Osaka
“…beyond that she was convinced that no city compared with Osaka. As for the Kabuki, she was quite satisfied with Ganjiro; and as for restaurants she wanted nothing better than the Harihan or the Tsuruya.”
The Makioka Sisters, Junichiro Tanizaki
Wakayama
Sapporo
“Since the New Year was celebrated here in early February, the traditional straw ropes were still strung up over the village doorways, On the fourteenth the children gathered the ropes and burned them in a red bonfire before the snow palace.”
Snow Country, Yasunari Kawabata
Kanto Region
“An astonishing number of men and women always thronged the beach, city folk down from Tokyo to escape the summer heat. Sometimes the crowd was so thick that the water was a tightly packed mass of black heads, as in some public bathhouse.” Kokoro, Natsume Soseki
Tokyo
“It was night in the city. We watched the people come and go while we waited at the light: businessmen and office girls, young people and old, all beautifully aglow in the headlights.” Kitchen, Banana Yoshimoto
Kyoto
“Midori's cooking was far better than I had expected: an amazing assortment of fried, pickled, boiled and roasted dishes using eggs, mackerel, fresh greens, aubergine, mushrooms, radishes, and sesame seeds, all cooked in the delicate Kyoto style.” Norwegian Wood, Haruki Murakami
