How does this sound for a travelogue- Japan on the Go: How the Hell Does a Country the Size of California Have So Many Transportation Museums?! It will be 500+ pages long and be nothing but preserved trains and museums…
Finding History in old Photos
Lately it seems that I’m being pulled more and more into the historical aspects of photography. I don’t mean photographing history, we’ve always done that here. I mean diving into old photos, old methods, and even a Meiji Period…
Meiji-mura: A Victorian Village in Japan
It was a period of rapid change. Men and women walked in kimono and haikara (high-collar) Western fashions on noisy streets of horses and rail-riding street cars hemmed in by wooden Japanese merchant shops and the latest in English architecture.…
Hidden War Brought to Light: Defunct Imperial Japanese Army Noborito Laboratory Museum for Education in Peace
In a corner of Meiji University’s Ikuta campus sits a small drab building. Well-maintained and completely non-descript it could be another classroom tucked away from the campus’ other towering facility. The only unusual thing about it is a large sign…
Inuyama Castle – A Soggy Edo Adventure
If you’ve been following our Facebook, you’ve seen that Mr. Krigbaum and I met up in Inuyama, a small city on the border with Aichi and Gifu Prefectures for several days of museum goodness. David wanted to hit Meiji-Mura, the…
Surviving Summer in Japan
Those of you who keep up on international news, especially that coming from Japan, may have heard that the Land of the Rising Sun has been suffering through a particularly hot and humid summer. The latter half of July…
Five Japanese Culture Summer Travel Destinations
We’re coming upon August, when Japanese people move as one to enjoy the sights of the country in the five minutes of vacation time they have each year. This means crowded roads leading to even more tourist-infested destinations full of…
Riding the Rails on SL Hitoyoshi
Japan loves trains and steam locomotives can be found pulling sightseeing tours around the country, providing a unique way to enjoy some of the nation’s most beautiful and diverse scenery. Hokkaido has its iconic black C11 steam engine plowing through…
Yokosuka Naval Arsenal: Sarushima Battery
It’s 1854. Commodore Matthew Perry has just sailed his black ships into Tokyo bay and forced the Tokugawa Shogunate to open Japan to foreign trade for the first time in more than 200 years. The sudden appearance of…
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…