Nostalgic, beautiful and even whimsical were the three words that came to mind as I passed under the gate topped with a wrought-iron arch and into the park. Before me was a lush green space with over-sized paving stones for…
Visit Suzu’s House, a World War II Japanese Home at Showa Living History Museum
An old-fashioned wooden home hidden in an otherwise unassuming modern Tokyo suburb, Showa no Kurashi (Showa Living History Museum)* normally depicts post-war Tokyo life but for a limited time its taking visitors back to World War II to show life…
Turning Old Tokyo into Hiroshima’s Nakajima-honmachi for Kono Sekai TV Drama
Recently I went to rural Tokyo (yes, it has a rural part) to visit Edo-Tokyo Tatemono, the 25 building architectural park that preserves old Tokyo buildings. Its collection includes the homes of Edo era farmers and a prime minister as…
Hanami in Hiroshima
Sakura, that quintessentially Japanese flower that blooms but for a short time then fades away on the wind, can draw crowds to even the most humble city park or riverside to enjoy their beauty, but when paired with some of…
It’s the Journey, Not the Destination: SL Yamaguchi
When riding an old steam engine I want to feel like I’m riding in a relic of the past, not just being pulled by it and to get that experience my wife and I boarded SL Yamaguchi. Operating since 1979,…
Hiroshima Survivors IV: Hiroshima Museum of History and Traditional Crafts
There’s something about turn of the century red brick buildings that excite me. I’m not sure if it’s the color, styling or the history, maybe it’s all of them but when I see one I have to check it out…
In This Corner of the World Movie Review
I knew I was going to like this film just a few minutes into it. There’s a scene in the opening of our protagonist as a young girl looking through a telescope at a beautiful hall with a green dome…
Kure: Homeport of Japanese Naval History
A 40-minute train ride away from Hiroshima is the seaside town of Kure, once home to Japan’s premier naval arsenal and home of the Imperial Japanese Navy’s most powerful warship, battleship Yamato. In case new visitors weren’t sure this was…