In a city with over a million people, where do you put them all? Tokyo’s upper class had their estates and mansions, and the merchants had their townhouse businesses that lined the busy streets. As for commoners, many lived in…
Real World Demon Slayer Location Then and Now: Asakusa
This mini article was first published Jan. 21, 2020 on Wayfarer Daves Facebook. These will not be replacing regular full-length articles but may supplement from time to time on off weeks. Last week I went to Tokyo for the Suzu’s…
Sakura Wars’ Steampunk Steam Car
This mini article was first published May 21, 2020 on Wayfarer Daves Facebook. These will not be replacing regular full-length articles but may supplement from time to time on off weeks. Dave and I have been pretty busy during this…
Shin Sakura Wars’ Haikara-san ga Tooru! Homage
This mini article was first published Dec. 27, 2020 on Wayfarer Daves Facebook. These will not be replacing regular full-length articles but may supplement from time to time on off weeks. Very few fictional stories or franchises are set in…
Filming Locations of Haikara-san ga Tooru! (1987) Then and Now: Kyoto’s Chourakukan
This mini article was first published Sept. 19, 2020 on Wayfarer Daves Facebook. These will not be replacing regular full-length articles but may supplement from time to time on off weeks. I was watching the 1987 Haikara-san ga Tooru (“Here…
Wayfarer Daves 2020 Year in Review
It’s hard to believe, but this December marks five years since Wayfarer Daves began posting on that date which will live in infamy, Dec. 7, 2015. Our first post was actually a story I’d written that had been published in…
Lit Up on Electric Brandy in Asakusa
(This article was written based on a visit to the bar in early January 2020 and concludes our Meiji and Taisho-era drinking trilogy. Please read responsibly.) One of my favorite Japanese drinks is neither a beer, nor traditional sake or…
Taisho-era Cocktail Hour in Tokyo
After learning about the beers drank in the Meiji and Taisho eras, the next logical step was to learn about the eras’ cocktails. The recipes for mixing liquor travel well and last a really long time compared to beers. To…
Meiji and Taisho-era Beer Drinking Today!
There are many ways to tangibly learn about the past. We can visit restored or preserved old buildings kept as they would have been a century ago, ride steam locomotives pulling vintage cars or participate in reenactments where everyone involved…
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…