ukrainian evacuees. Iryna Yavorska (52) and her mother Galyna Ivanova (81) evacuated Ukraine and moved… Read more
Compiled by Philbert Ono, updated: Aug. 3, 2023 Here’s my 2023 summer fireworks (hanabi) schedule for Shiga Prefecture listed by date. Most fireworks will finally be held normally after being… Read more
Chronology of Shiga Prefecture’s major news headlines for January–December 2023. (Updated in Dec. 2023 to include the second half of the year.) Originally posted on Twitter under Shiga Headlines until July 2023… Read more
I’ve been experimenting with AI chatbots ChatGPT and Google Bard and AI image generators such as Bing Image Creator for creating text and image content related to Japan and Shiga… Read more
Next to Kyoto, Enryakuji Temple (延暦寺) on Mt. Hiei (Hiei-zan 比叡山) in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture is now offering a rare look at its massive, 10-year renovation of its main temple… Read more
Chronology of Shiga Prefecture’s major news headlines for July–December 2022. Originally posted on Twitter under Shiga Headlines by Philbert Ono. Twitter posts are limited to 280 English characters including spaces and links… Read more
Updated: Feb. 28, 2023 Assist Archery (アシストアーチェリー) is the name of an archery school near JR Ishibe Station in Konan, Shiga Prefecture. I recently visited and took a trial lesson… Read more