Last July I went to Ueno Park for the annual Sakura Taisen Midsummer Festival. The Taisho steampunk dating sim (I mean “dramatic”) adventure franchise turns 30 this year and these annual performances anchored by Shinguji Sakura voice actress Yokoyama Chisa…
In 1878, Japan was becoming a modern nation freeing itself of its feudal past. But what should be done with the men who fought and died to make that modern nation a reality, the samurai? In Last Samurai Standing, hundreds…
According to legend the goddess Amamikyo first came to the island of Okinawa in what’s now Nanjo City on Okinawa’s southeastern Chinen peninsula. With her came the beginning of Ryukyu’s culture and native religion. Her children where the first kings…
(This article is photo heavy, so please give it time to load!) One of the first anime that really got me into anime was the 2006 series the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. This was a 2006 anime series based on…
This is a follow up to my first visit to the real life location of Aquatope on White Sand, Chinen-son (Chinen Village). Click here to read that article. The first half of Aquatope on White Sand primarily took place in…
This is another ‘fun’ post for those that can’t get to Japan at the moment due to this and that going on in the world. I’m vaccinated and desperately needed to get off Okinawa for a few days to decompress…
This is the first part of a one-day trip to Nanjo City, Okinwa, broken into two stories. Those interested in how a real seaside Okinawan village is depicted in modern pop culture can start here. If you’re just here for…
Updated Dec. 20, 2021: All Google Maps images removed and replaced with photos from my recent visit to Tokyo! May 21, 2024: Port Opening Memorial Hall added! Oct. 15, 2026: Mikasa Memorial Park and Grand Imperial Theatre information updated! We’re…
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…
Tokyo is a place constantly in change. Buildings rise and fall, little is sacred, but if you want to see a little bit of that Old Tokyo that’s mostly escaped us and learn about the great city’s past in…