We decided we didn’t get enough of Arashiyama, especially the hillside. A quick snack was a beef flavored hashbrown. Seiko had this soy soup thing. I had Cherry Blossom flavored ice cream We visited the bamboo grove. Jōjakkōji Temple 常寂光寺 This temple was constructed in 1596 and is wellRead more
We take the train to Kokubunji on the west side of Tokyo to visit the Architectural Museum, a preservation of historic urban structures from the region. Founded in 1993, the complex houses buildings and artifacts generally from the Edo period (1868-1912) and beyond. There is a Musashino Folklore Museum within that does have some older artifactsRead more
Walk to Old Town I grab some of these fried street pancakes (filled with ground pork and spices) and head on a walk from the hotel to the Old Street and Yuyuan Gardens. I’ve been there before (in 2011) and it was too packed to be enjoyable, but that was at night and a differentRead more
Day Trip to Dazu Signed up for the wrong tour. I thought I was going to some park with a gorge and waterfalls. Turned out to be to the UNESCO World Heritage site (two sites, actually) in Dazu. We stopped in some small tourist setup, Some “antique” old-town style buildings. Read more
Morning in Dali Old Town before train to Lijiang A snack some sauce-covered flap of something on a stick. Not bad. Streets right outside the old town have some good bargains. I bought a traditional Dali Blue tie-dye cloth here. Killing some time in a temple in the oldRead more
Woke up at a decent hour each day due to some construction outside the window. After the war Akihabara became a center for resale of military surplus, specifically electronics parts. To this day it’s the go-to place to buy electronics. While the pop culture establishments and department stores dominate, you can still find a lotRead more
Down from the mountain, we head back to Shangrila Old Town and then to the north to Ganden Sumtseling Monastery (松赞林寺) in the late afternoon. Built in 1679 by the 5th Dalai Lama, and the size of a small village, this is the largest monastery in Yunnan and one of the most important Buddhist monasteries in China.Read more
Somewhere in Shanghai We head out from my hotel to a supermarket, because I want to buy candy. My guess is that this is the Huangpujiang River. Here’s the CarreFour Supermarket. Jingan Temple We then go to Jingan Temple, which is in the heart of the city. it was originally built in 247 AD,Read more
Chunxi Shopping District For my last night in Chengdu, Jing and I head to Chunxi Street to take some photos. Like me, Jing shoots Olympus. I just noticed she was using the Panasonic 20mm Pancake. I bought this lens in 2016 and has been my favorite lens since. Olympus cameras haveRead more