Mikawa Bay (三河湾), located off the south coast of Aichi Prefecture, is one of four primary nori cultivation areas in Japan alongside areas of the Ariake Sea (Saga, Fukuoka, Kumamoto, Nagasaki prefectures), the Seto-Inland Sea (Hyogo, Okayama, Shikoku), and Tokyo Bay (Chiba Prefecture). With a history dating back to 1854, nori farming in Aichi commenced in the estuaries of the Toyogawa River, before evolving into the prominent nori production hub it is today…

The thrill of the chase! Discovering Japan through Nishijima pieces! A sign reads 妻籠宿 Tsumago-juku: the 42nd post town on Japan’s historic Nakasendo/Kisokaido way 木曾街道 - a legendary route connecting Edo (Tokyo) with Kyoto during the Edo Period (1603-1867), & famously depicted in Keisai Eisen and Utagawa Hiroshige's “The Sixty-nine Stations of the Kiso Kaidō” (木曾街道六十九次)…