Category Architecture
Meetings in Berlin (Day 1)
I’m in Berlin for work this week. It’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it! I got in yesterday and discovered that my hotel (which was booked by my colleague) is located right in the heart of the old historical center. That meant I could go on an evening walk after dinner and […]
Kyoto (Day 4) – Nanzen-ji
Today Amanda and I parted ways — she went west to spend a couple of days at a Buddhist temple in Koyasan; I returned to Tokyo to prep for a climb up Mount Fuji. But before we went our separate ways, we had a few hours to squeeze in one last temple. We picked Nanzen-ji […]
Kyoto (Day 3) – Sightseeing rebooted: Fushimi Inari, Tofoku-ji, Kiyomisu-dera, Chion-in
Oh man, what a difference sleep makes! After going to bed last night at the unheard of hour of 11:00pm, we got a full nine hours of sleep, which is basically unheard of on our vacations — we tend to average somewhere closer to 6 hours per night due to awesomeness. Only sometimes all that […]
Kyoto (Day 2) – Nijo Castle
Leaving the tasting tour behind us, we set out to see Nijo-jo, the 17th Century castle in the heart of central Kyoto. It’s composed of moats, fortifications, some grand gates, a couple of palaces, and gardens. Like everything else in Japan, much of the castle had been destroyed by fire and rebuilt at various times in history. […]
Kyoto (Day 2) – JD Kai Food Tasting Tour
Having begun our stay in Kyoto with a bike tour to some of the major sights, we thought it only natural that we spend the next day on a food tour to experience some of the local gastronomy. We found the JD Kai Food Tasting Tour on Tripadvisor and booked it well in advance — […]
Kyoto (Day 1) – Biking through Kyoto: Golden Pavillion, Ryoanji, Bamboo Forest
Tokyo is a glittering, modern city and I love it in all ways, but it’s a little short on history and tradition. If you want that, you need to go to Kyoto, which was the seat of imperial power for centuries and escaped the worst of the bombing during WWII. The city has a higher […]
Tokyo (Day 1) – Exploring Harajuku and Shibuya
We flew into Tokyo late last night. It was dark, but from the cab I saw forests of skyscrapers, spotless highways and chic business and shopping districts. It seemed sparkly and full of intelligent life, and I couldn’t wait to start exploring. Somewhat unusually, however, we didn’t have any concrete plans for our first day […]
Seoul (Day 2) – Changdeok Palace and Huwon Garden
According to our guide books, Seoul has a couple of palaces that are really worth visiting. We had originally planned to devote today to visiting two of them . . . but then we spent half the morning blogging about yesterday’s activities and then having another multi-pastry breakfast at the Paris Baguette Cafe down the […]
Seoul (Day 1): Cheonggyecheon and Myongdong – modern Seoul
The old, traditional houses of Bukchon are lovely, but most of Seoul is super urban and very modern. It’s a fun, vibrant city that feels surprisingly familiar and very clean. View from the hotel balcony, looking southeast. Hotel view looking southwest. Hilltop view in Bukchon neighborhood Samsung owns this building.I feel like it should be […]
Seoul (Day 1): Insa-dong and Bukchon – strolling through Seoul’s traditional neighborhoods
Between meals on our food tour, Veronica led us through some of the historic neighborhoods of Seoul. Most of the traditional architecture in Seoul was destroyed during the wars and subsequent modernization, but here the lovely old residences have been preserved and can still be appreciated. A street lined with traditional houses in Insadong. […]
A More Gentlemanlike Manner 