Ajisai (hydrangea) season is at its height. The blooms peak alongside the rainy season, their colours ranging from blue to pink depending on the soil they grow in. Temples and shrines are among the finest places to enjoy them, such as Myoraku-ji in Kawasaki, shown here.
Ryukoku Museum in Kyoto presents "Sacred Monsters in Buddhist Art", a special display exploring the curious creatures that accompany Buddhist deities – from the serpent Naga that sheltered the Buddha to demons heeding his teachings. Running from 11 July to 16 August. More: museum.ryukoku.ac.jp/en/
We present our Song of the Week! #HeyJapanSOTW
ZUTOMAYO - Byoushin wo Kamu
Apple Music: music.apple.com/song/byoushi...
Spotify: open.spotify.com/track/4HgsPA...
Our weekly pick - personal taste, no charts involved. Featuring Japanese artists across every genre, so there's something for everyone.
The Tokugawa Art Museum in Nagoya presents "Hello, Noh," a beginner-friendly exhibition introducing the 600-year-old theatre tradition through masks, costumes and the four-instrument hayashi ensemble, with illustrated explanations. Runs 25 Jun–20 Jul, closed Mondays except the final day.
The Senjizo at Hasedera in Kamakura are hundreds of small stone figures of Jizo, a Buddhist guardian of children and travellers. Robed and serene, weathered by time, they stand in row upon row across the hillside temple grounds.
Pure white "Annabelle" ajisai (hydrangea) has begun to bloom at Hitachi Seaside Park in Ibaraki, with around 550 plants in the Hina no Hayashi grove. Nearby in the Kaori no Tani valley, the white blooms meet flowering lavender, a fine contrast for an early summer stroll.
Digimon teams up with the Tachikawa Festival fireworks at Showa Kinen Park on Saturday 25 July, 19:15–20:15. hanabi.tokyo-tachikawa.org
The sasayuri (a lily native to Japan) has come into bloom at the Rokko Alpine Botanical Garden on Mount Rokko in Kobe. Soft pink and increasingly rare in the wild, this woodland lily is nurtured here in conditions close to its natural habitat, and should be at its best until around mid-July.
Edo Wonderland Nikko Edomura (Tochigi) marks its 40th anniversary with "Shogun wa Rock ga Osuki: Introduction of EDO ROCK FESTIVAL", running 18–20 July at the renewed SHOGUN THEATRE. Each day features a guitarist: SUGIZO, Kogure "shake" Takehiko and Nakaido Reichi.
The Ace of Diamond Act II original artwork exhibition, marking the series' 20th anniversary, comes to Telepia Hall in Nagoya, 4 Jul-16 Aug. Over 300 original drawings by Yuji Terajima feature alongside a Seido vs Inashiro match theatre and a recreated clubroom with voiced original stories.
