About Us


CEO: Cat Exploration Officer


 Kumi: Your guide/photographer

  • The world's happiest guide
  • Learned photography at the International Center of Photography in NYC
  • Lived in New York (actually in Hoboken) on and off for six years.
  • Visited approx. 30 countries.
    (Scotland, England, Italy, Vatican City, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Switzerland, Monaco, Austria, Greece, Luxembourg, Spain, Morocco, Portugal, USA, Denmark, Sweden, Hong Kong, Malta, Thailand, Australia, New Caledonia, Korea, Mexico, Canada, Turkey, San Marino, Russia, Estonia, Finland etc)
  • Drove through Route 66 from Chicago to Los Angeles.
  • Loves animals especially cats.
  • Crazy about ramen!
  • IT & research specialist.
  • Always exploring in and around Tokyo and finding something fun!

Popular posts from this blog

Winter Holidays in Tokyo

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Hello, travelers! This is Kumi. Welcome to the Picturesque Japan Blog, where we’ll share insights about the Year-End and New Year in Tokyo. For the Japanese, welcoming the New Year is a special occasion. Many public facilities close from December 29 or 30 through January 3 or 4, and many shops are closed on January 1. Temples and shrines become extremely crowded, and a popular tradition is to catch the first sunrise of the year. Here’s some information about popular spots during the 2024/2025 festive season. --- Popular Sites --- Hamarikyu Gardens : closed Dec 29 - Jan 1 Imperial Palace East Gardens : closed Dec 27 -Jan 3 Tokyo National Museum : closed Dec 23 to Jan 1 Tokyo Tower : Sunrise special tickets are required from 6am to 8:30am on Jan 1 Regular entry is 9am - 11pm every day * No countdown event . The lights will be off at 11pm on New Year's Eve and will turn on at 4am. Tokyo Sky Tree : open 9am - 10pm from Dec 28 to 31 open 8am - 10pm on Jan 1 to 3 *Happy New Year lights w...
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Shochu-mimai & Zansho-mimai (summer greetings)

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Do you send summer greetings in your country? Though not all Japanese people do this, we have a culture to send summer greeting cards. Until the end of July, it's called " Shochu-mimai " (the meaning is something like "I care you during these hot days") and from August 1, it's called " Zansho-mimai " (the meaning is something like "I care you while the heat is still remaining"). I don't like summer, but these summer cards have been making me very happy. :)
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Seeing Mt. Fuji from Tokyo

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Hi Travelers, this is Kumi. 2-23 (February 23) could sound /fu-ji-san/ in Japanese, so this is the Mount Fuji Day as well as the Emperor's Birthday! (*This photo was taken from the airplane from Tokyo/Haneda to Hiroshima.) Let me tell you where you can see Mt. Fuji from Tokyo. This is the article from my Kindle book "Tokyo Photo Locations." In this book, a traveler/photographer, Cat, asks questions to a guide/photographer, Kumi. C: Cat - traveler/photographer K: Kumi - guide/photographer * * * * * * * * * C: So how does Mt. Fuji look from Tokyo? K: This is from the Tokyo Tower. K: And this is from the Tokyo Skytree . C: Is it possible to check the views before going up? K: Currently, they don't have live cam services but I check the live view from the Government Building . If you see Mt. Fuji in this video, you can usually see it from other towers or buildings, too. http://www.taiki.kankyo.metro.tokyo.jp/taikikankyo/fuji/index.html...
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