Make Terracotta Animals, Not War: The Tomb of Emperor Jingdi

Today’s post is a flashback to my trip to China in the aftermath of the Tohoku earthquake. We spent most of our time in Beijing, but we did manage to make one trip… Read More →

Touring the Tokyo Stock Exchange

Hello, faithful readers! Can you believe it’s already almost the end of April? Where does the time go? Things have been busy for me. I’ve been trying to focus on work, which means… Read More →

Yabusame: The Japanese Art of Horseback Archery

Horses and archery probably aren’t the first things that come to mind when you think of Japan, but in fact, bows date back to Japan’s prehistoric Jomon era (14,000-300 BC) and historical records of… Read More →

Move Over Broadway, It’s Takarazuka Time!

On July 10, I went to the Tokyo Takarazuka Theater to see the Star Troupe perform a show called “Dancer Serenata” combined with a dance portion themed “Celebrity.” It was my fourth Takarazuka… Read More →

Wordless Wednesday #27: The Original Kirin, Nagasaki

I spotted this statue when I was at Glover Garden in Nagasaki. According to the brochure, it was the model for the picture of the Kirin used on the logo for Thomas Blake… Read More →

Wordless Wednesday #21: Clocks

  From top to bottom: Minato Mirai Ferris Wheel (Yokohama, Japan); Asakusa (Tokyo, Japan); “Chariot of the Harvest,” Corcoran Gallery of the Art (Washington, DC); Hirata Folk Art Museum (Takayama, Japan); Citizen Clock… Read More →

Places in Japan: One Fantastic Day in Historic Takayama

Reesan from loneleeplanet has started up a new blogging festival called J-Festa to showcase the best of Japan, and this month’s theme is “Places in Japan.” I thought I would use the opportunity… Read More →

Banpo: A 6,000-Year-Old Chinese Neolithic Village

While en route to see the Terracotta Army outside of Xi’an, my guided tour stopped at a sight I’d never even heard of: the Banpo Neolithic Village. Discovered in 1953, the location contains… Read More →

Muslim Quarter, Xi’an

The “flashback to China” continues! I spent the majority of my trip in Beijing, but I made one short trip to Xi’an, the one-time capital city of China, the starting point of the… Read More →

Inside the Forbidden City

I haven’t written much about my trip to China since I posted about Beijing’s 798 Art District back in May, but I’m determined to share some of my pictures and experiences with you… Read More →