Anna Matsushita

  A few years ago, in a certain part of Tokyo, we found ourselves engrossed in gathering information about Cyprus as the night drew on. At the time, we were working for a small travel agency, and a client had approached us with the idea of creating a tour to Cyprus. We worked closely with our local partners on the island, while also gathering as much information as we could in Japan, all in an effort to craft a truly remarkable tour.   Cyprus, an island nation in the Mediterranean, lies just off the coast of Turkey. It is easily accessible, with airlines offering connecting flights from Japan. The island has long been home to many Greek settlers, and historically, it has fallen under the rule of several great empires: the Hittites, Assyrians, Egyptians, Roman Empire, Frankish Kingdom, Venice, the Ottoman Empire, and Britain. Like many Mediterranean islands, it is a crossroads of civilisation, where cultures have blended and shaped the land over millennia.   Cyprus boasts ...

  31st March 2024 marks Easter, a celebration in Christianity commemorating the resurrection of Christ. This widely embraced Christian holiday, now quite prevalent in Japan, is a moveable feast, changing dates each year. Despite the uncertainties of the pandemic, places like Tokyo Disneyland used to host Easter events in pre-COVID times, featuring egg-shaped chocolates and festive treats. The Easter period spans about a month and a half. In Catholic tradition, it kicks off with Shrove Tuesday's Carnival, 41 days before Easter, followed by Ash Wednesday, marking the start of Lent – a period focusing on prayer, fasting, and charitable acts, sharing in the suffering of Christ. During Lent, individuals often undertake acts of kindness or give up indulgences such as sweets. On Shrove Tuesday, known in the UK as "Pancake Day," festivities involve making and flipping pancakes in a unique competition. Towns and villages host pancake-flipping challenges, and some even attempt the ...

During the COVID-19 restrictions, I started another project: writing essays about drinks, mainly from Europe, Japan and the Caucasus. As someone who had worked in the travel industry, I had written many materials for my job introducing European drinks, including wines, beers, whiskies and liqueurs. The work involved a great deal of research on the internet, as well as actually trying the drinks myself. I felt it was important to experience the drinks firsthand, because I was introducing them to potential Japanese travellers who might encounter them abroad. I did not want to sound as though I was writing about something I knew nothing about. This time, I was able to spend more time researching the background of each drink. I found it fascinating to learn about the history of each one, the passion of the people who first created it, and the stories behind the businesses that developed around them. The main reason I chose this subject was that I wanted to continue researching food and dri...

 When I was young, I came across with a picture of two entertainers in Medieval Japan, called Kusemai dancer, and Shrabyoshi.   They were one of the prominent street performers in Medieval Japan, and they were mentioned in a book called “Seventy One Songs on Craftsmen", illustrating various craftsmen which was established at the end of 1500’s   Here is the link to the original painting of Kusemai dancer and Shirbyoshi. (On the bottle left) 狂言・能楽の歴史｜文化デジタルライブラリー (jac.go.jp)   (Kusemai dancer on the left, Shirabyoshi on the right )   能・世阿弥｜文化デジタルライブラリー (jac.go.jp) So, what are Kusemai dancer and Shirabyoshi ? Kusemai, also known as Mai-Mai (Roughly translated as "dance, dance") is a male street dancer, usually paired up with a singer, and dance while holding a folding fan. Shirabyoshi is a female dancer dressed in men’s clothe and sing song while dancing. Kusemai | the-Noh.com | Noh Terminology Shirabyōshi - Wikipedia   In a boo...