What better way to celebrate the year of the monkey than by visiting the Iwatayama Monkey Park in Arashiyama, Kyoto? The Japanese Macaques (sometimes known as ‘Snow Monkeys’) are best known for their penchant for bathing in hot springs, but this practice takes place mainly in the north of Japan where the weather is much…

2016 is already here, and for most people that means forgetting the past year’s problems and stress in order to start anew with fresh objectives. As it happens, in Japan this is a very special season full of Buddhist traditions and beliefs that merge with the progression of the Chinese calendar. This 2016, according to…