Think back to when you were young. Did you ever go, perhaps with family or as a school trip, to visit a school from a previous era? I can think of a few times when I was a kid that…
A Weekend Getaway in Tsuwano
Tsuwano I’d see the hillside trail, a zigzagging path covered end-to-end by red torii gates the night before. It was lit up by lanterns along the way which in the inky night almost appeared as if floating in the sky,…
Chasing Birds in Yamato
Happy New Year! 2018 was a very busy, and very difficult year for me. I changed jobs, focused my free time on establishing myself as a photographer, and when I had the time, which was not nearly as often…
The Satomi Clan and the Battles of Konodai Castle
1564. Satomi Yoshihiro looked out across the Edo River at the Hojo forces arraying against him, just as his father had 26 years prior. The elder Satomi, Yoshitaka, was defeated by Hojo Ujitsuna in the first battle of Konodai and…
The Greatest Competition Comes to Sasebo
I have achieved a dream three years in the making. On Dec. 1, 2018 I participated in a competition greater than the Olympics, Daytona 500 and Army/Navy Game combined. I of course speak of the Sasebo Goeikan (Escort Ship) Curry…
Fantastic Steam Engines and Where to Find Them!
How does this sound for a travelogue- Japan on the Go: How the Hell Does a Country the Size of California Have So Many Transportation Museums?! It will be 500+ pages long and be nothing but preserved trains and museums…
Finding History in old Photos
Lately it seems that I’m being pulled more and more into the historical aspects of photography. I don’t mean photographing history, we’ve always done that here. I mean diving into old photos, old methods, and even a Meiji Period…
Meiji-mura: A Victorian Village in Japan
It was a period of rapid change. Men and women walked in kimono and haikara (high-collar) Western fashions on noisy streets of horses and rail-riding street cars hemmed in by wooden Japanese merchant shops and the latest in English architecture.…
Hidden War Brought to Light: Defunct Imperial Japanese Army Noborito Laboratory Museum for Education in Peace
In a corner of Meiji University’s Ikuta campus sits a small drab building. Well-maintained and completely non-descript it could be another classroom tucked away from the campus’ other towering facility. The only unusual thing about it is a large sign…
Inuyama Castle – A Soggy Edo Adventure
If you’ve been following our Facebook, you’ve seen that Mr. Krigbaum and I met up in Inuyama, a small city on the border with Aichi and Gifu Prefectures for several days of museum goodness. David wanted to hit Meiji-Mura, the…