This gallery contains 27 photos.
Yokohama was the first treaty port in Japan to be opened to foreign trade in 1859, and the heart of the foreign concession area was known (and is still known today) as Kannai 関内, or within the Kanmon 関門 (“Kan … Continue reading
This gallery contains 19 photos.
Yokohama is the original treaty port in Japan; it was here, in 1854 that the Treaty of Amity was signed between Commodore Perry (of the United States) and Japan, which forced open Japanese ports to European trade. In fact, the … Continue reading
This gallery contains 2 photos.
So its been almost three years now since I stopped this business of trying to discover myself through travelling all over the world, visiting old friends and exploring new vistas. [I officially stopped in August 2012.] At the time, I … Continue reading
This gallery contains 17 photos.
The Oriental Hotel is the grande dame of the Kobe hospitality scene, and it has had a long and complicated history. The first generation of the hotel was established by a Dutchman in 1870 at Lot 6 of the Foreign … Continue reading
This gallery contains 29 photos.
Kitano-cho (or Kitano District) 北野町 was an extension of the Kobe Foreign Settlement, in that it was the location of the latter’s residential and consular district. Like the Oura district in Nagasaki, Kitano is nestled at the foot of the … Continue reading
This gallery contains 21 photos.
The Former Foreign Settlement, or Kyu-Kyoryuchi 旧居留地 lies at the very heart of Kobe City, and is also where the city began its history as a major port in Japan. The Foreign Settlement was established post-1868, when Japan was forced … Continue reading
This gallery contains 13 photos.
Now that the book is launched, its time to get back to the Grand Tour of China, Korea and Japan. Our next stop is one of the original 7 treaty ports forced open to trade in the aftermath of US Commodore … Continue reading
This gallery contains 1 photo.
Please check out my new companion blog: http://www.romanceofthegrandtour.com. So…after two and half years of working on this, it is my pleasure to announce that my new book, The Romance of Grand Tour – 100 Years of Travel in Southeast Asia, is … Continue reading
This gallery contains 13 photos.
The grande dame of the Nagasaki hospitality scene was the former Belle Vue Hotel, situated just off the Bund, at the edge of Glover Hill, in the Oura Foreign Settlement. It was the second oldest Western-style hotel in the city, established … Continue reading
This gallery contains 36 photos.
Quite unbeknownst to most visitors, Nagasaki is a historic centre of pilgrimage for Japanese Buddhism and Zen Buddhism. The city centre is quite literally bursting with temples of all kinds, particularly around the foot of the various hills in the … Continue reading
Dream Of A City 