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…
A Series of Adventures at Summers End
As many of our regular readers know, Wayfarer Daves is two photographers named Dave who enjoy writing and travel. Regulars, or those who have read past articles, will also know that we each live on different Japanese islands with…
The Merchants of Takayama
Over New Years this last year, the other Dave and I spent the holidays, as we often do, traveling around Japan together. This year’s main target was the stunningly beautiful village of Shirakawa-go in northern Gifu. Along the way,…
Himeji – Japan’s Premier Castle
If you have ever spent any time reading about Japan, or even just looked at a tourism guide about the country, you have likely seen the beautiful bright white Japanese castle that often adorns Japan’s promotional literature. That…
Kawasaki’s Premier Folk Museum – Nihon Minkaen
A couple months ago I wrote about the number of folk museums in Japan and old buildings that the Japanese have preserved from their history. The best of these folk museums that I have found so far is a…
Odawara Castle: The Rise and Fall of the Hojo
By: Dave Hansche I’ve written about several castles on this blog thus far, but it has occurred to me that I have overlooked a large rebuilt castle in a pleasant city about an hour away. I’ve visited Odawara…
Two Days on the Nakasendo (Video)
This photo video contains images from a walking trip through the best preserved and most beautiful section of the old Nakasendo, or Central Mountain Road, that passes through the Kiso Valley. Dave and I started in Nagiso-machi (former Midono-juku),…
Uniquely Kyushu: Shimabara
Japan is a country that loves its castles. Despite decommissioning and dismantling almost all of them in the late 19th century, they have been on the comeback as more than a hundred ‘rebuilt’ castles have joined the surviving dozen originals.…