School bus, trapped in lava. Hawaii Big Island, April 2009. My partner and I hiked across lava. A map on our GPS guided us along the invisible lines of streets buried beneath us. A school bus, trapped by lava, reminded us this is a disaster site where homes had once stood. Disaster Tourism can be…… Continue reading Disaster Tourism
Category: East Asia
In the Event of an Earthquake…
Posted In the Event of an Earthquake…
In the Event of an Earthquake…
I’ve just received a message from the the Air Terminal Hotel at Sapporo’s New Chitose Airport, the main airport for Hokkaido, Japan: “Because of (the) big earthquake on September 6, the hotel has been heavily damaged and we cannot accept any customers … at this moment.” I had been expecting the message, as there was…… Continue reading In the Event of an Earthquake…
Unforgiven
Watched “Yurusarezaru mono” (“Unforgiven”) set in Japan’s brutal 19th century frontier, Hokkaido. It parallels America’s West: settlers (from Honshu), indigenous people (Ainu), and destitute Samurai rather than washed-up gunslingers. In 2013 I visited this 1870’s frontier home.
Japanese Kit Kats
Bought Japanese green tea/almond/cranberry Kit Kats for my nephews, one of over 300 flavors.
Korean Comfort Food
Posted Bibimbap: Korean Comfort Food.
Bibimbap: Korean Comfort Food
Since my last visit to South Korea in 2017, I have come to crave the comfort of Korean-style rice bowls: rice topped with little heaps of meat, vegetables, and a soft-cooked egg. Yolk permeating rice is one of life’s great pleasures. The photo at the top of this post shows a fine example awaiting my…… Continue reading Bibimbap: Korean Comfort Food
Love Hotel Amenity
Posted Love Hotel Amenity.
Love Hotel Amenity
[wp_quiz id=”1823″] I have nothing against love hotels as places for courting couples to get some privacy for a couple hours, or a traveler to get a cheap bed for the night if they can wait until late night to check in. I have issues with other uses that involve exploitation. I took the photos…… Continue reading Love Hotel Amenity
Travelling with Cultural Baggage
One of the challenges of travel is having to bring myself with me. If the trip is going to be more than passive entertainment, I have to try to erode my preconceived notions, prejudices, blindspots, and cultural programming. This week I felt shock when I first saw the scene pictured at the top of this…… Continue reading Travelling with Cultural Baggage