When I was in Taiwan (learning Mandarin to learn about learning Japanese... and attending a friend's wedding) we took an off-day to visit Jiufen, the town that inspired the town and bathhouse in one of Miyazaki's greatest … [Read more...]
People ask me all the time what websites I recommend—what blogs that I read as somebody who writes about Japan. I figure that I'll answer this question once and for all; or at least until people forget that I wrote this … [Read more...]
I've never understood architecture. Like fine art, architecture seems like one of those subjects that requires years of training and study to be able to really, fully appreciate. But to plebes like myself, it remains a … [Read more...]
Awaji Island is an interesting place in Japan; it's a small island that sits between Honshu and Shikoku and is more famous than an island that small really should be. People around Japan know about Awaji's famous naruto … [Read more...]
For years, Tokyo Tower has been an iconic figure in Tokyo's skyline, but that may soon be coming to an end. After nearly four years in the making, the Tokyo Skytree has finished construction, and it will open to the public … [Read more...]
Japan is world-renowned for its amazing architecture, and it's not hard to see why. I've written about some of Japan's most jaw-dropping skyscrapers along with some of the more quaint, but still novel, houses. It's … [Read more...]