The Oooku (or often alternative romaji - Ōoku) is the location of the Edo Castle (江戸城,) reserved as living quarters for the women of the Shogun (将軍).
大奥 --おおおく-- (n) shogun's harem; palace's ladies chambers
大奥様 --おおおくさま-- (n) lady of the house
奥 --おく-- (n) interior; inner part; inside

Oooku was functioning as female quarters since 1607, established by Tokugawa Hidetada (徳川秀忠), and lasted for about 200 years.

What I find much more interesting is Alternative Universe (AU) manga featuring Japan under matriarchy with the males as the residents of the Oooku and a female shogun. A very smart setting and very interesting switch of gender roles. 大奥 (1) manga by よしながふみ (Yoshinaga Fumi).
My favourite ever double-page spread from this manga:

上様の!
お成り!
上様 --うえさま; うえざま; かみさま-- (n) (1) emperor; shogun; (2) honored person (honoured);
Just so amazingly fabulous! And in 2009 this manga got Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize.

Arukihenro --'walking pilgrims'- is how people doing Shikoku Pilgrimage are called. The island of Shikoku (四国) is famous for its 88 temples and hence Shikoku Pilgrimage is the task of visiting all the temples. The pilgrimage is approximately 1,200km long and I guess that's something I'd love to do one day.

歩き遍路
歩き --あるき-- (n) (1) (arch) walk; walking
遍路 --へんろ-- (n) (1) pilgrimage;
四国八十八箇所 --しこくはちじゅうはっかしょ-- (n) 88 temples of Shikoku (holy spots related to Kobo Daishi)

There is documentary Arukihenro with English subtitles about the pilgrimage. I've seen it in my Japanese classes and it reinforced my conviction that I'd love to do it.

らんぶる
This word derives from French L'ambre as in Café de l'Ambre.

Ranbaru is how coffee-shops are called.  This is a place where they brew some fabulous coffee and labeled as "Coffee only". A must visit.

My favourite picture of Japanese ranburu -THIS.  This old deserted coffee-shop is at Takada-no-baba ( 高田馬場), Tokyo.

Though some kanji and hiragana had fallen down, it is still possible to recognize on the façade- 名曲らんぶる

名曲 --めいきょく --(n) famous music;

Another term for the stylish cafes - 名曲喫茶 (info at wiki)
名曲 --めいきょく --(n) famous music;
喫茶 --きっさ -- (n) tea drinking; tea house

Those used to be the cafes where one could enjoy classical music and coffee.

宝塚歌劇団 Takarazuka Kagekidan is a all-female theatrical troupe in the city Takarazuka (宝塚市 ) in Hyougo Prefecture (兵庫県 - ひょうごけん) that makes fabulous performances in the most glamorous style.

歌劇団 --かげきだん -- (n) opera company; opera troup
劇団 --げきだん -- troupe; theatrical company

It's a pure lush!

湖月わたる, Kozuki Watar - a former member of Takarazuke playing male characters (Otokoyaku)

男役 -- おとこやく  -- (n) male part or role