Sightseeing in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh City is much bigger than Hanoi, with about twice the population. With the legacy of the French colonial era still around, the streets and buildings are on the refined side. It’s more internat…
Ho Chi Minh City is much bigger than Hanoi, with about twice the population. With the legacy of the French colonial era still around, the streets and buildings are on the refined side. It’s more internat…
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….
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…
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…
There are two (or maybe three) places around here that I still haven’t been to. The reason I never went is that I knew full well there isn’t much to see compared to their reputation. Still, I’…
On my last business trip to Tokyo I went to Oedo Onsen Monogatari in Odaiba, one of the few proper hot springs in Tokyo. (I’d say Spa LaQua at Tokyo Dome is the next-best proper one… though of cour…
Shiraike Jigoku, the “White Pond Hell,” gets its name because, unlike the Blood Pond Hell, its hot water is white, but it’s actually better known for its aquarium. Piranhas and so on: they us…