Kichijyoji is a neighborhood on the west side of Tokyo, It’s a pretty commercial area. Crispy fried chicken curry for lunch Harmonica Alley Once a post-war flea market, this narrow network of alleys located across from the train stationRead more
With my partner sick, I went out on my own for the day. I just walked around and took the train to the shops in neighboring Kokubunji. Kokubunji There’s not much to this place. Wikipedia tells me this : “Kokubunji is the home of the Hitachi Central Research Laboratory, which contains one of theRead more
Last night and morning in Pudong I like to take it easy and treat myself the last night of travels. In this case it was a great way to end the cold, wet weather of the last week. My room was at the Pudong Crowne Plaza, what I thought was a straight-shot to the airport,Read 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
Accidentally finding the largest building in the world. Yelp reviews for local hot pot give me an address that led to the taxi driver letting me out in a sparsely populated suburban parking lot next to a huge building. I thought it was some kind of mistake, but the driver insisted. I walked closer, andRead more
Ci Qi Kou The Porcelain Village Situated on a tributary to the Jialing River west of Chongqing, this historic neighborhood has become, like many ‘old towns’ in China, packed with shops and restaurants and is packed with shoppers and sightseers day and night. Almost a square mile in size, the area is filled with buildingsRead more
Good morning, Chongqing! The view from the hotel: A little smoggy out. Turns out the hotel is in a pretty neat commerce district. A lot of shoppers…. …. and a lot of food. About 100 people were lined up to get these spicy noodles. Not bad! Spicy lambRead more
Day One Plan Head to the Panda Base and walk around take photos. The weather is very hot and humid and certainly pandas will be just hanging in the shade, but it’s a very nice park and near the hotel. After that, food and shopping in Chengdu’s Jinli Ancient Street. First meal in china: SichuanRead more
I decided to go to Shinjuku today, but to kill time before the train I stopped in into an Akihabara bookstore to check it out. first time seeing anything Star War related in Japan. the Shop had quite a bit, I guess because of the new movie. Not out of the ordinary to have generalRead more
Having always read about Japan, corresponding with several pen pals that live there, and reading about it since I was a child, when I had the opportunity to go, I took the chance. Originally planning to travel with an old high school friend, I hastily booked the flight, only to find out that I wouldRead more
Out for a stole one day in Chengdu, I came upon an art class in session Near Jing’s apartment, this businessman claims to do it all: bike repair, locksmith, welding, mechanical work, etc. This guy sells water. It’s amazing how packed the the streets are with small businesses in China. Walmart andRead more
My remaining hours in Old Lijiang were spent hopping from shop to shop, snacking and buying some last-minute gifts. I can see why, through all the Chinese people I have met over the years, why Lijiang Old Town is often mentioned as a favorite travel spot. Its endless maze of unique and character-rich shops, streetsRead more
I had originally flew into Lijiang, but immediately took a bus to Shangri-La and I didn’t get much of a chance to see Lijiang until the evening I returned. Surrounded by granite mountains, deep gorges, and red clay hills, Lijiang lies within a 8,000 ft high level plain crossroads of established trade routes and minority cultures. The developedRead 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
Here’s a candid shot of me stocking up on drinks. I also picked up some buckwheat tea that I liked. Beef Noodles Craving some beef noodles, we stopped into a chain devoted to it. Expensive by Chinese standards, the food was good, but still not as great as the beef noodles I had inRead more
Jing takes me to a place for some Sichuan food and it was eye-opening. I guess I kind of was not getting the real Sichuan experience while there. This beef soup didn’t avoid the fat, it embraces it. Thin fatty strips of beef just dissolved as I slurped it down, and those chillies brought theRead more
Date with a Panda Jing scores some tickets to actually hang out with a panda at the research base. The weather is also more tame, so we decide to spend the day there. School field trip. Normally they use the young pandas for this, because they ARE bears and have teethRead more
Nope. Not Today. The morning of the 15th, I was just too sick to do anything. Plans, whatever they were, had to be cancelled. I’m not sure what Jing did that day. I just slept. Went out a bit at night to get some food. Just a few shots from the hotel balcony.Read more