After the stagnant Edo Period ended in 1868, Japan was quick to make up for lost time to stay competitive with the world they’d re-entered. From a feudal society that had little changed socially or technologically since 1600, Japan bypassed…
Heppenheim: A Stop on the Mountain Road
Gaily colored half-timber buildings, a dominant hilltop castle and a picturesque location the road to Darmstadt, Heppenheim an der Bergstrasse is quintessential German and just off the beaten path for international travelers. Many of these beautiful restored or preserved city…
Mutsu: Japan’s Most Visitable World War II Battleship?
After World War II most of the Imperial Japanese Navy’s battleships were at the bottom of the sea or scrapped, leaving the pre-dreadnought-turned-memorial ship Mikasa, victor of the 1905 Battle of Tsushima, as Japan’s sole survivor. Yamato is Japan’s most…
Kure: Homeport of Japanese Naval History
A 40-minute train ride away from Hiroshima is the seaside town of Kure, once home to Japan’s premier naval arsenal and home of the Imperial Japanese Navy’s most powerful warship, battleship Yamato. In case new visitors weren’t sure this was…
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 Japanese Home Front V: Kawatana, Home of Shinyo and the Fish-Shaped Water Bomb (Katashima Torpedo Testing Facility and Shinyo Memorial)
This series is about the Japanese home front in and around Sasebo, Japan during World War II. It is not a condemnation or critique of actions taken by either side during the war but rather a look at the civilian…
Treasure Hunting in Arita
Arita in Saga Prefecture is famous for porcelain. Its connection began 400 years ago with the return of a failed Japanese invasion of Korea. As a consolation prize they brought back a bunch of kidnapped porcelain makers, settled them in…
The Japanese Homefront IV: From the Beginning to the End: Hario Wireless Transmitting Station and Uragashira Repatriation Center Peace Museum
This series is about the Japanese home front in and around Sasebo, Japan during World War II. It is not a condemnation or critique of actions taken by either side during the war but rather a look at the civilian…
Dunkirk Movie Review
Feeling a bit Anglophilic, which is beautiful and natural and I don’t care what others think of it, I saw Dunkirk on opening night. We’ve never done a movie review at Wayfarer Daves, but I felt it was appropriate to…
The Japanese Home Front III: Sasebo Air Defense Command Center
This series is about the Japanese home front in and around Sasebo, Japan during World War II. It is not a condemnation or critique of actions taken by either side during the war but rather a look at the civilian…