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 →

Spring Break: Hollywood!

During my time in the US a few weeks ago, I took a road trip from Berkeley down to sunny Los Angeles to attend the annual meeting of the  Western Political Science Association… Read More →

Instagramming Tokyo’s Cafe Scene

One of the best things about being a graduate student is that you don’t have to spend 8 to 5 in a stuffy office. You can work anywhere you want, pretty much anytime,… 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 →

Wordless Wednesday #34: Instagram Instagram Instagram

Beautiful late autumn colors, The University of Tokyo Cold day, bright tights Conspicuous criminality The way we were (circa 1989) First attempt at homemade hummus Happy Wednesday! Thanks for stopping by–please take a… Read More →

Wordless Wednesday #33: Instagram Time!

Best muesli ever, Two Rooms, Omotesando The hazards of the Japanese holiday season–don’t drunkenly fall off the train platform! Takata Memorial Library, Waseda Christmas party for visiting researchers Bossy baby wants better diapers… Read More →

Welcome to the World of Tsugaru Shamisen

I traveled north to Aomori this past spring for Golden Week, and the friend who so graciously hosted me was living in the city of Tsugaru, home of the art of Tsugaru shamisen.… 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 →

Wordless Wednesday #32: Weekly Dose of Instagram!

The many faces of dissertating Tokyo subway life Last day at the Nitobe Kokusai Juku First attempt at homemade fettuccine alfredo Shadow commuting That’s it for this week! I’ve been busy, so there… Read More →

Wordless Wednesday #31: Highlights from Instagram

A reminder not to scandalize bears and the handicapped with PDA in the priority seats A leisurely morning of Kindle and pancakes My disgruntled work face My beloved local produce market Christmas card… Read More →