I have been to the Sapporo Beer factory a few times but the mission was always to eat as much ‘Jingiskan’ and drink as much Sapporo beer as I could. This time I allowed some time to explore the museum and outside gardens as well. Sapporo Beer was the first brewery in Japan. The beautiful… Read More The home of Japanese beer. Sapporo Beer Factory, Hokkaido
A great article about how to identify the age of Japanese postcards. http://sites.lafayette.edu/eastasia/2014/09/04/how-to-ascertain-the-date-or-time-period-of-a-japanese-postcard/
The Sea of Okhotsk to the north and northeast of Hokkaidō plays no significant role in recorded Japanese history until the second half of the eighteenth century, when clashes began to occur between Russians advancing southward through the Kuril Islands and Japanese settlers trying to drive them back. But from archeological evidence and records from… Read More The Ainu and Early Commerce in the Sea of Okhotsk
Last year my family and I visited the Sapporo Beer Factory. I have been there a few times but the mission was always to eat as much ‘Jingiskan’ and drink as much Sapporo beer as I could. This time we allowed some time to explore the museum and outside gardens as well. The myth of… Read More Sapporo Beer Factory
Two of my favourite Japanese travel books were written by Alan Booth. The Roads to Sata (1986) and Looking for the Lost: Journeys Through a Vanishing Japan (1995). I have collect a few articles that truly describe Booth, his personality and style of writing. I wish I could have met him, it seems a little… Read More Travel books
The indigenous people of northern Japan call themselves “Ainu,” meaning “people” or “humans” in their language. Recent DNA evidence suggests that the Ainu are the direct descendants of the ancient Jomon people who inhabited Japan as early as 12,000 years ago. Astonishingly, the Jomon culture existed in Japan for some 10,000 years, and today many… Read More Ainu Tattooing
I have visited several museums which have some great Jomon artefacts, most recently in Hokkaido. Last year I went to the Northern Peoples Museum in Abashiri and last month I went to the Otaru Municipal Museum. Here is a bit about the Jomon. We can break the Jomon Period into four groups. Incipient – 12,000… Read More Emergence of the Jomon
