I finally visited the Koka Ninja House 甲賀流忍術屋敷 in Koka. I highly recommend taking your foreign friends here. Most foreigners are very interested in ninja. The Koga (Koka) ninja and… Read more

On June 5, 2008, the Ministry of the Environment announced Japan’s 100 Best Spring Waters of the Heisei Era (平成の名水百選) and four of them are in Shiga Prefecture including one… Read more
On Dec. 12, 2007, the Echigawa Public Library 愛知川図書館 won the “Library of the Year” Award from among 5,000 libraries in Japan. The date was also the library’s 7th anniversary.… Read more
My English version of the song, “Biwako Shuko no Uta” (Lake Biwa Rowing Song) was sung on national television for the first time on Nov. 26, 2006 on NHK TV’s… Read more