APR 2025

Click on photo or link to read the feature • Why, Japan, Why?Why don’t we all wear kimonos instead of Control Tops and neckties? Okay, just for a moment, clear your mind of cultural biases and entrenched Western ideas about beauty, and consider how much more comfortable and attractive we all might be if weContinueContinue reading “APR 2025”

APR 2024

Click on photo or link to read the feature • Beyond Tokyo:Let’s stay in a traditional Japanese farmhouse in the countryside! Rural farm life is alive and well in the beautiful Japanese countryside, and if you’ve ever dreamed of staying in one of those curvy-beamed, straw-plastered, traditional farmhouses, well, now you can!…read more • Why,ContinueContinue reading “APR 2024”

MAR-APR 2023

Click on photo or link to read the feature • Seasonal Secret: Hacking cherry blossom season: How to beat peak pricing and crowds, while still enjoying maximum pinkness You go to Japan for cherry blossom season expecting it’ll be all picnics under the spreading boughs of pinkness, but even if you manage to book ticketsContinueContinue reading “MAR-APR 2023”

JAN-FEB 2022

Click on photo or link to read the feature Japanese Home Cooking: Spicy Japanese Eggplant One day in Tokyo, I was at a lunch made by the women in this crazy Japanese women’s club I belong to. When I tasted the eggplant dish, I moaned with delight and said, “OMG who made this? It isContinueContinue reading “JAN-FEB 2022”

MAR-APR 2021

Click on photo or link to read the feature Why, Japan, Why?: Japanese ceremonies we didn’t know we needed Everybody knows about Japan’s famous tea ceremony, and of course they also mark weddings, funerals and graduations with appropriate pomp, but the Japanese have ceremonies for all kinds of great things besides the biggies…read more • BeyondContinueContinue reading “MAR-APR 2021”

APRIL 2020

Click on photo to read the feature This month’s Book Review: Newcomer Ghosts of the Tsunami is a page-turningly readable piece of narrative non-fiction, written by the Asia Editor of The Times of London. Using fascinating personal accounts – like why Buddhist priests had to brush up on their exorcism skills – he delivers poignant insightsContinueContinue reading “APRIL 2020”