Is Fukushima worth visiting?
Continue ReadingTohoku
Sakata Starts Here
I do know what it takes for destinations in Japan to break out from the rest of the pack—Sakata has all of them, and then some.
Continue ReadingMy Own Private Japan
I had Sakata all figured out. Or at least I thought I did.
Continue ReadingImpressions of Akita
First impressions aren’t everything—sometimes, they’re nothing at all.
Continue ReadingBeneath Japan’s Dream Bridge
Far northern Tohoku was the right place kick off my first purely touristic sojourn to Japan in nearly three years.
Continue ReadingWhere Japan’s Unsung Cherries Grow
“It was superb,” I replied in Japanese to the woman selling soft cream flavored with Yamagata cherries.
Continue ReadingEarly Birds, Late Blooms
Sakura season—for me and for Japan—was so close to its conclusion that even the birds knew.
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