(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 II: The National and International Port
This is the second and final part of a series on Mojiko, Kitakyushu. Mojiko’s waterside is a quiet place with a park like atmosphere most notable for its unobstructed view of Shimonoseki across the Kanmon Strait and being a place…
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…
Sakura Wars’ Imperial Capital: The Tokyo That Was (and Wasn’t)
Updated Dec. 20, 2021: All Google Maps images removed and replaced with photos from my recent visit to Tokyo! May 21, 2024: Port Opening Memorial Hall added! We’re exploring the Imperial Capital (Teito) of Sakura Wars, a unique take on…
Sakura Wars: The 1990s Steampunk Mecha Adventure Series Returns
Since I can’t get out during quarantine I’ve instead been doing a lot more reading, drawing and gaming so today we’re reviewing a game set an alternate romanticized Taisho era, Sakura Wars. Ready for the story-driven early 20th century steampunk…
Beauty and Tragedy at Arasaki Beach
This is the fifth and final entry in a series on the Himeyuri Student Corps and related war sites on Okinawa. My trip through southern Okinawa to visit the Himeyuri-related caves and tunnels ended not in a dark hole in…
Okinawa’s Hospital Caves: Where the Island’s Daughters Went to War
Though it can be read as a standalone article, this is the fourth in a series on the Himeyuri Student Corps and follows their story from Haebaru and Itokazu to the southern caves in Itoman and also looks at caves…
Abuchiragama: Natural Cave Turned Wartime Hospital
Though it can be read as a standalone article, this is the third in a series on the Himeyuri Student Corps covering one of the caves used to support the Haebaru Okinawa Army Hospital. On the surface the only tell-tale…