Though it can be read as a standalone article, this is the second in a series on the Himeyuri Student Corps where we follow their story to the place they first went to war, the Haebaru Okinawa Army Hospital. A…
Himeyuri Corps: Female High School Student Nurses during the Battle of Okinawa
During World War II Japan expected everyone to do their part in securing the nation’s unquestionable ultimate victory and this included teenagers. On the mainland high school students were drafted en masse to work in munitions factories turning out weapons…
Living in Taisho’s Tokyo: Shitamachi Museum and Kamiya Bar
Divided by a rigid caste system until the Meiji Restoration, Edo was stratified between those who lived in Yamanote, the lords and samurai, and Shitamachi, the more common classes such as craftsman and merchants. Shitamachi means “low town” which refers…
SL Battle Royale
A weekend getaway can mean packing the family into the car and hitting road for destination away from the every day. As you drive through the countryside trains running parallel occasionally shoot by- the local commuter with school children and…
Nostalgic Kure: Irifuneyama Park
Nostalgic, beautiful and even whimsical were the three words that came to mind as I passed under the gate topped with a wrought-iron arch and into the park. Before me was a lush green space with over-sized paving stones for…
Visit Suzu’s House, a World War II Japanese Home at Showa Living History Museum
An old-fashioned wooden home hidden in an otherwise unassuming modern Tokyo suburb, Showa no Kurashi (Showa Living History Museum)* normally depicts post-war Tokyo life but for a limited time its taking visitors back to World War II to show life…
Revolutionary Nagasaki
When feudal Japan re-opened to foreign relations after centuries of isolation in the 19th century, it had a lot technological catching up to do and Nagasaki was at the forefront of Japan’s rapid modernization. Previously the home of Japanese Catholicism…
Visiting Old Tokyo at the Edo-Tokyo Tatemono
Tokyo is a place constantly in change. Buildings rise and fall, little is sacred, but if you want to see a little bit of that Old Tokyo that’s mostly escaped us and learn about the great city’s past in…
Nostalgic Romance in Kitakyushu
I checked my Seikosha pocket watch, drawing it as close as the watch chain holding it to my waist coat would allow. It wasn’t unexpected, but she was late. It was mid-day on the Mojiko Station square and the sun…
Travel to Mid-Century Japan at Showa no Machi
(Our visit to Showa no Machi was partially covered here in article about Kids on the Slope movie filming locations.) Time travel is a distinct possibility in Japan; throughout the country neighborhoods or districts are preserved like time capsules of…