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Portrait of Hiro Tanaka

Contributing Writer, Asia

Hiro Tanaka

A former architecture critic who now writes about the buildings people actually live in. Contributes the quarterly Kyoto Notebook.

Kyoto

Photo: Dylan Ferreira / Unsplash

1 story by Hiro

A bare winter temple garden in KyotoCity Guides

Kyoto, Japan · February 27, 2026

Kyoto notebook: February, when nothing blooms

A month in the northern wards, in the emptiest month of the year, and why it turned out to be the loudest.

9 min read

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A short essay, three things worth reading, and a restaurant I'd send a friend to. No affiliate links, no pop-ups.