Meiji-mura is an open air architectural park with dozens of architectural and still functional technological wonders from turn-of-the-century Japan. I came ready to see the era and even dressed in a yukata with fedora, like all the old Japanese men…
Castle Air Museum: Cold War and World War II Aviation Treasure Trove in the California Desert
Throughout the Cold War the scream of jet engines could be heard over the California desert at Atwater, California. It was here Strategic Air Command bombers, from the World War-veteran B-29 to the massive aluminum overcast that was the B-36,…
David’s Top Five Museum Ships
I did a Top Five Tanks a few years back so decided now would be a good time to do another one but with my top five favorite museum ships. I’m a guy and I love history, so my favorite…
Sekigahara: New Museum Tells Story of Japan’s Most Important Battle
On the foggy morning of Oct. 21, 1600 the 160,000 strong samurai armies of eastern and western Japan clashed for six hours at Sekigahara in the single most important battle in Japanese history. The battle was the beginning of the…
Riding in Meiji-style: The Imperial Carriages of Emperor Meiji
When the first train line opened between Tokyo and Yokohama on Oct. 14, 1872, one of the first passengers on the inaugural ride was Emperor Meiji (1852-1912). While it may have been one of his first train rides*, it was…
Mojiko I: Taisho Roman Town
In the early 20th century Yokohama and Kobe were Japan’s first and second most important ports, places through which new foreign goods flowed and passengers embarked vessels to go abroad and discover new ideas and those coming to bring them…