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…
Matsumoto Castle: The Pride of a Castle Town
Japan loves its castles. We’ve written about Japanese castles several times on this site, and it is unlikely that we will run out anytime soon. Every old feudal domain (called Han in old Japanese) capital city seems to have…
Sorry, but your article is in a different castle
Sorry for the delay, but there will be an update this week, maybe tomorrow, definitely before the end of Wednesday. A heavy work load and a nasty cold have left me unable to complete this weeks article on time. To…
It’s More Fun in the Philippines! (Part II)
The Road to Vigan Sagada was our last major stop in the mountains but on our way to the northwestern coast we stopped at the Battle of Bessang Pass Memorial, which commemorates a late World War II battle between a…
Tsumago and the Nakasendo Road: Day 2
By: Dave Hansche If you haven’t read day one yet, you can find it here: http://www.wayfarerdaves.com/?p=615 When we left off, my co-blogging friend and I had just finished a rainy hike into Tsumago-juku, an old post town on the…
Tsumago and the Nakasendo Road : Day 1
Japan is a beautiful country, filled with towering mountain peaks and sleeping volcanoes, and crisscrossed by springs, rivers, and mountain streams. Every time I wander into the mountains of rural Japan, I am amazed at how stunningly beautiful it…
Folk Museums in Japan
When I was young, about an hour from my home was a folk museum and living history site called Norskedalen. This old site, nestled in the back of a valley in the middle of nowhere, but it…
Byodoin: The Power of the Fujiwara Clan
On the way from Kyoto to Nara, about half way between the two cities, lies Uji. Uji is a modern city, founded in the 1950s, however the area has been a popular site for noble estates since one of…
Storytelling at Lake Bracciano: The Italian Air Force Museum
There are many fine military aviation museums in the world but living in Italy means I don’t need to fly far to find one. The Museo Storico dell’Aeronautica Militare Italiana, Italian Air Force Museum, located on Lake Bracciano has an…
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.…