Sugidama (杉玉, すぎだま): ball made from sprigs of Japanese cedar, traditionally hung in the eaves of sake breweries (Jisho.org).

This blog is about my passion for Japan. Well, I would never call it a passion, but here I am, a bit too reserved, too self-conscious and not too eager to show my feelings.

Still, Japan is the country, which excites me, intrigues me, calls me to travel there and walk around its neon lit cities swarmed with crowds of busy office workers and idle tourists, and its sleepy towns with narrow streets and small houses lying under a mesh of electric cables.

I am dreaming of its ancient temples and shrines with stone gods and saints covered with moss for the last two hundred years. I want to climb its smoking mountains and swim in its lakes with lonely torii standing in the distance on the wooded banks.

And of course, visit its famous ryokan with comfy futons and onsen, where a traveller can relax after a day of walking by dissolving all the tiredness in its hot water.

And at the end of the day I would stop by a small cosy restaurant, where not only menus but even prices are written in kanji, order a tokkuri of local sake and while sipping it and waiting for some tasty meal make another entry in this blog.