I like travelling alone. That way, I've only got one idiot to worry about.
After my recent weekend holiday in Nagoya, I’ve come away convinced that there are just two things needed to enjoy the best of what this fine city has to offer: a little cash and an empty stomach.
Welcome to the wonderful world of Nagoya-meshi.
Continue reading “Food Report: Three meals’ worth of Nagoya-meshi”
Since last weekend’s brief visit to Nagoya won’t get blogged about for a good long while, I’d like to offer an abbreviated report covering the main target of that short excursion: the newly opened Taimenjo wing of Nagoya Castle’s opulent Honmaru Palace.
Continue reading “Field Snapshot: The Honmaru Palace of Nagoya Castle, Japan (06 June 2016)”
Diego visits two castles in the space of a single afternoon: one whose main tower still stands high above the ground, and one brought so low that not even its very foundations have survived intact.
Continue reading “Field Report: Maruoka Castle and Kitanoshō Castle, Fukui, Japan (30 June 2015)”
Some places make one feel almost like a child again. Amusement parks, zoos, old-fashioned game arcades … and of course, one shouldn’t forget dinosaur museums.
Continue reading “Field Report: Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum, Katsuyama, Japan (30 June 2015)”
Not every city can boast of an Edo-period castle right in the middle of their downtown area, but Fukui is one of those that can. Diego sets out to view this historic landmark.
Continue reading “Field Report: Sticks and stones at Fukui Castle, Japan (29 June 2015)”
Diego takes in the beautiful sight of traditional wooden buildings set within an ancient forest – a refreshing retreat from the urban sprawl of downtown Fukui.
Diego heads off to visit one of Fukui Prefecture’s natural treasures: a special place with blue skies above, a wind-furrowed sea below, and long stretches of jagged grey rock in between.
Continue reading “Field Report: A cliffside walk at Tōjinbō, Fukui Prefecture, Japan (29 June 2015)”
Diego’s castle obsession draws him back to an old favourite, fresh out of wraps after a half-decade-long restoration programme.
Continue reading “Field Report: An old castle’s new look in Himeji, Japan (28 June 2015)”
If there’s one thing that’s certain about my relationship with Japan, it’s this: you can’t keep me away for very long.
Thus begins the tale of my eighth journey to the Land Whence the Sun Rises, stretching from late June to mid-July 2015.
(By the way, I hope you’ll pardon the slightly refashioned rendering of the classic epithet for Japan – the common form has become so heavily overused that the mere thought of it is sufficient to send me retching. And believe me, you don’t want to see me retching.)
Continue reading “Field Report: From Manila, Philippines to Kyōto, Japan (27 June 2015)”
Every spring, the ruined enceintes of Fukuoka Castle take on a special blush of beauty, with the bare branches of its flowering cherry trees stirring magnificently into life.
Continue reading “Field Report: Cherry blossoms and castle ruins in Fukuoka, Japan (28 March 2015)”
Within striking distance