Akiko MurakamiMar 12, 2020I liked the Japanese soundtrack for "Frozen 2".When watch foreign movies, especially at theaters, I usually make sure to see them with original versions with subtitles, not dubbed ones...
Akiko MurakamiJan 30, 2020Grass-Burning Fire Event in NaraEvery 4th Saturday in January, an annual Grass-Burning-Fire event on Wakakusa-yama Hill is held in Nara. It is officiated in ceremonial m...
Akiko MurakamiJan 30, 2020IZUMO and YAMATO exhibition in TokyoThis year, 2020 commemorates the 1300th anniversary year of publishing NIHONSHOKI, or "The Chronicles of Japan (720)". It was a national ...
Akiko MurakamiJan 22, 2020My tour was featured by a Japanese tabloid paper and on a website.Last autumn, I was asked to write a short essay on a tabloid paper. It was by a company "Wendy" in Hiroshima that publishes and distribu...
AkikoJul 29, 2019Summer Fire works season has started!Now the rainy season has finally over and season of summer festivals with beautiful big fireworks has started all across Japan. Japan pro...
AkikoAug 9, 2018"Whisper of the Lotus flowers "This is an amazingly beautiful video taken by a freelance documentary maker, Koichi Hozan. on July 30, 2018. I just cannot help sharing t...
AkikoJul 23, 2018Annual candle night event: "TOKA-E"If you are in Nara during the summer season August 5-14th, TOKA-E is a event you don't want to miss. TOKA-E (燈花会):http://www.toukae.jp/e...
AkikoJun 20, 2018This year's new baby deer at RokuenAfter the World War II, the number of deer in Nara park decreased to as low as 80. However, thanks to the great efforts of the Nara Deer...
AkikoJun 17, 2018Origami deer!!Nara is getting increasingly popular and famous as a city with cute deer. I suppose, for many one day visitors, freely roaming deer in N...
AkikoJun 16, 2018Zen --the life of Zen master Dogen"Zen (禅) - The Life Of Zen Master Dogen (道元" OMG, I found the full movie on Youtube...! (click the above title to see) I saw this movie w...
AkikoMay 29, 2018Recent ZEN 禅 boom is from abroad?!Last year and this year's April, I had an honor to tour guide about 30 people from Upaya Zen Center to Kasuga Grand Shrine in Nara. (Rosh...
AkikoMay 28, 2018ZEN gardens & temples in KYOTO, first comprehensive guide book!I was happy to be invited to a book launch of this new book, "Zen Gardens and Temples of Kyoto" written by John Dougill (TUTTLE) The boo...
AkikoMay 16, 2018Very cute & informative website on Nara!I've found one of the best online information source on Nara created by the local Nara company. So well made, and I was super impressed! ...
AkikoJul 22, 2017My tours featured by Green Shinto blog!Professor John Dougill made a blog article on his Green Shinto site with 6 questions to me on July 13th. #Nara