When I think of Tokyo images of sky scraping towers, intricate knot twisting railways, and futuristic robots come to mind. So imagine my surprise when I discovered the twin emerald green oases of Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden and Yoyogi park. The two floral sanctuaries provide a welcome respite from the sometimes overbearing steel and glass…
If you’re visiting Tokyo and you’ve got the time then getting out of the city on a day trip is a must. The city is fabulous but there’s nothing like a great escape into the outlaying countryside to clear the lungs and get in touch with your more natural side. Two day trips in particular…
On my first trip to Japan my sumo dreams never materialized. At the time I didn’t realize that matches only ocurred seasonally. So for my second trip to Tokyo I dedicated myself to attending a match. My Chuseok trip to Tokyo fell right on the opening days of the fall season. Woohoo! I couldn’t even…
Japan. I finally got a chance to visit. It may have taken me almost four years and despite having only a few days, I made the best of the experience. I don’t know why it took me so long to go, but I do know that I want to return soon. The first thing that…
With my coming move to Japan comes a new lexicon of language that I have to master. First up, because of my current guest house search, is the ubiquitous tatami mat along with the arcane symbols of rooms such as 1R, 1LDK, and so on and so on. Here’s a few photos to help you…
It’s so hard to say goodbye, especially when you’ve become quite happily settled in a place Thankfully, I am not quite ready to say goodbye to Korea yet. You’ve probably noticed that I’ve been tweaking the layout and content of the blog, slanting it toward a Korea/Japan angle. I still have six weeks left in…
