I went to Cu Chi, famous as a Viet Cong guerrilla base during the Vietnam War. It’s about two hours from Ho Chi Minh City. The road to Ha Long Bay was narrow and poorly paved, so it felt much farther tha…
Ha Long Bay has a large limestone cave. It’s a bit better than the ones in Okinawa, but not as good as Akiyoshidai. The bigger problem is that it’s terribly managed, so while it’s impressive,…
About three to four hours by car from Hanoi lies Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Apparently it’s famous for its stunning scenery. When I actually went, though, it didn’t look all that po…
Hanoi may be the capital of Vietnam, but it wasn’t as international or as urban as I’d expected. That said, there are a fair number of historic buildings. A pyramid, maybe.. This is where Vietna…
Last week I went to Vietnam on a company trip. Work kept me busy right up until we left, so I didn’t prepare anything at all, and while packing on the morning of departure I even forgot to bring my DSLR….
After going all out on the first day, I woke up in the morning feeling absolutely terrible. I’ve been doing strength training lately and eating a high-protein diet, so after pouring that much alcohol dow…
It’s not marked on the calendar, but in Japan there’s a holiday around August 15 that’s a lot like Korea’s Chuseok. With nowhere in particular to go during that break, I dropped by Kore…
When I woke up on day two, it was drizzling. My friend and I had planned to head out to the beach that day, so, well… It wasn’t pouring yet, so we set off anyway. The view from Osaka’s Baysh…
A friend who lives in Osaka invited me over, so I went back to Osaka last week. Come to think of it, I end up visiting Osaka a lot. I’ve been going at least once a month, and every time I seem to discove…
Yesterday was Japan’s eel-eating day, a bit like Korea’s boknal. Just as we eat samgyetang on boknal, it’s meant to be a day to eat eel in summer and get your strength back, but really itR…
When I was planning this Osaka/Kobe/Kyoto trip, the very first restaurant I locked in was Il Ghiottone, an Italian place in Kyoto. It’s famous enough that you could call it Kyoto’s number one, and …
Today I’m visiting Seimei Shrine, the main destination of this Kyoto trip. Seimei was a grand master of Onmyodo. He’s a historically significant figure, and he was a hit in the movies too. I hear h…