I checked my Seikosha pocket watch, drawing it as close as the watch chain holding it to my waist coat would allow. It wasn’t unexpected, but she was late. It was mid-day on the Mojiko Station square and the sun…
Travel to Mid-Century Japan at Showa no Machi
(Our visit to Showa no Machi was partially covered here in article about Kids on the Slope movie filming locations.) Time travel is a distinct possibility in Japan; throughout the country neighborhoods or districts are preserved like time capsules of…
Demon Slayer’s Taisho Secrets
I just finished watching Demon Slayer, an anime about Kamado Tanjiro, a boy hunting for the demon who slaughtered his family and turned his sister Nezuko into one. A tale full of memorable characters, a compelling story and great shonen…
Free Day at Tokyo Station
Tokyo station is the starting point for visits to many of Tokyo’s great sights, but the historic station itself is also a destination to appreciate that doesn’t cost a thing to see. And for those looking to see Tokyo on…
Sui Iseki’s Recollections of World War II
My Recollections of World War II By Sui Iseki These are the recollections of Sui Iseki, who was a typist at the Kawatana Naval Factory, which manufactured Type 91 aerial torpedoes. Kawatana is a small town in Nagasaki Prefecture,…
Nagasaki’s Atomic-Bomb Surviving School: Shiroyama Elementary School
The Atomic Bomb Museum, Peace Park and hypocenter are Nagasaki’s most well-known cluster of sites associated with Aug. 9, 1945 atomic bombing but less than 500 meters away there’s another place that’s less known but with its own unique perspective…
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…
Sasebo Fort: Exploring Ruins with a View
When Commodore Perry arrived in 1853 to deliver a letter, Japan had no means to keep the postman away. The nation was sent into chaos resulting in the overthrowing of the Shogunate, abolition of the feudal system and social class…
Tabaruzaka: A Japanese Gettysburg
Atop a certain hilltop in Kumamoto Prefecture is a serene park, with lanes of cherry trees and azaleas on its terraced hillside. It has a commanding view of the quiet farming community in the river valley beneath it and the…
Hijikata of Hakodate
There’s no other place quite like Hakodate in Japan. A truly historic international city on the northern island of Hokkaido, it has a French star-shaped fortress, old British and Russian churches and consulates and at turns is reminiscent of San…