The first time I learned that Catholic Mass has influenced the Japanese tea ceremony was when I came across an article on the Catholic news site Gloria TV. The whole idea that something so deeply Japanese would be influenced by a religion largely spread by Europeans in Asia surprised me. But it might end up […]
Category: Japan
Two weeks ago I received an email from Dr. Ernie de Pedro. Turns out that he has been conducting research for years on the recently beatified Takayama. I was elated to know that he created a website with his son dedicated to the Christian samurai lord. For those not familiar with Dr. Ernie de Pedro, […]
The trip from Osaka to Kyoto takes around 30 minutes. It’s a fast and convenient train ride. The journey provided this tourist a snippet of the Japanese metropolitan and country landscape. The city is not only ancient but emblematically spiritual for the Japanese. Forget trying to see all the temples. There’s more than 2000 of […]
In front of the abandoned Paco station is a statue of a Samurai, Justo Takayama, who lived and died not far from where it stand. Takayama, a daimyo, was sent packing by an edict from Tokugawa banning Christianity. He was accompanied by Jesuit missionaries and was received with pomp by Filipinos. The conditions and perhaps the sadness of […]
On the plane to Osaka, I overheard these group of people who were talking about spending a day shopping and visiting the Universal Studios. They’re from a local Filipino bank and must be on a team building holiday if not a business trip. The moment we landed in Osaka I immediately reviewed the destinations I […]
Osaka’s a good jump point if your planning a trip to nearby Kyoto, Kobe and Nara. But if I had just one day I won’t mind spending it all here. Osaka offer a glimpse of traditional and modern Japan. It’s an impressive metropolis dotted with historical sites. I’ve always wanted to eat authentic Japanese ramen and tonkatsu all […]
When I found out that my sister-in-law was in critical condition late February I thought of cancelling my trip to Japan this month. When she died two weeks ago, I was no longer thinking of our holiday. My heart and thoughts was with my brother who was dealing with the situation all by himself. Recently retired from the […]
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