I know it’s already well into December and people are starting to live without the beautiful colored leaves of autumn. My wife Yoko and I went on a total of five trips into the country this fall with the primary purpose of seeing maples, poplars, birches, cherriers and other deciduous tree species change color. This year has [...]
Hello readers! This is another must-read installment for my ‘Driving in Japan’ series and is highly recommended for those interested in driving country roads in Kyoto! In the north of Kyoto, there are three main routes which absolutely must be driven. In the West there is Route 162 which goes straight north through Takao and [...]
If you get the chance to go to Ishikawa Prefecture, make sure you stop into downtown Kanazawa City. Kanazawa, home and power base of the Maeda Clan, dates from the mid 17th Century in its prime. Much of the city center of Kanazawa is devoted to this history, and the star attraction Kenrokuen Garden, an 11.4 [...]
For those of you who haven’t been to the Osaka Aquarium, locally known as the Kaiyuukan ( 大阪 海遊館 )you are definitely missing out. Not only is this building an architectural masterpiece in its own right, but also a world-class aquarium facility housing dozens of North Pacific marine ecosystems. The star attraction is a main [...]
Hi everyone! Remember my recent posting entitled “Okanagan Wines at Hanshin Department Store”? The South Okanagan region in British Columbia is an area of stunning, pristine and unique natural beauty and its arid, desert climate is particularly well suited to grape and fruit production. In recent years, Ice Wine, properly spelled Eis Wein due to [...]
My wife Yoko and I get Festival Fever every summer. Yoko’s main hobby is kimonos and she really loves to wear yukata during summer festival season. This year I promised to get her a special tailor-made yukata from carefully selected material, a hand-made indigo with traditional methods, a one-of-a-kind that would make her look completely [...]
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